Election Workers Face an Obstacle Course to Reach the Midterms

It comes at a cost to the stress and additional workload brought on by the growing nationwide trend toward mail-in ballots. In Kentucky, five of his 120 county clerks in the state said he was not seeking re-election in November, and six of his resigned outright this year. , said Secretary of State Michael Adams, the state’s chief elections officer.

Winnebago County Clerk Atmar said turnover is unusually high in Wisconsin for both the county and local clerks who do most election work. “I plan to retire next year,” she said. “If the atmosphere was different, I would have continued. I love my job and I love the people I work with. But enough is enough.”

Also, in Reno’s hometown of Washoe County, Nevada, county officials have made it official policy to provide legal and public relations support to government officials harassed and stigmatized after the registrar of voters Deanna Spike. Did. announced her resignation in June.

That said, Adams, Elmer, and other officials said they will be ready when the polls begin. Adams even expressed modest optimism that a wave of activity by-election deniers had reached its peak. Lindell. “But I got very little.”

There are also officials like Anthony W. Perlatti, Commissioner of Cuyahoga County. Election Commission Ohio says lessons learned in 2020 will help in 2022.

And Nicole Baldwin, clerk and registrar of small voters in White Pine County, Nevada, said she was unfazed by the request for records. “They all want the same thing: to have a voting record,” she said. “I keep them on a flash drive and send them as soon as they come in. No big deal.”

In fact, the biggest worry for many was the prospect of the unexpected.

Caitlin Bernardo, a city employee in Wausau, Wisconsin, said the city is reviewing its emergency management plan, which includes guidelines for handling aggressive voters and rules governing the behavior of observers inside polling places.