"Service call; Dedicated but aging, poll workers look for influx of the young" by Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff | November 4, 2008
Elderly poll workers, bifocals, and walkers have become common sights at most polling places in America, where the average age of the poll worker, according to the Center for Election Integrity at Cleveland State University, is 72. Many communities are now suffering staffing shortages as veteran volunteers grow too old to continue in the post.
Nationwide, more than 5,200 polling sites or precincts reported a shortage of poll workers on Election Day in 2004, according to the US Election Assistance Commission. Shortages in some communities forced some polling sites to close. With record voter turnout expected at the polls today, Sally Hayden, president of the Massachusetts Town Clerks' Association, said a few communities have split the day into two shifts to help aging poll workers cope.
Most, however, still require volunteers to work from 7 a.m. straight to closing at 8 p.m. Election Day can be taxing. Most workers meet around 6 a.m. to open the polls for 7 a.m. And they don't go home until after 8 p.m. --more--"
That is one long-ass day!
"With plans, extra ballots in place, officials await flood" by John C. Drake, Globe Staff | November 4, 2008
While the prospect of huge voter turnout today may seem healthy for American democracy, it is making elections workers nervous.
Officials in Boston and across Massachusetts were bracing yesterday for a massive onslaught at the polls. They have prepared by delivering extra ballots to precincts, deploying extra workers to polling places and voter hotline call centers, and encouraging voters to show up at off-peak hours.
Secretary of State William F. Galvin predicted that more than 3 million people will cast ballots today, which would be 71 percent of registered voters and a million more residents than voted in the 2004 presidential election. "We have more registered voters, we've had sustained interest throughout the year, and we had record turnouts in both parties' primaries," Galvin said in an interview yesterday.
All that, he said, points to a looming turnout tsunami.
Yup, FOR OBAMA!!!
Election officials also plan to have more staff than usual throughout Boston's Second Suffolk District in the state Senate to count write-in and sticker votes, even though Senator Dianne Wilkerson has called off her reelection campaign in light of federal bribery charges against her. Many supporters have said they still plan to write in the 15-year incumbent's name. Sonia Chang-Diaz, who beat Wilkerson in the Democratic primary, and Socialist Workers Party candidate William Theodore Leonard will be the only names on the ballot.
Vote for the SOCIALIST!!! A) He is NOT an INCUMBENT, and B) He IS THIRD-PARTY!!
Galvin was fretting yesterday over a point of possible confusion on the ballot this year. He said voters should remember to check both sides of the sheet. Questions 2 and 3 will be on the back of ballots in Boston, where the text is longer to accommodate the bilingual versions.
Oh, great, so we are going to be TOLD the answer to both questions was NO due to UNDER VOTE, huh?
One thing city officials are not so far expecting is overexuberance or anger from residents based on the winner of today's election, the first in which a major party has a black candidate contending for the presidency. Officials in some big cities have said they are beefing up security in case the election result leads to riots or other unruly behavior.
They will not if it is a FAIR ELECTION!!!!
"We don't have any indication from our various intelligence sources that would indicate any specific activity to brace for," said Elaine Driscoll, spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department. "We recognize the historic significance of this election, therefore we will be deploying additional officers so that we are prepared in the event we have to respond to an emergency." --more--"
You know their "intelligence sources" are INFILTRATORS and AGENT PROVOCATEURS, right, readers?
