Poll Workers trained for New Voting System

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Last May during the special elections the Muskingum County Board of Elections switched to paper ballot voting instead of digital.

This week the Board of Elections has been busy training Poll Workers on the process of the new system. According to Executive Director Tim Thompson nine training sessions have been performed so the poll workers may be better equipped.

“It’s been a learning curve for all of us and the poll workers have been training several times,” Thompson said. “A couple of poll workers have been trained two or three times. This week we’ve got the final training for everybody else, but it’s a training time for the voters too. The voters need to know that their having to write on the ballot and having to scan that ballot in the scanner.”

Thompson says voters will mark their ballot, then the poll worker will take a stub from the completed ballot, and write the vote slip. While the voter will finish by scanning the ballot.

According to Thompson the system change is due to confusion with the digital system as well as saving Muskingum County money.

“This new system is actually going to save the county a good amount of money, because we’ve purchased a lot less machines,” Thompson said. “Since we don’t need as many machines when using paper ballots. Where as before we had 300 machines that we had to take care of, maintain, repair, and that got pretty expensive.”

Thompson said they’ll try to have four poll workers in each precinct to help with the new system.

“Our poll worker pool is shrinking and so we don’t have as many substitutes this time,” Thompson said. “We’re still looking for poll workers, so if anybody would like to come and be a poll worker that would be great. We can do a quick training for you.”

election Day is November 7, 2017, for more information on the new system or to become a poll worker call the Muskingum County Board of Elections office at (740) 455-7120 or visit their website.