Mount Airy’s election scheduling woes have been fixed with a unanimous vote to temporarily change council members elected in 2012 and 2014 to three-year terms instead of four.

The normal four-year terms for elected officials would return starting in 2015.

The switch will put the town on an odd year election track, which will help it hold elections electronically while avoiding gubernatorial and presidential lockdowns on equipment.

The issue has been discussed for a few months since the Carroll County Board of Elections told the town it has to reschedule its May 7, 2012 election because voter machines and information will be on lockdown for the state’s presidential primary, scheduled for April 3, 2012.

The terms of council members Peter Helt, Wendi Peters and David Pyatt are up for election May 7, 2012.

The Charter Amendment dictates that for the 2012 and 2014 elections, nominations will be the second Monday in February. Beginning with the 2015 election, nominations will again be held on the second Monday in March.

The upcoming spring election was set to be the first time that the town would use electronic voting machines instead of paper ballots.

Previous discussions to work around the lockdown involved possibly extending incumbents’ terms to get the town on an odd year election cycle, but they were quickly discounted.

The two options on the table at the Mount Airy Town Council meeting Monday night were the three-year term option versus a five-year term option.

“Any way we look at it, you’ll be changing,” said council member David Blais. “It gets us out to where we need to go.”

He cautioned with a five-year commitment, as opposed to the usual four, the pool of people willing to serve on council may shrink.

“I think if we’re going to have to shift this whole thing around, let’s do the three years,” he said.

The 2012 and 2014 elections will be by paper ballot, with 2015 starting electronically.

With paper ballot, election volunteers often start the day at 7 a.m. and wrap up around 2 or 3 a.m., especially in election years with mayoral candidates. That’s not taking into account other issues that may find their way onto the ballot.

“There’s no way we can do the Zeltman Election referendum again,” said the chair of the town’s elections board, Bruce Walz, referring to a 163 acres farm annexation in 2006 that drew out almost 2,000 voters.

Councilman Peter Helt said he was concerned about finding volunteers to help with a paper ballot process, after speaking with many who have been involved in the past.

“They say it’s very hard at this point,” he said. “If people do it once, they don’t want to come back and do it again.”

acochrun@gazette.net