Here’s how Richland County is trying to avoid more voter confusion on Election Day
Richland County election officials say they are on course to avoid a repeat of the confusion and lengthy lines of voters saw during this June’s primaries.
The number of available poll workers has bounced back from June, when a shortage of poll workers because of fears of the coronavirus forced the county to close around half its polling places.
But Alexandria Stephens, Richland County’s new elections director, said she still wants to see more volunteers sign up to work the polls this November, just in case.
“I want to have a backup list, in case we need to find additional poll managers,” she said.
Currently, Richland County has 1,100 poll workers signed up to help voters on Nov. 3, up from around 200 who worked this summer’s primaries. About 1,000 of those are people who signed up to work the polls for the first time, Stephens said.
But Stephens, who started on the job at the beginning of July, says her goal is to have 1,800 signed up and trained as poll managers ahead of November, since the elections office inevitably has some workers drop off before election day and “we don’t know what the situation will be in November.”
During the Democratic and Republican primaries on June 9, some voters waited in line for up to five hours after polls closed. Others complained that races they should have been able to vote in were left off their ballots. The county has also missed counting some ballots during previous elections.
The S.C. Election Commission stepped up its oversight of Richland County’s election operations ahead of the June 23 primary runoff, providing new training for poll workers and ensuring the right ballots made it to the right polling places.
This fall, state officials are still offering “a higher level of involvement than other counties, but about the normal level of involvement given it’s a large county with a new director,” said S.C. Election Commission spokesman Chris Whitmire.
“That requires having more conversations and answering more questions,” Whitmire said. “It’s also higher given Richland County’s recent history of election errors.”
On Tuesday, Stephens and Richland County got a practice run for November during a special primary election in county council District 9 to choose the candidate to replace the late Councilman Calvin “Chip” Jackson, who died last month.
“It’s been a dry run for me,” Stephens said of the special election. “Everybody else I’ve talked to has said it’s no big deal.”
The director said Tuesday’s vote went smoothly, and the office will have another rehearsal for November when Jonneika Farr and Jesica Mackey face off Sept. 22 in a Democratic primary runoff for the District 9 seat.
Stephens said she is still learning the ins and outs of her new position, but is committed to having all polling places opened and fully staffed on Nov. 3, with the appropriate amount of coronavirus prevention and social distancing in place. The county’s COVID-19 measures will be similar to those put in place for the primary, she said.
“There may be some long lines” in November, Stephens said. “But hopefully no more so than usual.”
A regular poll worker is paid $135 for working a 12-plus hour day on Election Day.
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