Primary Election Day is just around the corner, and local boards of election employees are working to make sure it goes off without a hitch.
At the Monroe County Board of Elections, they’re getting new and returning poll workers up to speed. Hundreds of training sessions will take place at this location.
“I just feel like it’s our civic duty to make sure that everything is done correctly and properly, and that we follow all of the standard procedures to make sure that everyone can vote and that it’s all done with the proper standards,” said poll worker and site chair trainee Darlene Biondolillo. “There are a lot of steps, but it’s laid out very well. It’s easy to follow the directions and there are always people that you can call if you have questions.”
“We have election inspectors and site chairs and we have coordinators. They all have different responsibilities. And we fully train all of them,” said Republican Monroe County Board of Elections Commissioner Peter Elder.
Monroe County Board of Election Commissioners Elder and Jackie Ortiz are overseeing the preparations for the voting machines and poll pads. That includes a lot of testing and re-testing of equipment to avoid any potential problems.
“Everything has to go through a rigorous process before we put it out in the field,” said Ortiz.
Like other locations across upstate, they work closely with the New York state Board of Elections.
“The state Board of Elections provides a lot of guidance to the local boards on how they recommend that we do things,” said Elder. “So, many of the procedures we have are their recommendations. They also require us to present them with statistics so they can compare the various counties together.”
The commissioners say they are always recruiting and training up until the last day, making sure they have the right amount of workers come Election Day. They say they are counting on everyone to do their part for a smooth operation at the polls.
“We are always recruiting,” said Ortiz. “Because even when we have a full roster of individuals. Really, at the end of the day, we have people who, unfortunately, have to call off, whether there’s a health reason, or some sort of emergency at the last minute. So, we are training usually all the way up until the very last day.”
“We want to make sure that no matter what happens, this equipment is sound,” said Elder. “It’s good. You can rely on it as a voter, and you can rely on the results that come out of it. So, and if there’s anything that breaks down at all because things happen, we have the ability to fill the gap.”
“I just think that it’s our civic duty to make sure that elections are free and fair, and it takes everyone’s time and talent to be able to make sure that that happens,” said Biondolillo.
Primary Election Day is June 23. Early voting begins June 13 and runs through June 21.