During a meeting earlier this morning, the Potter County Commissioners Court voted to approve the retirement of Elections Administrator Melynn Huntley and the promotion of Deputy Elections Administrator Christy Benge to the position.

Huntley, who’s retirement will officially begin on June 1st, has worked as Elections Administrator for the county since October of 2013. Benge was hired as the county’s Deputy Elections Administrator in February 2013 and previously worked as a Deputy Clerk for Randall County and Clerk for the Morehouse Sales Tax Commission is Bastrop, Louisiana, according to her LinkedIn.

We reported in March that the county had begun the process of officially seeking a new administrator. As we reported then, the office has been at the center of controversy in recent years. During early voting in the general election last year, the county experienced issues with voting equipment, with an incorrect name being printed on paper records in the election for Texas Supreme Court Place 9.

The office also experienced issues reporting election results on election day last year, with their live results page not working on election night. The Elections Administration also went head to head with the Potter County Republican Party ahead of last year’s primary election, with County Chair Dan Rogers pushing the county to allow the GOP to use paper ballots in their primary.

According to documents published by the county, Huntley will be paid for 125.5 hours of vacation, while Benge will be paid for 219.5436 comp hours. Benge’s promotion will begin effective June 2nd, meaning she is expected to oversee Potter County’s portion of the June 24th Amarillo City Council runoff election for places 1 and 4.