Poll workers prepare for Super Tuesday, three other big elections

Super Tuesday is days away, but election workers are already super busy.

On Monday and Tuesday, Cape Girardeau County Clerk Kara Clark trained more than 100 people gathered for training at the American Legion hall in Jackson. Next week will be Clark's first major election. She and her staff sent more than 40,000 cards to voters in December to make sure as many people as possible would be properly registered.

"Elections wouldn't work without poll workers," Clark said.

Each poll worker must be ready to follow 38 rigid rules during a marathon day. Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

The people who show up at 5:15 a.m. to set up and stay after closing, then drive the sealed ballot boxes to the county clerk's office, do it for the love of their country.

"It's sure not the money," said Rita Milam, Scott County's clerk for 12 years and a county employee for a decade before that.

Scott County's supervisory judges will be paid $100 and workers will earn $90 Feb. 5. They are paid $5 to attend a 45-minute training session but do not get lunch. The pay scale in Cape Girardeau is $101 for supervisors and $91 for workers; training day pays $10 and includes lunch. On Monday it was pizza for those at the Legion hall.

There, Clark reviewed the rules. Candidates and their supporters must be kept 25 feet away from the polling entrances. Poll workers are barred from talking about candidates or issues while on duty. Voters will probably complain about exit pollsters, but there's nothing election workers can do about it.

"All you can do is tell them they don't have to answer the questions," Clark said.

Clark and Milam are hoping to boost worker pools significantly before the next three dates: April 8, Aug. 5 and Nov. 4.

Both would like to see younger people applying for the civic duty, despite the low pay and long day involved. Milam said the average age of her pool of poll workers was 62.

Ryan Hobart, spokesman for Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, said the state is looking for ways to get younger poll workers. A new law allows high school students who are not eligible to vote to help poll workers.

Allan Seabaugh, 16, of Delta will work Super Tuesday. He won't get paid, but he does get the day off from school. He sees it as a chance to add a community service line to his college applications.

"I'm kind of interested in political science," he said.

Charles DiStefano, director for the Missouri Mentoring Partnership and an assistant professor of political science at Southeast Missouri State University, worked as an election judge while he was a college student.

Now, he assigns offers his students five points of extra credit, worth 1 percent of their final grade, for being poll workers. So far, a handful of students have expressed interest, he said. One student is already a poll worker in her hometown in Illinois, he said.

Poll workers are critical to the democratic process, DiStefano said.

"That's something we don't think about -- if the poll workers weren't doing their jobs, it could mess up the whole system," he said. "You have to be honest. Poll workers keep it honest."

Each election site requires a representative from each major political party. Observers and challengers are allowed into the polling places, but they must register with the county four days before an election. Observers are not allowed to question or challenge poll workers, Clark said.

For Clark, this week is crunch time. She and county election supervisor Joey Keys have tested equipment, gathered and distributed polling site keys, and have assembled the seven ballots the Super Tuesday election requires.

"We want everyone afforded the opportunity to vote," Clark said. That can mean sorting out a missing voter registration the day of the election or volunteering to canvass hospitals for those suddenly taken ill.

Phyllis McClanahan will be at the Brown Owl Precinct on Tuesday, as she has been for 26 years, as a Republican judge and election supervisor. She learned the job from Ann Schrum, a Democratic judge. They said the most important tool in the job is the heavy book with all the names of registered voters.

"It's an interesting job," Schrum said. "You meet new people and the neighbors."

Rita Reisenbichler, a Pocahontas Precinct worker, said elections have gotten busier as precincts have grown over the years.

One year, "we tacked 19 quilts once because no one showed up to vote," she said. There will be no quilting this year. She expects to see as many as 225 voters. She's bringing a book, just in case the turnout is light.

Milam trains her poll workers the day before an election. The trickiest part, Milam said, is maintaining separation between candidates who are related to poll workers.

"So many people are related in Scott County," she said. "Say, for an example, I'm election judge and my nephew is running for office. If he has an opponent, I can't be an election judge. If he has no opponent, I can."

To work at Cape Girardeau County polling places for April, August or November elections, call the Jackson office 243-3547 or the Cape Girardeau office at 335-9060. In Scott County, call 573-545-3549.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

Cape Girardeau County Clerk Kara Clark, center, trained poll workers for upcoming election duties Tuesday at the American Legion Hall in Jackson. Precincts sat together, including Cathy Hale, left, Dean Craft and Barbara Denton of the Millersville Precinct. (Kit Doyle)

335-6611, extension 127

---

• Feb. 5: The Feb. 5 presidential preference primary is the first of four major elections this year. The voter registration deadline has passed.
• Apr. 8: Area voters will choose everything from ward and school board representatives to tax issues. Register to vote by March 12.
• Aug. 5: Primary election; register by July 9.
• Nov. 4: General election; register by Oct. 8.

Absentee ballots:

Qualified voters can apply for an absentee ballot. Applications are available at www.sos.mo.gov/forms/elections/absentee.pdf.

SOURCE: Missouri Secretary of State