Poll workers troubleshoot heavy voting

HILLSBOROUGH - As the line to vote extended outside the Orange County Board of Elections at times Thursday afternoon, poll workers tried to maintain a calm, friendly atmosphere for voters inside.

"There's a heavier turnout this year for early voting," said Carolyn Thomas, director of elections for Orange County. "I think people are more aware of how important it is to vote."

But Thomas said many people only pay attention to their ballots when they vote and do not realize the effort that goes on behind the scenes to make the process run smoothly.

"We do get a little tense," she said, holding a thick stack of phone messages to return. "But we've all just worked together so many years we all just work as a team."

A record number of voters have rushed to avoid Election Day headaches by casting their ballots early. But while one-stop voting makes life easy for voters, someone has to manage all those people.

The Board of Elections employed about 17 people during this election season. Of these workers, only four are not temporary hires.

Keith Cecil of Efland has worked part-time at the Board of Elections for the past four years.

"What's amazing is that all these people lined up day after day after day," Cecil said. "How could all these people vote in one day?"

More than 26,000 county residents have already voted, either at one of three one-stop voting sites or by mail, Thomas said.

As voters took part in the democratic process, workers diligently and patiently checked drivers' licenses, resolved registration discrepancies, explained ballots, monitored supplies and, of course, handed out stickers.

Some, including Cecil, even took some time while helping people to joke with voters as they waited.

"It's just good to get people in and get them satisfied," he said. "I'm a people person, and since I've retired I don't get to run my mouth."

The duties of workers can extend to include anything and everything, said Cecil, from stocking supplies to explaining ballots.

"I'm a catch-all," said Hillsborough resident Margaret Buedel as she helped voters turn in their completed ballots. She is a temporary worker for this election.

"I work in the office and with the actual voting," Buedel said.

Both Buedel and Cecil agreed that their jobs are low-pressure, but as Election Day approaches the atmosphere becomes increasingly hectic.

"There are three times as many people here as in 2000, and it picks up every day," Cecil said.

He worked at Morehead Planetarium on Oct. 22 and said he was only able to take one break during the entire day.

"We were registering people an hour and a half later than we were supposed to stop," he said.

Cecil said he was especially impressed with the large number of young people voting.

It has not been uncommon in the past three or four weeks, Thomas said, for employees to work until 11 p.m. and on weekends to accommodate the influx of early voters.

And their work will not end on Election Day.

"It will be a long night," she said. "It will be the beginning of the peak."

After the polls close, precinct workers will begin the long process of counting ballots and updating voter history and information, a job that could take as long as two or three weeks after the election.

"We're just making sure everything comes together smoothly for the voters," Thomas said. "There are so many things that play into it."

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