FAYETTEVILLE -- Washington County election officials are using technology to show voters how elections work.
Jennifer Price, executive director of the county's Election Commission, told the commissioners Thursday she has made use of a QR, or "quick-response," code on form letters that will be sent to voters whose ballots have been marked as provisional and not initially counted. The letters notify the voters of the time and location of a public hearing at which they can try to have their ballots counted.
Price said the QR code idea came to her when she was drafting the letters and trying to explain the new office location of the Election Commission in the county's Road Department building at 2615 S. Brink Drive. Using the QR code will provide the voter a map showing the new location.
"The QR code, we have not done that before," Price said. "We hope to be able to use it to link voters to information about our elections."
Renee Oelschlaeger, commission chairman, suggested Price and the election staff could use the QR codes to link to the Election Commission website or to posts on social media.
"The QR software is a great idea," Oelschlaeger said. "I know you'll find a hundred different uses for it."
Price said she plans to purchase the software needed to generate QR codes, which will cost about $10 per month. She said she is also using social media more often and will use the QR codes to link to information posted online.
Max Deitchler, the lone Democrat on the three-member election commission, said he has always favored using available technology in elections.
Also Thursday, the commission approved the ballot for the Nov. 14 special election for the vacant Ward 1, Position 1 race for Fayetteville's City Council. Four candidates -- David D. Phillips, S. Robert Smith, Robert Stafford and Katherine M. Sager -- are seeking to replace Sonia Harvey.
The City Council voted 6-0 on July 6 to hold a special election to let Ward 1 voters decide who should succeed Harvey, who began serving in 2019.
Harvey announced in May she couldn't find a home her family could afford within her ward and would be moving. Council members must live in the ward they represent. She continued to serve until the end of June.
Ward 1 covers most of the southern part of the city, including 15th Street, South School Avenue, Huntsville Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Notable landmarks include Walker Park, Lake Sequoyah, Kessler Mountain Regional Park, Fayetteville High School and Ramay Junior High School.
City Council members serve four-year terms and earn $16,214 per year. The positions are nonpartisan. Only voters who live within a candidate's ward can vote in the special election.
The term ends Dec. 31, 2026.