Alabama probate judges say they do not share similar fears expressed in other states by election administrators ahead of this year’s midterm elections.
“I know people I’ve approached who have been poll workers historically for years and they told me, ‘No, I don’t want to get mixed up in that anymore,’” said State Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile. “It speaks to all of the things that Republicans are putting in place that pressure these folks who are civic-minded and who want to do the right thing … to make they are doing something criminally wrong.
“We don’t anticipate any problems,” said Tallapoosa County Probate Judge Talmadge East. “We are a little light in places, and we would like to have extra people if someone gets sick or doesn’t show up or has a family emergency. But poll worker buy-in is good and we feel comfortable with the people we have.”
Probate Judge Scott Hassell said that all the city and the county school systems participate. During the primaries, he had 150 students apply to participate in the election.The students are limited in what they can do. Anyone under age 18 cannot handle a ballot, nor can they determine the eligibility of a voter. But the students are allowed to serve as greeters and, more importantly, assist poll workers with the electronic pollbooks.
Hassell said he is hoping the county commission will consider adding enough funding to provide a stipend for the students ahead of the November election. The county’s fiscal year does not begin until Oct. 1, and a final county budget has not been adopted. Tuscaloosa County Probate Judge Rob Robertson said he initially had a program that included a mix of older high school and college students assisting in past elections.
“We had some contacts with the local schools about it,” said Davis. “ found out they had to be there at 6 a.m. and the hours of the polls , they said ‘forget it.’ So, we haven’t had success with it.” The tech workers would assist in operating machines and making sure Wi-Fi systems are operating adequately.
Jess Brown, a retired political science professor at Athens State University and a longtime observer of state politics, said the responsibilities for probate judges to adequately staff the polling places is becoming more difficult in recent years.He suggested that veterans’ groups should be more involved in the process, and that is something that Robertson in Tuscaloosa County said is “probably an area we could focus on more.
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