TOWN OF MARTELL – “Having been a poll worker for 10 years and now running the election, I have found that a lot of people do not have a strong understanding of what poll workers do to protect our …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in, using the login form, below, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account and connect your subscription to it by clicking here.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
TOWN OF MARTELL – “Having been a poll worker for 10 years and now running the election, I have found that a lot of people do not have a strong understanding of what poll workers do to protect our votes, such as swearing an oath to honor the National and State constitutions,” said Martell Town Clerk Robin Boles.
According to the League of Women Voters, poll workers are important because they:
As the Nov. 3 mid-term election approaches, poll workers are facing scrutiny across the country as political discussions center around possible interference in elections. While Boles has no concerns that will happen in Martell, she thought it would be beneficial to share with readers what exactly it is that poll workers do.
Duties include issuing ballots to registered voters, registering new voters, monitoring voting equipment, answering voter questions, greeting voters, issuing voting stickers and counting votes.
As a clerk, Boles said she has received “a ton of communication from people with concerns about the election,” such as agitators interfering or election fraud.
While high school students aged 16-17 and enrolled in a public or private Wisconsin school with at least a 3.0 GPA can serve as a poll worker, Boles wishes it was a requirement.
“Wouldn’t it be great if they were required to work an election or be part of that process?” she asked. “If we can work it into young people’s lives before they are of age for voting, they’ll understand it better. What poll workers do to protect the vote and some of the mechanisms in place that even if there are those who don’t have not-so-good intentions…these are your community members, the people who look you in the eye at the grocery store or at church. Think about the trust we put in people when we’re driving. We have more in common than not in common as local community members, even if we lean politically in one direction or another.”
Boles said the state statute requires poll workers to be appointed by the town board prior to the election cycle, which is a two-year commitment. When she became the clerk a couple years ago, she had 14 poll workers who had previously been appointed. People interested in working the polls can sign up at elections or board meetings in Martell. The bare minimum Martell township needs is 10, Boles said.
This year, Boles trained in five new poll workers during a session at the town hall. She’s hoping to have seven workers per shift; each shift lasts 7.5-8 hours, though in some townships, workers are there the entire day. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
“We think it’s going to be similar to a presidential,” Boles said about Nov. 3.
In Wisconsin, poll workers are required to:
Boles said training takes about two hours for election inspectors, and six hours for chief inspectors. Each polling place must always have one chief inspector onsite.
“During intake, we talk about their responsibilities, not representing a political party, etc.” Boles said.
The parties can assign poll workers, according to state law.
“If I receive a letter from either party, I have to use those unless there’s a reason not to, like if they break the rules,” Boles said. “They must remain neutral that day, no electioneering.”
She has two poll workers assigned by the Republican party.
“Whichever party won the governor election, gets to have one more assigned poll worker than the other party. The Democrats don’t ever send me a list,” she said.
Boles said all poll workers are required to sign an oath to protect the state and national constitutions. The oath states: “I, ___, having been elected or appointed to the office of ___, (title) but have not yet entered upon the duties thereof, swear (or affirm) that I will support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State of Wisconsin, and will faithfully discharge the duties of said office to the best of my ability. So help me God.”
“That’s the first order of business,” Boles said of the oath. “It’s intrinsic to the role that you are gong to uphold the Constitution. This is a process that has been going on for years.”
Boles said all election sites/municipalities have mechanisms in place to ensure election fraud does not occur. If anyone tries to vote twice, such as a college student voting at home and at school, for example, it will be caught in the state’s Badger Books system. Election fraud is a felony. Each site also has a 900-page training manual for poll workers to reference should a question come up.
Poll workers have assigned duties the day of an election in Martell, though this can vary:
Chief inspector: The onsite supervisor. They are available to answer questions, document any incidents and register new Election Day registrations.
Greeter: Welcome voters to the site and direct them where to go.
Poll book managers – Ask people for names, then have them sign the book after showing a photo ID.
Ballot issuer – Hands out ballots
Ballot collector – Shows people where to put their ballot in the printer and makes sure the tabulator doesn’t jam.
Sticker person – Hands out the popular “I voted” stickers.
Boles said Martell residents can vote on electronic or paper ballots.
“You cannot overvote on an electronic ballot. You can on a paper ballot. You can mess up paper ballots a lot easier than electronic ballots. You type, it prints, you read it, then it goes into the tabulator the same as the paper ballot. I would love for people to use the electronic ballot because it’s faster and more accurate,” she said.
Once the polls are closed and poll workers are tallying voters, the public is welcome to observe, though people rarely do. It’s an open meeting.
Boles said the poll workers break into groups with some reconciling the poll books, some counting votes and confirming that the absentee ballot count matches the absentee voting log received from the county. A group pulls ballots out of the tabulator and runs the tally tape, which is the official tally record that goes to the county, then to the state. While the tally results are sent electronically to the county with the push of a button, clerks must also bring in the actual tally tape and ballots for canvassers to read.
“I physically bring an envelope with all ballots cast, all absentee ballots and their envelopes, copy of the poll book, and the tally tape in the morning or that night,” Boles said.
She also emphasized that write-in votes, unless they are for a registered write-in candidate, are a complete waste of time. She has seen people write in Mickey Mouse, neighbors who don’t want the position and others.
“Write-ins are a waste of time. You are not making any sort of statement unless you are actually writing in a registered write-in,” she said. “We have to hand write all of the write-ins, find those ballots and find what the write-ins were.”
According to state law, any write-in candidate must be officially registered for a write-in vote for them to count, unless there are no other certified candidates on the ballot. To run as a write-in candidate in Wisconsin, a person must file a registration statement by noon the Friday before the election. For example, Pierce County has one candidate on the ballot for sheriff, incumbent Chad Koranda. Writing in another name will not count, unless that name is a registered write-in.
Contingency plan
If any agitators show up in Martell, Boles has a contingency plan in place, as do all poll sites. If someone causes a disruption to the voting process, the chief inspector would try to keep the interaction calm. They might ask the person to leave the voting area so as not to disrupt other voters, while making sure to respect observer rules. If necessary, law enforcement would be called. The last resort would be to shut down the polling location and moving it.
Boles provided a look at her contingency plan if the town hall had to be shut down.
“The most important thing to me is that everyone gets to vote. That’s what democracy is,” Boles said. “Protecting that vote.”
To learn more about what’s on your ballot, becoming a poll worker or voting laws, visit myvote.wi.gov
