‘Excited’: Renovations of Lee County building will double office, voting space at elections office

LEESBURG — A renovation project at the Lee County elections office will cut waiting time and relieve congestion during Election Day, with the ongoing work also repurposing a portion of a historic school building.

The increase in the area used for voting also will mean more space for voting machines in the Lee County Elections & Registrations office in time for the busy 2024 election cycle.

Part of the building, an addition to the former Lee County High School campus completed in 1964 as a library and lab area, currently houses office space and is used for advance early voting.

“This lets us double the size of our office space,” Lee Elections Supervisor Veronica Johnson said. “We will have 4,000 square feet of office space. It’s going to double the room we use for advance voting, which will allow us to utilize more ballot marking stations. We’ve been squeezed in the past.”

The extra space probably will not be needed for early voting ahead of the Nov. 7 municipal elections for Leesburg and Smithville as those contests will bring only a fraction of county voters. But 2024 is expected to be a whirlwind election year.

The elections will include presidential preference primaries, primaries for all of the state representatives and senators, the presidential race in the fall and likely contested local races, as all of the county’s constitutional officers will be up for election.

When the renovations are completed, there will be room for 18 stations for the three weeks of early voting ahead of the elections.

During previous elections that brought out high voter turnout, there has been waiting at times, and the new configuration of the office will allow for a dedicated entrance and exit to relieve congestion.

In addition, the space used to count absentee ballots will be increased, and windows will be installed to allow the public to view the counting process.

“That will allow the public to see what we’re doing and give us space to do the process that we do,” Johnson said.

The bid for the project was $92,000 and got under way recently, with plenty of time to be finished in time for 2024.

“As our county continues to grow, we continue to add more voters to the rolls and that requires space for everything to flow,” Johnson said. “I think voters will be very excited in ‘24 when they see the increase and the flow through the process.

“We’re very excited and very appreciative of the County Commissioners voting for these renovations. We’re grateful to get it completed ahead of a very busy year in 2024.”

Some of the historic elements of the building will be preserved, including a plaque inside the building that lists the names of the School Board members and superintendent who were serving at the time of its construction.

An old sink in a janitor’s closet that has years of grime in it will be cleaned and preserved as well, Johnson said.

“It’s just nice to have these things that tie back to the Lee County community from years ago,” she said.

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
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