As a first-time poll worker for the 2020 General Election, Ellijay resident April Smith didn’t quite know what size turnouts to expect at both early and Election Day voting.
“I knew it was going to be a big one, but I didn’t anticipate it being this busy,” said Smith about this year’s election.
Fortunately, the polling place she worked, Ellijay Northeast precinct at the Coosawattee Shrine Club, was among the local polls that saw smooth, but steady voting on an Election Day with many variables, including COVID-19 and still-new voting equipment, at play.
“They had everything set up well for us and it was all run very well,” said Smith about Election Day voting here. “I was shocked there weren’t more kinks than I thought there probably would be, but they already had it thought out. We didn’t have anybody get upset or mad. I think Gilmer is kind of an anomaly. We have a great community and people here are sweet and kind. We’re very fortunate. I’ve heard lots of stories (about other places) that aren’t so great.”
Kathryn Watkins, the East Ellijay precinct’s poll manager, reported a similar experience at City Hall.
“We didn’t have any trouble. No one complained. No one said, ‘Hurry up the line’ or ‘Why do I have to do this?’ One or two people did ask, ‘How do I do this?’” she said.
Ellijay Northeast Poll Manager Joe Strickland and Andy Broughton, also a first-time poll worker, shared some of their experiences with voters at the Lions Club polling place.
“We had one lady who was in a car accident. She came in a wheelchair and voted. She was in the hospital just yesterday and had bruises all over, but she was determined to vote. I admired her for going through all that and still having enough fortitude to come in and vote,” Broughton said.
“We had a married couple, both 91 and both on walkers, whose daughter brought them in to vote. We helped them back down the ramp and to the car. They were very intent on casting their ballots,” said Strickland.
There’s no telling who you’ll meet at the polls, noted Broughton, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran who also worked early voting at the county registrar’s office.
“If you judge a person by the way they look, you’ve missed a lot,” he said. “(During early voting), we had one guy come in who was a Navy SEAL and had a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. Another guy who came in has a Purple Heart and a Silver Star, which is just below the Medal of Honor. We have people in this community who are pretty highly decorated military-wise.”
Strickland said his precinct’s voter turnout was down somewhat on Election Day, likely due to the large number of early voters and mail-in ballots.
“We’re the third largest poll of the 13 precincts, but we had a lighter turnout that I expected,” he added. “We were averaging about 600 a day at the courthouse, but, on Election Day, we only had 166. Of course, since we had 70 to 80 percent vote absentee or early in person, the number should’ve been down. But I know several of the other polls had 500-600 people voting.”
In somewhat of a reverse situation, poll manager Jim Leslie reported a good-size Tuesday turnout for the Mountaintown precinct.
“We’re a small precinct, but we had 299 voters show up on Election Day,” he said. “We had a surge of people come early, and it was steady throughout the rest of the day. We had no incidents whatsoever, and there were no equipment malfunctions. Many of our voters voted in the primary and the primary runoff, so most of them were already familiar with everything.”
A good number of first-time voters were also seen on Election Day and during early voting, noted several poll workers.
“Today’s crowd has probably been more younger people,” said Broughton on Election Day. “(There were also) parents bringing their kids in, which is wonderful. If you have a 2 or 3-year-old, they probably won’t remember it. But if it’s a 9 or 10-year-old or a high-schooler, this is part of their Civics class.”
“In my precinct, our number of (registered) voters has jumped from last year. There have been more people signing up to vote. We had eight first-time voters (on Election Day),” said Watkins about East Ellijay. “When they came in and said it was their first time voting, we all clapped our hands for them and said we’re proud to have you here.”
Not all of this year’s first-time voters were in their teens or 20s, noted Smith.
“We did have a lot who were 18 or (around that age), but we also had some first-time voters who were in their 60s or 70s. That also happened in early voting. We would have several a day come in. I didn’t expect that,” she added.
An equipment-related occurrence shared between poll workers at multiple precincts was the occasional voter who wanted to take their ballot printout with them. Though it may resemble a receipt, the printed ballot must be inserted into the new scanning machines and recorded to count, confirmed Chief Registrar Tammy Watkins.
“The ballot gets scanned in and it’s read top and bottom. It goes in the scanner and, when it clicks, the ballot drops and the number changes. That’s when you know your ballot has been counted” she explained. “People have been calling us asking, ‘Did my ballot really count?’ (We tell them) when you scanned your ballot and it clicked and you saw your counter turn over, your ballot was cast at that time.”
Watkins also shared that early voters sometimes mistook the new scanners for a much less essential piece of equipment.
“Some people have referred to it as a trash can,” she said. “We try to say, ‘please don’t call it that.’”
Kathryn Watkins said disposable gloves worn by East Ellijay poll workers this year were not just a safety precaution because of the pandemic.
“It’s more so we don’t touch that ballot whatsoever. They pick up their ballot and take it over to the scanner. We don’t touch it. We wear gloves so, in case we do have to touch one, our fingerprints aren’t on it. When we take them out to turn them in that night, we (also) have to wear gloves,” she explained.
Smith noted the amount of checks and balances that were used in the voter verification process, including the surrendering of unused mail-in ballots.
“I can’t speak for other counties, but I know they were very meticulous about those kinds of things here. You couldn’t vote if you didn’t have the right kind of ID. They checked everything,” she added.