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street, but this facility had other ongoing activities and could not be secure for storage. They understand that there is a long-range plan to address this problem in four to five years. However, the BOE facilities will be inspected by the State this summer and they will have one year to correct any violations. Mr. William Manrae Knight, a member of the Board of Elections, said that if all the voters came to these budget meetings, they would have a totally different attitude about the budget. He appreciated the questions of the County Commissioners. He said that most of the problems they are having are related to mandates for storage. He said that 75-80% of all of the storage for the Board of Elections is not on premise and is not convenient to access. He said that they could not use many volunteers to help with the counting because there was no place to put them. He described the dimensions of the building. The back of the building is used to stare computers. They are suggesting that this same space be used to store voting machines and ballots that have to be kept for 22 months. The Board of Elections is suggesting reassigning the space that is always available. There is also a conference room in this building that is seldom used. Chair Carey commended the Board of Elections and staff and the many volunteers that worked in the last election. He said that the issues raised by the Board of Elections tonight were pointed out to the Board of County Commissioners in the space needs study by the staff. He is certain that the staff and the Board of County Commissioners will work with the Board of Elections to address the immediate needs. He asked about the penalty for not addressing the items that the State mandates. Mr. Knight said that they could probably only badger them to death. Billie Cax said that voting is a sacred right and they urge everyone to take advantage of it. She thinks they owe it to everyone to see that the right to vote is protected, accurately counted, and not last. Commissioner Halkiotis said that the space needs at the Board of Elections have been a long-standing concern for all of the County Commissioners. He said that they have been looking at other properties. Commissioner Foushee said that a couple of months ago she met with the BOE Director and took a tour and she was disappointed to see that the space needs plan was not short-term. She had concerns about the safety issues in that building. There are places in the rear where there is exposed wiring that was in close proximity to combustibles. She pledged her support for any short-term relief for this building, for safety as well as space issues. Commissioner Jacobs said that the County is working on a short-term solution. He said that he had an opportunity to work on the State committee that was looking at voting systems. He came away from that very pleased that the voters in Orange County could be assured that their votes are counted. Chair Carey said that Representative Verla Insko and Senator Ellie Kinnaird have introduced a bill, but he cannot remember the details about it. He thinks the County is already in compliance. Geof Gledhill said that he sent the Board these bills recently about the pilot program. Commissioner Gordon said that the Board has been aware of how the Board of Elections has labored under bad circumstances. She is in support of both short- and long-term solutions. She asked about the square footage and Ms. Cox said that they have 1,000 square feet now. Mr. Knight said that they do not know how much space is needed to store everything because it is scattered all over the County. He said that during the one-stop voting, the line went all the way down to the post office and people had to wait for hours to vote because they did not have the space to set it up in their building. He asked if the solution would be accomplished prior to the next election and Chair Carey said that this is the plan.