Limestone County Probate Judge Charles Woodroof told Limestone County Commissioners Wednesday they should expect busy — and expensive — months ahead as his office gears up for upcoming elections.

Up to two elections will be held in the remainder of this fiscal year, while as many as six could be held in fiscal year 2017-2018. Ten Republican candidate and eight Democrats will compete in the U.S. Senate primaries on Aug. 15.

Because there are so many candidates, a primary runoff is likely. The date for that election is Sept. 26. The special election to decide who takes the seat formerly occupied by former senator and current U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is Dec. 12.

The December contest is the first of the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. There are five other elections that could be held in the next fiscal year, though two are party primaries (June 5) and two others are primary runoffs (July 17), if needed. Woodroof also budgeted for a constitutional amendment election if one is needed.

To that end, Woodroof submitted a projected elections appropriation request of $414,735 Tuesday. He explained nearly all election expenses would be reimbursable, but the county would have to pay upfront costs first and then wait to be reimbursed by the state.

“We may have to move some money around,” he told commissioners, adding he has $67,674 remaining in the current election budget.

The cost of the next gubernatorial election, to be held in November 2018, would be included in the 2018-2019 budget.

Electronic poll books

The 2016 presidential election was the first time the county used electronic poll books to sign voters in. The poll books, or Apple iPads, were used at only two locations, but Woodroof said there are numerous benefits to the program.

He explained the county’s Board of Registrars is required to manually scan each name to create the final voter list. The process can take up to two weeks, but can be done in six minutes with the iPads. He said the poll books also sped up the amount of time voters could be checked in.

Woodroof told commissioners the cost to outfit each of the county’s polling places with an electronic poll book would be $65,000 to $70,000 and would then have to be recertified every two years. His office has about $29,000 in Help America Vote Act funds it could use, but he told commissioners there was no rush to get it done. He said the idea could be worth exploring again prior to the 2018 gubernatorial election.

District 1 Commissioner Stanley Hill asked if hacking is a concern with the electronic devices, but Woodroof said he felt the devices were safe to use.

A growing electorate

The upcoming elections could provide record-setting turnouts for primaries because Limestone County now has 58,050 registered voters as of Wednesday, which is the 15th highest in the state. Woodroof said Limestone had the third-highest turnout in the state for the 2016 presidential election.

Crossover voting

Jason Black asked the media to again remind the public about the law banning crossover voting. Woodroof said there is some confusion about the new law, but he said many new Limestone residents don’t understand the state does not require a person to register by party.

Simply put, the crossover voting ban is an attempt to prevent voters of one political party from trying to meddle in another party’s runoff. If a voter votes in one party’s primary, he or she can’t switch to the other party’s runoff.

Democrats have long had a party rule prohibiting Republicans from voting in their runoffs, although it is largely unenforceable without court action.