Professors, college students could help staff elections

Friday, Feb. 23, 2007

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff Photo by Jesse Yeatman St. Mary’s College of Maryland political science professors Zach Messitte, center, and Mike Cain talk to St. Mary’s Board of Elections member Becky Wathen at a poll site in California on Election Day last November. The two professors worked as poll judges and are spearheading a move to make it easier for public college professors and students to work polls during elections. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

About two dozen Maryland professors spent Election Day as poll workers in November. That same group has issued a report on revamping Maryland’s election polling process, which has influenced a bill introduced in Annapolis.

The program grew out of a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and was developed by The Center for the Study of Democracy at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and the American Association of University Professors.

‘‘It’s growing out of the need to get a greater participation at polls by not only professors but students as well,” Mike Cain said. The St. Mary’s College of Maryland political science professor said that without change the election process could face serious problems in the near future.

A group of college professors began meeting in the fall of 2005 to plan out the poll-worker program and send letters to all of the state’s public colleges and universities inviting faculty to join. Along with increasing the ranks of poll workers, college faculties are generally younger than the average poll worker and have computer skills necessary to help with the electronic voting machines.

Twenty-three faculty and staff from institutions of higher learning in Maryland served as poll workers last November. ”It’s not a lot, but it’s a place to start,” said Cain. He added, ‘‘Initially, it looks like this can’t be the only solution to the problem.”

Another idea would be to make Election Day a study day without classes at all public colleges and universities in the state. This would not only open up the possibility for hundreds of professors but also the tens of thousands of college students to work at polls. Cain also said that more businesses in the private sector could offer flexible leave for employees to serve as election judges.

Del. John Bohanan (D-St. Mary’s) said he has seen the report and that the concept could open up a large pool of potential poll workers. ‘‘It’s a great concept. ... The idea of using students is pretty attractive.”

Bohanan has introduced a bill which among other things recommends colleges close on general election days and would give local boards of election the power to allow poll workers to work part of Election Day instead of being required to work all day. A hearing on the bill will take place Feb. 28.

‘‘I think the state needs to radically rethink how it recruits ... and adequately trains poll workers,” Cain said. ‘‘I think the election process needs to be brought into the 21st century, not just with computers.”

The pay for poll workers is relatively low (about $130 for 13 hours) and there aren’t any personal thanks involved, he said. A luncheon or dinner banquet sponsored by local political parties, for instance, would give poll workers a better feeling of appreciation.

Although there were enough judges for every precinct in St. Mary’s, within the state there was a shortage. ‘‘We did find enough at the last minute to staff all of the polls adequately,” said Becky Wathen, member of the local board of elections. Each poll requires about 10 judges, and with 30 polls in the county now, filling all of the spots was no small feat.

And as the average age of poll workers continues to increase, that shortage could become worse if things stay the same, Cain said. The average age of an election judge in Maryland is 72. ‘‘The demands of a 13-hour day on people in their 70s makes it particularly difficult on them,” he said.

Last Election Day, poll judge Jim Moore put in his 13-plus hours at a polling place in California, just as he has done every year since the early 1980s. Cain and Zach Messitte, another St. Mary’s professor, worked at the same precinct. Moore said they were ‘‘extremely helpful. They’re the answer to some of the problems we’ve had in the past,” especially with regard to the computer systems now used. Although he likes the new systems (‘‘I don’t trust the [old] card readers as much as these. These are much harder to fool with.”), he said they can be daunting, especially to judges who are not used to computer equipment.

Many elderly people are ‘‘frightened of new technology and are buying what these politicians are saying even though it’s B.S.,” Moore said. Just prior to last year’s elections both major party candidates for governor and plenty of other state politicians called for voters to fill out absentee ballots to ensure that every vote would count.

The professors’ recommends coordinating poll worker recruitment at colleges with county boards of elections, changing the length of service on Election Day, directing more money toward recruiting efforts and using civic organizations to associated with higher education to help with recruiting.

The report also suggests several legislative remedies. It suggests mandating that no classes in public colleges and universities be held on Election Day, opening polling places on college campuses, allowing for split shifts so only the chief judges must work a 14-hour day, and encouraging college-level credit to students who serve as poll workers.

‘‘[T]he problems and confusions Maryland faced during its 2006 elections suggest the overwhelming need for similar programs in future elections. Maryland, like other states, must recruit competent, well-trained judges to insure the integrity of future elections,” according to the report developed by the group aimed at state legislators.

Del. Anthony J. O’Donnell (R-Calvert, St. Mary’s) said that on the surface the idea is probably a good one, but warned that there would need to be specific checks in place to be sure to avoid any partisan leanings. He said that college communities are traditionally liberal, with some exceptions, and that it would be unfair to have the balance of poll workers swing to the left. ‘‘I guess it’s worth considering,” he said.

St. Mary’s Board of Elections Administrative Assistant Susan Julian said that law requires one election judge to be a Democrat and one a Republican at each polling place. The remainder of the poll workers can be affiliated with any party, but the board of elections tries to split them evenly.

‘‘We try to balance it out with equal numbers, but we can’t always do that,” Julian said. Years ago the poll workers in the county were nearly all Democrat, but that has come closer to balanced in recent years, she said.

‘‘I do think that would be a very good idea,” to give college professors and students Election Day off to serve as poll workers, Julian said.

E-mail Jesse Yeatman at jyeatman@somdnews.com.