All eyes on poll workers

When you head to the polls to cast your ballot, election officials know that your experience will be colored by how poll workers greet you and set you up to vote.

With concerns raised nationally about problems with voting equipment and the accuracy of elections, more scrutiny is being put onto the entire voting process this year.

Local officials planning the election are well aware of those concerns, and that’s why they spend months preparing for Election Day, from recruiting and preparing hundreds of poll workers to testing and re-testing voting machines.

They put a big emphasis on training poll workers, so they are familiar with the voting machines and every issue that can come up, Johnson County Clerk Susie Misiniec said.

[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]

“They represent us and the entire state. They need to know how to operate the equipment because if you are fumbling around, then the voter is wondering about if their vote will count,” Misiniec said.

Concerns raised that the election process is rigged didn’t start coming up until after the majority of poll workers were trained, but a big part of the training already focuses on the integrity of the election process, she said.

Party leaders and election officials talk with poll workers about the seriousness of the job they are doing, no matter what election they are working or the races on the ballot, Johnson County Republican Party Chairwoman Beth Boyce said. The local political parties are in charge of recruiting their party’s poll workers.

While many of the poll workers have worked past elections, others are new to the process because they want to perform a civic duty. Party leaders make it clear they want poll workers who are committed to work hard, Boyce said.

“We expect a lot of our poll workers. It is an important job, no matter what year,” Boyce said.

“We want people to feel really confident and safe and secure that the process is followed to a T and that the machines are working properly and the votes are all tabulated properly.”

Misiniec has heard the same concerns she is expecting her poll workers to hear on Election Day, and they are prepared to answer questions, she said.

One recent issue she has heard concerns about are the voting machines. Voters are worried their votes will be broadcast on the internet, and election workers have been trained in how the machines work — with memory cards that collect the results that are driven to the courthouse to be tabulated.

She knows voters may ask for a paper ballot, and workers have also been trained on state law, which does not require the county to provide paper ballots because Johnson County uses voting machines, she said.

“People don’t understand that. They think we should be able to hand them whatever they want when they walk through the door,” Misiniec said.

Election workers are trained to answer questions, just like voting officials would, and try to address any concerns from voters, she said.

She hates that poll workers are being put into the position where they have to defend the voting process, but they are ready and willing to do it, Misiniec said.

“I don’t know how else to instill in people that we do our best, and I really think nationwide poll workers do their best to assist,” she said.

“I don’t think anyone is out to ruin the election, they want it to be a fair and respected election process.”