Election Administration: A Look Under the Hood

I continue to be amazed by what it takes to make an election happen!  The average voter has a very limited view of the election administration process.  The only recurring touch-point for the majority of us is when we show up at our polling place on Election Day, or visit the Board of Elections during the early-voting period.  Some even do it all by mail these days.

Election Day was last Tuesday, but preparations had been underway for months.  As a matter of fact, the Ohio Secretary of State and each of the 88 County Boards of Election are constantly preparing for the next two or three elections, some of which are over a year away.  The personnel, equipment, material, and real-estate coordination for each election is mind-boggling once you peek “under the hood.”

Shelby County has 36 precincts at 17 geographic locations requiring nearly 200 workers for shifts that run from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm on Election Day.  Fortunately, we have wonderful people from all around our county who see voting as a civic duty, and they consider it an honor and a privilege to be able to provide this service to their family, friends, and neighbors.

Have you ever wondered about our precincts?  What are they and why do we have them?  They are essentially part of a divide-and-conquer strategy required by state law.  Imagine trying to process every Shelby County voter through one voting location managed by four people in thirteen hours on Election Day.  Impossible, right?  So, state law directs County Boards of Election to divide their counties into geographic precincts of 500 to 1,400 registered voters to make voting more manageable.  Some readers may recall that the Board of Elections split one precinct into two recently because of population growth and increased registrations in one of their precincts. 

The personnel piece of the puzzle will likely become more challenging in the years ahead.  Many of Shelby County’s poll workers have been doing that work for decades and will eventually choose to retire.  Those long election days can be taxing, especially as you get some years under your belt.  Other counties have chosen to consolidate voting locations to reduce the number of poll workers needed because volunteerism is down and recruitment has suffered.

Yet, as I travel around Shelby County observing operations on Election Day, I am struck by how many poll workers and voters know each other by name.  Many of our polling places still have that rural, small-town feel to them, almost like walking into Floyd’s Barber Shop in Mayberry.  I know our county residents would not want to lose that nostalgic personal touch, so if you’d be willing to become a poll worker, please let the folks at the Board of Elections know.  You can call, stop by, or express your interest online at https://lookup.boe.ohio.gov/vtrapp/shelby/pwapp.aspx

Additionally, most people don’t realize that we could have 76 different types of ballots for any given election.  Nor that those ballots have to be finalized in late August for a November election, and that samples of ballots are posted online in early September.  This allows voters to know exactly what they’re voting on long before they go to the polls.  Samples are available as elections approach by visiting the office or online at https://www.boe.ohio.gov/shelby/

You might be wondering why we’d need 76 different ballots for the same election in Shelby County.  One good example from this past week’s election is the Van Buren North voting precinct.  They needed four different ballots for one precinct because they have four different school districts serving their precinct.  A voter is only allowed to vote on a school levy for the district in which they live, so that requires four different ballots in the same precinct. 

Although our polls closed at 7:30 pm this past Tuesday, that election is not over yet!  The Board of Elections has “unofficial” results posted, but there is much more work to be done before “certified” results are posted.  As a matter of fact, there are almost always more ballots to be processed and counted in the days following any election.

One reason is that ballots that were post-marked and mailed on, or before, Monday, November 3^rd will be processed and counted if they arrive by the following Saturday (today).  So, the Board of Elections may not even have all the ballots in their possession until the Saturday after the polls close. 

Also, if there is a question about a voter’s eligibility when they cast their vote, they are given a “provisional” ballot that they seal inside an envelope after they vote.  The Board of Elections processes that ballot once the eligibility question has been resolved in the week following the election.

Bottom line, elections work doesn’t end when the polls close.  In many ways, it is just beginning.  The local Board of Elections has two meetings scheduled in the next two weeks to “finish” this election.  The first one next week will be to process provisional and newly-arrived mail-in ballots, and to certify the election.  The second one, the following week, will be to conduct a hand-count audit of a random sample of issues and races and to conduct any recounts that may be required.

I’ve just scratched the surface of what’s under the election-administration hood.  Our local Board of Elections and our family, friends, and neighbors who work the polls do yeoman’s work to deliver us the elections we might sometimes take for granted.  They provide a great service to our county, our state, and our nation!  Please show your appreciation by voting in every election and by thanking them for their service!