Elections administrator warns of staffing needs and security costs tied to proposed voting‑period changes

Bridget Escobedo, elections administrator (speaker 4), told the commissioners her office is seeking three positions: two voter‑registration coordinators and a voting‑system analyst to manage ballot programming, electronic poll books and vote‑counting functions. Escobedo said the office handles about 458,000 registered voters and added more than 22,000 new registrants in the last year.

Escobedo warned the court that SB 2753 — described in the hearing as an unfunded change that eliminates the gap between early voting and election day — would raise logistics and security costs. As an example, she said the county spent about $75,000 on law‑enforcement costs for the primary and is planning for increased staffing and equipment needs if the state implements the new timing requirements. She also asked to raise pay for temporary election workers who currently earn $17–$15 per hour to remain competitive.

"It completely changes the voting period," Escobedo said of SB 2753, calling the implementation date unknown but noting the law requires county readiness across the state. The county will continue to monitor the statute’s implementation timeline and include any increased expenses in the budget review process.

No action was taken at the hearing; the elections office will submit cost estimates and the budget office will evaluate requests against projected revenues.