What was I thinking???!!!

I am a firm believer in learning from your mistakes…trust me, I am well educated when it comes to making mistakes…but (you knew that was coming) making mistakes are sometimes what makes us better and stronger.

Most counties in the state are faced with budgetary issues. 2008 was the most expensive election in history! I guess that is why many of us ended up in some very stressful meetings with our county commissioners or our county administrators. I think my county administrator thought I was trying to finance a third world country with what I spent from February 2008-December 2008!

I knew our budget could no longer support all of the precincts and poll workers, especially with the early voting turn out we had, so reducing and combining precincts had to be done. Furloughs, layoffs, cutting county services…I didn’t want to be responsible for this. I wanted to do my part to save our county from going under!

A few suggestions before you take on this task:

• What looks good on paper may not work in reality-THINK IT THROUGH!
• More voters=more machines and express polls-DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH?
• More machines=more workers.(I thought less polling locations…less workers…YEAH,RIGHT!)
• Less polling locations=MASSIVE LINES (if you reduce…they will come!)
• MASSIVE LINES=Guaranteed visits from EVERY news channel in the Atlanta Area (ladies-LIPSTICK AND ROUGE…need I say more?)

All joking aside, these are very helpful suggestions:

• Precinct lines when combined with other precincts look great, but consider how many voters you will be sending to one location. Will the facility be large enough? Is there enough parking? How will the poll manager handle crowd control?

• Contrary to belief…election officials do not have a crystal ball and cannot predict voter turnout. However, we must always be prepared. Assign enough voting machines to accommodate the number of voters at each polling location. I will be using the 1:200 ratio for all of the BIG elections in 2012. It may seem like a lot, but I’d rather be safe than sorry!
• More machines=more workers…I though less polling locations, less workers…WRONG! Voters need guidance, managers need help with keeping order in the polling location, setting up and taking down. Make sure you have enough workers to cover all aspects of the polling location.
• Less polling locations=MASSIVE LINES (the voters will come, and so will the NEWS CHOPPERS). There will always be expected crowds at the polling locations at the opening of the polls, lunch, the after 5pm work crowd and the procrastinators that think waiting until just prior to the polls closing there won’t be any lines crowd….Make sure you have enough workers to control the lines, keep the voters informed, have sample ballots available, plenty of parking and adequate facilities to house your voters. Everyone that is eligible should be allowed to vote. That should be our ultimate goal.
• Massive lines and news media: We all know that bad news is what keeps the news media in business. Be ready for them. In the midst of a crisis, we tend to say things we shouldn’t say. Take time to collect your thoughts, prepare a statement and with CONFIDENCE inform the public of the situation and the remedy. This may need to take place the day after the election in order for your board to analyze the issues. (Ladies: spare lipstick at the office always comes in handy when the reporters come calling)HAHA!

Talk to other counties that have been through this. Look at the pros and cons. I stand behind the decisions that were made during our reduction process. I know what needs to be done in the future to be successful and not repeat the same mistakes. I have learned from my mistakes. I am stronger and better because of them…isn’t that what it is all about?