Electoral Board

City of Radford Electoral Board Minutes of Public Meeting May 13, 2024 Chairwoman Ann Craig called a meeting of the City of Radford Electoral Board to order at 9:08 a.m. on May 13, 2024, in the office of the General Registrar located at 619 2nd Street, room 143, Radford, Virginia. Present were Chairwoman Craig, Vice Chairman Chris Quesenberry, and Secretary Carol Colby, constituting a quorum, as well as General Registrar Lindsey Williams and Chief Deputy Registrar Missy Mayweather. Mrs. Williams advised the Board about the process for appropriating reimbursement funds due for the March 5, 2024 primary elections. She explained that the state will send such funds to the city, which should then appropriate them to the General Registrar’s voting equipment budget pursuant to Mrs. Williams’s request to city personnel. That appropriation will require City Council action at a public meeting, which Mrs. Williams expected to occur around the end of June. Once the city receives the funds and notifies the GR’s office, GR personnel will prepare a Council Action Form to be added to the City Council’s agenda. The Board members agreed to attend that meeting on behalf of the GR’s office should Mrs. Williams be on maternity leave. Mrs. Williams advised the Board about the cost of procuring new poll pads and related equipment, training and support from KNOWiNK. She stated that it was unlikely that the GR’s office would receive any recovery from DemTech for the problems related to their equipment and support. She plans to have the Officers of Election check people in to vote in the June 18, 2024, Republican primary using paper poll books. She discussed where the funding for the KNOWiNK estimate could come from within the GR’s budget and explained various cost-saving and deferred payments to bring it within budget. Upon motion from Secretary Colby, second from Vice Chairman Quesenberry, and unanimous agreement, the Board authorized Mrs. Williams to pursue the purchase of equipment and support services from KNOWiNK as outlined in their estimate. Mrs. Williams stated that she would work on setting up the new system over the summer. She and the Board discussed training GR staff and Board members in conjunction with Pulaski County personnel in early August, and training OEs on the poll books and system by the end of August, in advance of the September 20, 2024, start of early voting for the November 5, 2024, election. Mrs. Williams and the Board discussed her intention to continue fulfilling the duties of her office following the birth of her child. Mrs. Williams informed the Board that Guy Wohlford had delivered a new key for Compassion Church, one of the polling places. Chairwoman Craig asked Mrs. Williams for more information about a possible grant from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management to purchase security cages for voting equipment. Mrs. Williams said she would forward that information. The Board discussed OE assignments for the June 18, 2024, primary election. Mrs. Williams stated that her office would begin working on training, including how to enter voter credit manually from paper poll books. Mrs. Williams said that she will send new voter cards to registered voters in the Central voting district. Mrs. Williams and the Board discussed the scheduled events surrounding the upcoming primary election. She stated that her office would send out the OE assignments and information about the training session. Mrs. Williams informed the Board that she and her staff will be attending a registrars’ conference in Roanoke in early August, and that the office would be closed during that time. At 10:17, Secretary Colby made a motion to go into closed session to discuss Mrs. Williams’s performance review, as permitted by Virginia Code section 2.2-3711A1, to wit: assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, or resignation of specific public officers, appointees, or employees of any public body, Vice Chairman Quesenberry seconded the motion, which passed unanimously, at which time the Board went into closed session. Upon conclusion of the closed meeting at 10:27, the board reconvened in an open meeting and conducted a unanimous roll call in accordance with Virginia Code section 2.2-3712D, certifying that the closed meeting was conducted in accordance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The meeting was adjourned at 10:28. The Board will next meet on June 19, 2024, to begin the canvass of votes.