For
Washington
County Elections
Updated April, 2008
The supervisor
should use this manual as a reference for conducting the various processes at the
polling place. Keep the manual in a convenient place for easy reference
throughout Election Day. Please return this manual to the Election
Commission with other election lists and supplies.
Useful Contacts: Election Commission office 444-1766
County Clerk’s
office 444-1711
Field Supervisor,
Sharon Shepard 236-8513
Field Technician,
Debbie Corley 871-0081
Election Commissioners:
John Logan Burrow,
Chair, Democrat 444-0722
Tom Lundstrum,
Republican 750-0840
Peter Loris,
Democrat 443-1866
Washington County Election Commission
Website:
www.co.washington.ar/us/electioncommission
Voter
Registration Confirmation/Polling Place website:
Election
Commission Office email address:
RESPONSIBILITIES OF ELECTION SUPERVISORS
·
Contact
persons to work at the polling place.
Be sure that each poll worker understands the time he or she is to report
and that he/she will have to be at the polling place continuously until the
polls are closed at 7:30 p.m. (Half-day workers would be from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30
p.m. or 1:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.)
·
Poll workers
who vote in a polling place other than where they are working should be asked
to vote EARLY or ABSENTEE prior to
the day of the election. By voting early or absentee they will not have
to leave the polling place during the election.
·
Persons
scheduled to work at the polling place must understand that they should notify
the polling place supervisor immediately if they are unable to work so that an
alternate may be found.
·
At least four
(4) election officials plus one supervisor must be at each polling place to
conduct an election. Each polling place should have one worker
assigned to help the supervisor and voters operate the ADA compliant
touchscreen voting machine.
·
More poll
workers may be needed depending upon the expected turnout and the number of
ballot types to be voted at the polling place.
If the supervisor is unable to find enough workers for the polling
place, the supervisor should call the Election Commission office at
444-1766.
·
Workers
should arrive at the polling place no later than 7:00 a.m. Polls must be opened
by 7:30 a.m. During Election Day, if
you have a problem or need supplies, call the Election Commission office at
444-1766. For voter registration
questions, call the County Clerk’s office at 444-1711 or 444- 1716.
·
The polling
place supervisor or his or her designated representative should pick up the packet of election
supplies, ballots and ballot boxes, the precinct voter registration lists and
the ADA touchscreen terminal on the
Monday before an election at the South
entrance to the Court House at an assigned time. Staff will be there to assist in carrying and loading the
election supplies.
1. You have selected the best space (not a
hallway if possible) for conducting the election.
2. That a key to the door of the polling place
(if one is needed) is available. Otherwise, arrange to have the door open no
later than 7:00 a.m. on election day.
3.
Determine an
arrangement of tables, booths and ballot boxes that will make for an easy flow
of voters from one station to another. Set up at least one of the cardboard privacy
screens on one of the voting tables.
4. The booth that
holds the touchscreen terminal, the printer pack, the ballot-privacy sleeves
and cardboard privacy screens will be delivered to your polling place before
Election Day. Place the touchscreen booth in such a way that others may not see how a
voter is voting. (It
could be placed facing a wall or corner.) It should also be in clear view of
election officials.
5. Arrange for the use of a telephone for the
polling place, either a telephone at the polling place or the use of someone’s
personal cell phone. If you have no access to a phone, ask for a cell phone
when you pick up your election supplies. (The county cell phones have all been
programmed with the numbers you may need on election day.) In all events,
notify the Election Commission at 444-1766 of the telephone number that will be
used at the polling place.
6. Open the packet of election supplies and
check to be sure all materials are included. Do not open the ballot box or the
blue PEB bag until you are at the polling place on election day. The materials
that should be in your packet are listed on the last page of these
instructions. If any supplies are missing, call the Election Commission at
444-1766. If a seal is broken, call the
Election Commission office for a replacement. Ballot box and PEB bag
seals will be checked when boxes are returned on election night.
·
The polling
place must be prepared for voting. Check all the ballots to be sure that you
have proper ballots for your precinct(s). The
names of the precinct will be printed across the bottom of each ballot. For
Primary Elections only, you may have three or more types of ballots. Only one
(1) package of each type of ballot should be opened at a time at each polling
place. If you have more than one type ballot, make sure that you have each type
in a separate stack. You must ensure
that each voter is given the correct ballot.
·
Follow the
instructions to open the touchscreen terminal. Have at least two of the
election officials present sign the ZERO tape and place it in the blue bag.
·
Post the following in a conspicuous place: Vote Here signs at the
entrance to the polling place; the
Notice of Election, a poster that includes instructions to voters, federal
voting rights and federal and state laws regarding voter fraud; a notice on
electioneering laws, two copies of the full text of any measures on the ballot
and two (2) sample ballots of each type available at that polling place.
·
Place the
ballot box(es) at the end of the last table so the voter may deposit the ballot
after voting and immediately depart the polling place.
·
Swear in the
election officials and have them sign the oath certificate and the payroll
sheet.
·
For a primary election only: Have
all pollworkers who attended pollworker training check the “Trained” box beside
their name on the payroll sheet.
·
Poll workers
may divide the Voter Registration list into two or more books and then use tabs
to find sections quickly.
·
The
supervisor may prepare a sign(s) showing which voters go into which line
according to the spelling of their last name.
Polls must open at
7:30 a.m. (NOT BEFORE) and close at 7:30 p.m. Voters must have registered at
least (30) days prior to election day to be eligible to vote. The supervisor
will make certain that the area within 100 feet of the main door to the polling
place building is free of electioning, petition circulating and fund raising,
as well as any disruptive activity.
Note: To be sure that no voters vote without having their names written
on the list of voters, we suggest that you have the person who is writing the
names sit immediately beside the person handling the voter registration book. When a voter is signed in to vote, the
election worker can hand the identification directly to the List of Voters
writer to write in the name. This will
avoid the voter having to go through two lines and will assure that the numbers
of signed in voters matches the number of names written and the number of
ballots voted at a polling place. It
may be possible for one person to handle the List of Voters by sitting between
two officials qualifying voters and keep up with the flow of voters.
·
Ask every
voter to state his or her name so you can locate the name in the Voter
Registration List.
·
Ask the voter
to state his address while you look at the address to see if it matches.
·
Ask the voter
to confirm his or her date of birth.
You may point to the date of birth on the list and ask, “Is this correct?”
·
Ask for the
voter’s identification.
Identification
can be
·
a copy of a
current and valid photo ID
(It is okay if the address on the photo ID
does not match as long as the voter confirms verbally that the address on the
Voter Registration List is correct.)
·
a copy of a
current utility bill, bank statement, government check or other government
document, any of which must show the voter’s name and current address.
Cannot Sign or
Make a Mark:
If the voter cannot
sign or make his or her mark, the poll worker must:
ID Not Required
and ID Not Provided:
If the voter does
not have a “MUST SHOW ID” notation on the Voter Registration List and the voter
does not provide ID, the poll worker must:
ID Required and
ID Provided:
If the voter has a
“Must Show ID” notation on the Voter Registration List and the voter provides
ID, the poll worker must:
ID Required and
ID Not Provided:
If the voter has a
“MUST SHOW ID” notation on the Voter’s Registration List and the voter does not
provide ID, the poll worker must:
Delivered an
Absentee Ballot:
If the voter has
an “ABS” notation on the Voter Registration List as having been delivered an
absentee ballot, the poll worker must:
Voted Early:
If the voter has an
“EA” notation on the Voter Registration List as having voted early, the poll
worker:
Name Differs:
If the voter is on
the Voter Registration List, but the voter’s name differs from the Voter
Registration List (i.e., a recently married voter), the poll worker must:
Birth Date
Differs:
If the voter is on
the Voter Registration List, but the date of birth differs from the Voter
Registration List, the poll worker must:
Address Differs:
If the voter is on
the Voter Registration List, but the voter’s address differs from the Voter
Registration List, the poll worker must:
Confirmed Within the Precinct
If the county
clerk confirms the address as within the precinct, the poll worker must:
Confirmed as NOT within the Precinct
If the county
clerk confirms that the address is NOT within the precinct, the poll worker
should:
Note: The voter votes a REGULAR ballot at his or
her new and correct poll.
Voter Refuses to go to the Correct Poll
If the county
clerk confirms that the address is NOT within the precinct, but the voter
insists that he or she is at the correct poll and refuses to go to his or her
correct polling site, the poll worker should:
Not on the
Precinct Voter Registration List:
If the vote is NOT
on the Voter Registration List, the poll worker must:
Confirmed Within the Precinct
If the county
clerk confirms the address as within the precinct, poll worker must:
Confirmed as NOT Within the Precinct
If the county
clerk confirms that the address is NOT within the precinct, the poll worker
should”
Note: The voter votes a REGULAR ballot at
his or her new and correct poll.
Voter Contends to be Both Registered and Eligible
If the county
clerk cannot verify the voter’s registration, but the voter contends to be both
registered in the precinct and eligible to vote, the poll worker must:
Determining the ballot and the method of voting
The voter’s precinct appears beside the name on the Voter
Registration List.
·
If there are ballots for more than one
precinct at the polling place, the
person at the List of Registered Voters writes the name of the precinct on a
sticky tab color coded for that precinct.
·
If it is a primary election, the official(s) with the List of Registered
Voters, should ask the voter, "In which party’s primary would you like
to vote?”
·
The election official
will have stacks of white cards labeled with the names of the parties. According to the voter’s answer, the
official places the precinct sticky tab on a card signifying the primary ballot
choice, hands that to the voter, and
·
writes a
letter to indicate the ballot given such as R for Republican, D for Democrat, G
for Green or J for Nonpartisan Judicial to the left of the voter’s name in the
column under the word “Style” on the printout.
To determine the type of
ballot the voter wishes to cast,
the poll worker asks,“Do you want to vote a paper ballot or use the touchscreen
voting machine?” There will be colored
“popsicle” sticks – some blue and some yellow.
·
Hand a blue
stick to voters requesting the touchscreen and a yellow one to those requesting
a paper ballot.
·
Hand the voter’s identification to the official who is to write the voter’s
name on the List of Voters.
How to help disabled voters
If a voter informs an election official that he or she is
unable to mark a ballot because he or she cannot write, or because of physical
infirmity, blindness or other legal cause,
·
the voter
should be directed to the ADA compliant touchscreen machine. The touchscreen
assistant will show/tell the voter how to use the machine independently.
The official issuing
ballots keeps the ballots in separate stacks, one for each precinct, and, in a
primary, separate stacks for each party for each precinct. The ballots will have the names of the precincts at the bottom.
No ballots are to
leave the polling place during voting hours.
Paper ballots:
If a voter makes a mistake on a ballot and wants another one,
A voter may have
no more than two spoiled ballots total and vote the third one. The election official
Touchscreen
ballots: If a voter
decides not to use a ballot brought up on the touchscreen,
Abandoned
Ballots
Paper ballot:
If a paper ballot is abandoned anywhere in the polling place, the poll
worker should
Touchscreen
ballots: If a ballot on the touchscreen is abandoned
by a voter who has left the poll without telling a poll worker to cancel the
ballot, two poll workers should
When the voter
brings the completed ballot to the ballot box,
In any case, the
voter is allowed five (5) minutes to vote.
After the polls close
Supervisors close the polls at 7:30 p.m.
·
Shut and lock
the door. Anyone in line at that time may vote.
·
If the line
extends outside the door, the supervisor should assign an official to stand at
the end of the line at 7:30 p.m., permitting only those in front of him or her
to vote.
·
After voters
have finished voting at the touchscreen, follow the touchscreen instructions to
print the results tape.
·
Have at least
two pollworkers sign the tape and put it in the blue bag.
·
Remove the
RTAL printer tape and put it in the blue bag.
·
Place the
PEBs in the blue bag.
·
Seal the bag
with the red numbered seal.
·
The official
keeping the List of Voters determines
the number of people who voted at the polling place by counting the pages
of complete pages and the number of names on incomplete pages, taking into
account any crossed out or added names.
·
Have another
official cross-check the count, then write the number at the top left side of
the first page.
·
Have four of
the election officials sign and certify the first page of the List of Voters.
·
Place the
List of Voters in the ballot box.
·
NOTE : The
items that must be in the ballot box when it arrives are the voted ballots, the
List of Voters and all provisional ballots in their envelopes.
·
Seal the
narrow slot where the ballots were deposited with a fresh red seal. This must
be done immediately after the polls close and before the ballot box leaves the
polling place.
·
Make sure
that the pay sheets are completed with full address and telephone numbers.
Please print this information. Supervisors include mileage for picking up
election supplies and for bringing the supplies back to the Court House. Place
the pay sheets and completed Oath of Office forms in the “Completed Forms”envelope.
·
Put all the
election documents in the canvas bag, tagged
“Return in tub.”
·
Put all the
unused ballots in the canvas bag, tagged “Unused ballots”.+-
·
Make sure the
polling place is picked up and clean.
·
After the
ballot box is sealed and all other procedures are completed, bring the election
supplies, the spoiled, abandoned and unused ballots, the ballot box, the
touchscreen terminal, the county cell phone, if one was checked out, the
printer pack, the blue sealed bag and the Voter Registration books to the
County Court House.
·
Tell the
person who helps you unload your supplies whether your touchscreen is closed or
not.
·
Sign in when
you deliver the ballot box and the election supplies to the Courthouse.
·
Election workers
should receive a check for their work within two to four weeks. If not, please
call the Commission office.
THANK YOU FOR HELPING US CREATE AN EFFICIENT, FAIR AND AMIABLE ELECTION EXPERIENCE FOR OURSELVES AND FOR THE VOTERS!!!