With the busy election season gearing up, it is becoming more evident that the county’s elections office needs room to grow.

  Elections director Ameika Pitts mentioned a possible location change for her department during her report to  the Henry County Board of Commissioners at its August 4 regular meeting, citing safety reasons as well as lack of space.

  “We’re looking at possibly having 600-plus machines for November and with the space we have, it is very hard to do testing. It has been very difficult, and I know you all are aware of it,” said Pitts. “We have outgrown this location. Not just for us to do our very best at making sure this election runs smoothly but for safety reasons as well. We are not able to social distance like we should and it affects daily operations.”

  Several members of the board expressed publicly that they agree with Pitts’ assessment.

  “I think we all know that the elections office has been in terrible shape for quite some time and I think we could have made a decision to move forward with repairing that building a long time ago,” said Commissioner Bruce Holmes.

  “I am very concerned. There are people getting hurt trying to move around in those offices and it was very difficult for me to move around in those offices too,” said Commissioner Vivian Thomas. “It is not acceptable in any form or fashion and I support Commissioner Holmes in the fact that we need to find funding and get this done ASAP.”

  As for possible solutions, county manager Cheri Hobson-Matthews pointed out some options that had been discussed in the past which could help the elections office as well as other county departments.

  “There is a 10-acre tract of land that is owned by the county that we can certainly look at to build a new building, not only for elections but also for the tax commissioner’s office,” she said. “We are out of space in this building [the county administration building] and if we could free up that space, we can have more space downstairs.”

  Funds are available for a new building, according to Matthews. A facility solely for the elections office would have a $3 million price tag, while a large building to include the tax commissioner’s office would be in the $5 million range.

  “We are not going to be able to move into a new building this year because the election is right around the corner,” said Commissioner Gary Barham. “But this gives us some time between now and the next elections that come around. I would love to see us move the Elections Building into a new facility.”

  Commissioner Johnny Wilson asked that the entire board visit the proposed 10-acre site before a decision is made, and all were in support. Before concluding the meeting, the commissioners authorized the county manager to prepare a resolution regarding the proposed building for the Sept. 1 regular meeting.

  Pitts mentioned in her report that the roll of Henry County registered voters had reached 178,182 with about 166,500 of those listed as active. She noted two polling location changes: from the Red Oak Elementary School gymnasium back to its original location at Red Oak Church on Walt Stephens Road, and from McDonough First Baptist Church’s west campus to the office building directly in front of it on Jonesboro Road.

  As of July 31, the elections office has received a total of 7,279 absentee ballot applications for the upcoming runoff election and has processed them all, Pitts said. The department has also received 3,451 absentee ballots.