Posted on 11/05/2010 3:00:17 PM PDT by Jean S
I've been a freeper for quite a while but this is the the first I have been actively involved in a campaign. I volunteered for Scott Walker this year and since June 1 I have been making calls for the campaign which brings me to my questions. I talked to or met many poll workers and poll watchers. This is an incomplete list of my questions, I'll probably add more if anyone is willing to respond.
1. What is the difference between a poll worker and a poll watcher?
2. Are either positions paid?
3. How are absentee ballots handled when made in person or mailed in advance?
4. When are absentee ballots actually counted?
5. (tongue-in-cheek) How do absentee ballots turn up days later in the back of someone's car?
I do not understand the absentee ballot system and I have talked to many people who have helped at the polls and have received conflicting information.
Thanks for any input, I appreciate it.
STAY OFF MY THREAD!
I’m going to hit abuse on you, I am fairly certain that this is my thread!
Hey HG!
I’m probably one of the top ten abused FReepers so hit it all you like!
STAY OFF YOUR THREAD!
;-)
In all seriousness, I know Stevie has been doing this sort of
stuff for at least a decade and Vulgus just spent some time with
a dedicated group of poll watchers. Mayhap they have some good info for you.
All my threads are belong to you. (MAJOR butchering of that one.)
A poll worker is a paid position, but poll watchers don’t get money. Poll workers actually handle the ballots, verify registration, collect a voter’s signature and collect the completed ballot. I’m sure the process varies by state. Poll watchers keep an eye on the process to be sure the rules are followed.
Most absentee ballots (at least here in AZ) are counted first. Those are the almost instant results you see after the polls close. Next counted are the ballots that come on the day of the election. After that, they count the absentee ballots that were brought to a polling place in person instead of having been mailed in. And after that they count provisional ballots and any ballot requiring special handling.
Poll workers are supposed to administer the election in a fair and impartial way to make sure everyone who shows up to vote is properly qualified to do so and properly checked in.
Poll watchers not only monitor this process but may have additional duties assigned by the party or candidate they are representing such as checking off names on a list of voters believed friendly to their cause which are picked up by runners a couple of times during the day so turnout can be maximized.
Absentee votes are generally dropped off by a representative of the county registrar's office early in the day, sometimes even before the polls open.
The envelope, box or other container containing the absentee votes are supposed to remain in plain view of the poll workers (which should include at least one representative of the precinct's minority party) until the polls are closed.
Once the polls are closed, the absentee votes are verified for eligibility based on the identifying statements on the envelope, any which are deemed ineligible (such as having appeared in person) are voided and put into a void envelope and any which are questionable are put with provisional ballots, which eligibility is to be determined at the county level except where local precinct poll workers have been duly authorized to determine eligibility within proper parameters. They will then either go in the void container or on the table to count.
Once the count is to begin, the poll workers will separate the outer envelopes (showing proper absentee identification) with the inner envelopes containing the secret ballots.
This is done with all witnesses present, including poll watchers. The inner envelopes are then shuffled so that the integrity of the secret ballot is maintained and then they are opened, read and tallied. Once the poll workers have agreed on the tally, said tally is entered into the totals from all machines totals of people voting in person.
Said ballots are then packaged in the proper container and the sheet tallies, machine tape readings and totals are then driven to the county or other designated central location for reporting and preservation (generally at least one year).
Depending on the county, the precinct totals may also be phoned in to the central location by the poll workers and additionally to party or campaign workers by the poll watchers.
Deviations from these reported totals discovered later should produce a verifiable audit trail. If said audit trail cannot be produced, then the originally reported totals should stand.
This is how it is done in honestly run precincts.
I was a poll watcher this year and I got paid....not a lot, mind you....I think it depends on who you are watching for and if they have a budget for poll watching.
Thank you both. One other question. Suppose I voted absentee by mail but someone votes in person in my name - there is no ID required in Wisconsin. What happens to my vote?
Pol Watcher works/volunteers for a party or candidate. A pol worker is usually a paid position and is employed by the county board of elections.
I watched from 12:00noon til after the pols closed down. I did not witness the absentee process as this happen first thing in the morning.
I volunteered this last election as a Pol Watcher for the local Republican Party here. Although watching the entire process was with in my primary duties I paid focused attention on I.D. verification and the closing down and transfer of vote tallies to the main counting facility.
In South Carolina you must have one of only three forms of I.D. to be eligible to vote. They are a valid S.C. driver’s license, a state issued picture I.D. or a voter registration card for the precinct you are attempting to vote in.
It was amazing how many people tried to vote with electric or telephone bills or with out of state licenses or with voter cards from another district. I, along with a very cooperative Pol Clerk, allowed none of it and referred these people to the County Headquarters downtown per protocol as not to “disenfranchise” any one.
I also noted at the end of the polling hours the main focus of all of the paid pol workers was to get out of there as quickly as possible. This created some interesting scenarios that I wonder could be typical at other polling places:
The Pol Clerk, who’s in charge, (Pol Managers are the lower workers?) had to go and get his van, leaving all the ballot boxes and voting machines inside for several minutes unattended.
We were in a school gymnasium and had trouble finding the custodian to lock the doors at 7:00pm.
It seemed to be very chaotic in the hour it took to clean up, break down the tables and chairs and load up the voting boxes and machines. It also seemed as if any formal protocol was relaxed at best or non-existent at worst.
Lack of oversight at these precincts is only too encouraging for rats to scurry and infest.
J
As a town clerk in Wisconsin, I wanted to add that I issue all absentee ballots. Each request gets logged on a form when it comes in, the date I send out the ballot is entered, and the date the ballot comes back is also entered on this form, which contains the voter’s name, address and SVRS (unique registration number assigned by the state to each registered voter.)
Each ballot, once it is logged in, is locked in a safe until the election.
When the polls have opened, I deliver all the ballots to the Chief Inspector with the absentee log. The Chief then inspects each ballot envelope for proper certification, reads the name in a loud clear voice. The two poll workers check the name from their list of registered voters and assign a voter number. The Chief then opens the ballot, turns it over, and hands it to another poll worker who feeds it into the scanner. The voter number is recorded on the absentee log. I closely observe the entire process.
Our practice is to open the ballots as expeditiously as possible, to avoid the situation you mentioned; that someone else comes in person to steal your identity and vote.
In addition, we have a set of checklists for both opening and closing the polls which ensure that all processes are handled openly and honestly. All the ballots are bagged and sealed prior to leaving the polling place and the seals are tightly controlled by the county, so it would be very difficult to manufacture or “find” ballots.
I hope this reassures you a bit. I would urge you to contact your state legislators and ask that they require photo id’s to vote - that would close a big loophole.
Regards,
Granny ML
That is exactly how the process was described to me by one of the 5 poll workers I spoke to, and she has 20+ years experience working as a poll worker in WI, but the others described the process very differently to me. I may have spoken to people who think they understand the process but were maybe new at it? I don't know but I very much appreciate your reply.
1. Apoll worker is employed to support the election at that particular polling location, they are usually friends of the Precinct Chair, or Election Judge in that Precinct, and are regular helpers in that regard when the elections need to be conducted...Both Democrats and Republicans work my polls in my Precinct...The Alternate Judge is my democrat counterpart, and one of a few democrats I trust to run a straight election...That is not a fabrication or embelishment...
A poll watcher is someone volunteering to a campaign, candidate, group in support or against a proposition or measure on the ballot, who is credentialed and registerede to do so by those entities to observe (under strict guidelines and state law)...They are not paid, so people say, to observe but not interfere with the voteors or operations of the polls in any way shape or form...In a perfect world...
2. A poll worker is paid, a poll watcher is not...See above...
3. This is interesting...An absentee ballot is not “handled” by anyone working at the polls on election day...Unless the person brings it with them to the polls, but has failed to send it in and has decided to vote in person at their precinct polling location...An presiding election judge takes the absentee ballot, files it in an envelope to submitt back to the county, and the votor signs the poll book, and proceeed to vote regularly...No problem as far as I am concerned when it works out like that...
4. Absentee ballots are counted at the county in a secure location, and those tallies are not released to the public until after the polls close at 7pm (Texas) on election day...
5. Because someone was stupid...(condensed version, do you want the scary answer???) hehehe
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