Scott County Auditor’s office leads training

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By Kurt Allemeier | Thursday, August 21, 2008 4:33 AM CDT | () comments

LaDonna McCollom trains poll worker in the operation of a new ballot marking machine. (Larry Fisher/QUAD-CITY TIMES) Buy this Photo

A videotaped example of same-day voter registration viewed Wednesday by Scott County poll workers showed a patient and polite voter.

Poll workers who viewed the video as part of election training shook their heads no when asked whether fictional politeness translated to reality on Election Day.

“I tell these guys to call us, and we will take the heat” from upset or impatient voters, said LaDonna McCollom, a senior elections clerk for the Scott County Auditor’s Office who led the training. She talked about registration procedures, equipment and getting election updates.

Scott County has a roster of 637 poll workers, although McCollom said the number available to work the county’s 63 precincts on Election Day is smaller than that. She is training precinct chairpersons and their lieutenants through Tuesday. Each precinct will have four to six poll workers for the Nov. 4 general election when voters will pick a new president as well as state and county officeholders.

This week and into next week, poll workers are learning how to use the county’s new ballot marking machines for people who are visually impaired and how to register voters on Election Day, a new wrinkle.

Information and procedures may change, but it doesn’t cause confusion, especially with a safety net in place, poll workers say.

“It doesn’t vary too

much anymore, plus we

get refresher courses,”

said Phyllis Wilford of

Davenport. “If we don’t know something, all we have to do is pick up the phone (to call the auditor’s office).”

In an election year that has been filled with upheaval for the auditor’s office, with the death earlier this year of Auditor Karen Fitzsimmons and the retirement this summer of deputy auditor Mark Sokolik, the poll workers’ willingness to help on Election Day is appreciated.

“It has been a hard year for us, with a lot of challenges,” operations manager Alex Mongiat said. “We thank you for all the hard work you will do on this day.”

Mongiat said election turnout is hard to guess, although November’s is expected to be high. Both parties are pushing hard with voter registration.

After the video, McCollom and the volunteers talked about various scenarios. They included a person who said they moved into a precinct but hadn’t registered at their new address, a person who doesn’t have identification who has another registered voter attest for them, and a person who must cast a provisional ballot.

McCollom reminded the workers of the second step after checking to see if the person’s address is in the precinct where they vote. It wasn’t included in the video.

“If someone isn’t in the book, call us,” she said. A special line for poll workers with questions will be set up for Election Day.

McCollom and two volunteers set up the ballot marking machine, one of 63 purchased for $322,560. They took it out of its carrying case, set it on a table, connected a power cord and headphones and turned it on.

“Sounds just like a printer, doesn’t it?” she said as it warmed up.

McCollom, who is quick to laugh as she explains things, inserted a fake ballot to show how a person votes. The machine marks a ballot like everyone else uses but won’t let a person over-vote — like voting for two people in a race for one position — but does let a person under-vote.

The goal for the Nov. 4 election is “controlled chaos,” McCollom and Mongiat said. Poll workers will return for brief brush-up training at the end of October. Mongiat also encouraged poll workers to sign up for “election connection,” an e-mail list to get updates on coming elections, such as registration or filing dates and sample ballots.

“It is a good way to put out information about voting,” Mongiat said. “It is for anyone to join.”

Kurt Allemeier can be contacted

at (563) 383-2360 or kallemeier@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.