County Still Needs Poll Workers in Some Rural Areas

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

As of Friday, more than 430 people scheduled to work Anderson County’s polls for the Nov. 3 election, but more are still needed for rural areas.

Downtown Anderson is well staffed, and so are Pendleton and Powdersville, which reliably produce enough applicants. In the county’s more rural communities, where people live farther apart and recruiting requires more reaching out, the margins are thinner.

Starr could especially use help. So could the Pelzer and West Pelzer areas.

“We have enough to where it will work,” said Austin Cooley, precinct coordinator for the Anderson County Board of Voter Registrations and Elections. But an additional worker or two at a rural polling place could help move voters through more efficiently and shorten a wait.

His appeal is not a warning that the county cannot conduct the election. Cooley said the workers already assigned should allow Election Day to run smoothly. It is a request to make the operation stronger in the places where staffing remains harder to arrange.

A countywide staffing total can conceal differences between individual polling places. For Cooley, getting ready for an election means not simply finding enough people, but placing them where they are needed.

Around Anderson and in communities that regularly supply applicants, he has been able to assign sufficient staff, but rural areas present a more persistent challenge.

“So many people are spread out,” he said. “It’s always harder to get folks to work the election and get in contact with folks.”

Cooley would particularly welcome one or two additional workers at one of the Starr locations. He expects staffing at many polling places to help keep lines manageable, though some rural voters could still wait a few extra minutes.

He is careful not to promise the absence of lines. His concern is what can be done now to keep them moving.

For the past several weeks, Cooley has been training election workers, giving them hands-on experience with equipment and reviewing procedures. The regular training sessions are wrapping up this week, but interested applicants have not missed their opportunity.

The elections office can arrange individual instruction or work with groups of two or three people.

“If someone’s still interested, we can work with them here in our office one-on-one,” he said.

Cooley’s recruiting does not stop with Nov. 3.

The office accepts applications throughout the year, both for scheduled elections and for special elections that may arise. A roster adequate for one election cannot be assumed to remain intact for the next.

Many of the county’s election workers are older than 60. Some may become unavailable; some may decide not to return. Deaths can leave vacancies among longtime workers. Even among those willing and able to serve, repeated elections can take a toll.

Cooley estimated that the office has handled about seven elections this year, including zoning referendums, the Anderson municipal election, primaries and runoffs.

“Election fatigue does take place,” he said.

For voters, each election offers a separate decision. For the people administering them, each requires another round of recruiting, assignments, preparation and training. Cooley is trying to fill the remaining gaps for November while keeping a list of people who might help when the next election arrives.

Residents interested in becoming election workers can call the county elections office at 864-260-4035 or reach Cooley directly at 864-222-6676.

The county already has hundreds of people prepared to work. In Starr, Pelzer and West Pelzer, Cooley is still looking for a few more. The difference between adequate staffing and a better-running polling place may be someone who has not yet thought to call.