Dare County elections office to dispose of about 186 boxes of old materials; board to witness June 24 shredding

The Dare County Board of Elections on its regular meeting recorded a plan to dispose of about 186 boxes of election materials that staff determined are eligible for destruction under the state retention schedule. Director Kelly told the board the planned disposal will take place Wednesday, June 24 at 9:00 a.m. and requested a bipartisan pair of board members to witness pickup and destruction and sign the disposal documentation.

Kelly said the office has carefully inventoried material against the retention schedule and documented what will be removed. "We have about 186 boxes of material that can go," she said, emphasizing the documentation will list everything removed and the board's and staff's signatures will be on the record.

Board members discussed two options for disposal: contract shredding (a truck that shreds on-site) or using existing county recycling/shredding services. A member noted county buildings offer community bins, but staff and others said those bins are small, shared by multiple departments and not suitable for bulk or sensitive election materials. "Because election material is so sensitive, we want to maintain that chain of custody," Kelly said, arguing an on-site truck or departmental arrangement better preserves security than a shared bin.

Kelly said the office is exploring adding a regular shredding schedule to its budget so the county avoids large infrequent disposals. She said no vendor or dollar amount has been chosen yet and that staff will follow the retention schedule to determine what must be kept for longer periods and what can be discarded annually or biannually.

The director also noted the county's retention schedule provides for holds when subpoenas or litigation are active; staff said there are no open FOIA requests currently that would prevent disposal. Kelly said the inventory and the disposal date will be entered into the minutes and that a public binder in the elections office will list the items slated for destruction for any member of the public who wishes to review it.

The board did not take a separate vote on the destruction itself; members instead agreed to have the date reflected in the official minutes. Kelly said she will notify the board as she finalizes vendor and budget details for a recurring shredding plan.