Poll workers approved for general election

The St. Francis County Election Commission last week approved the list of poll workers for the November general election. Commissioner Fredrick Freeman was absent. Commission Chair Patti Long said there were issues with relatives working at specific poll locations due to their relatives being on the ballot. "You will find in your packet a list of poll workers," said Long. "They are designated by early vote and where they will be on election day. I know that our struggle always is the relatives because everybody is related to everybody. With polling centers, that kind of changes the dynamic a little bit." Long told commissioners that current law does not allow for relatives of the first degree, siblings, children, parents, grandparents and first cousins, to work polling locations where their relative is on the ballot. "We know what the line of relationship is now," said Long. "Some people may not like that somebody they believe is too closely related is working, but that line of relationship is law. It only applies to first-degree relationships. Son, daughter, father, mother, grandmother, grandfather, brother, sister or first cousins are not allowed to work at a polling site where any of these relationships are on the ballot. It does not say anything about in laws, which I find strange." SFC Election Coordinator Sandra Wright told commissioners they would need to move Gary Hughes' daughter from the Caldwell polling location to comply with this law. However, long-time election worker Peggy Wright, who is the aunt of incumbent County Clerk Brandi McCoy, will be allowed to work the election as a regional coordinator. "I just realized this morning that I have Gary Hughes' daughter working at the Caldwell polling site," said Wright. "We will have to move her if she would still like to work the election since her father will be on the ballot. There were a few that I was unsure about. We are still going to use Peggy (Wright), we are just not putting her out at the polls. She will be behind the scenes as a regional coordinator." According to Long, the commission tries to work with the law the best they can, however, it can be difficult in smaller towns due to tight communities and relationships within. "We are just trying to, even though we don't have to, move certain relationships," said Long. "We are just trying to put them at polling sites like where if they are running in Caldwell, we put them in Colt, you know? That way, they are not in that polling site where that particular vote is happening. Even if it is a county or city-wide vote, we can at least move them to a position where it is not their home polling site. We try to work with that the best we can. It is hard because just about everybody is going to be related to everybody in some way, shape or form where we live." Long explained that she believes that by posting the list of workers by individual polling sites it would allow for community members to see the proposed workers and let the commission know if there is a relationship that needs to be addressed. "I wonder if it is better to list them by site this time so that if the mayor of Widener's sister is on the worker’s list, they see that she is not working in Widener," said Long. "This way, we will avoid some controversy. Smaller communities have to figure out ways to make it work for them. I think we have some workarounds as long as we are careful."

Poll workers approved for general election

Annual Pine Tree WDA cleanup set for Saturday

FC School Board adds deputies to security coverage for district

DRAA seeks annual funds from cities and counties

Brodie Johnson

Related Posts

Annual Pine Tree WDA cleanup set for Saturday

FC School Board adds deputies to security coverage for district

DRAA seeks annual funds from cities and counties

Deadline nears to pay personal, real estate taxes

Gibson named to UA-EACC Board of Visitors

Landlords air concerns about delays in payments

Ballot draw determines position on November ballot

County teams open season with wins

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Recent Posts

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password

Poll workers approved for general election

RELATED POSTS

Membership Required

Related Posts

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Recent Posts

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password