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Herkimer County residents casting ballots at their polling places in the next general election will notice two additional election workers posted at their station.
The legislature’s Ways and Means Committee acted on an Administration/Veterans’ Affairs Committee recommendation Monday night to approve posting 68 election coordinators — 34 Democrats and 34 Republicans — at each of the county’s polling places.
The additional positions, according to County Administrator James Wallace, will raise the county’s election costs from $23,000 to $40,000. Those costs, he added, will be passed on to the towns.
“These positions are in addition to what we already have and two election coordinators, a Republican and a Democrat, must be posted at each polling place,” said Wallace. “This is another example of an unfunded mandate that is being passed down to us from the state, so we have no choice but to follow their lead and create the positions so we can be in compliance.”
“We have to do what the state tells us to do,” said District 14 Legislator Dennis Korce.
Wallace said part of the $40,000 cost will cover expenses related to training coordinator candidates, as he said the position does have some technical requirements. The county may utilize some of its remaining Help America Vote Act of 2002 funding to cover the training costs.
The technical requirements, he said, include assisting voting machine inspectors with any optical scan machine problems that may occur. “That’s a reason why the training is necessary,” said Wallace.
Coordinators would also be responsible for duties such as maintaining the flow of voter traffic within a polling place by directing voters to their correct election districts.
“The requirements for a coordinator are more involved than those for election inspectors and voting machine inspectors,” said District 13 Legislator Bernard Peplinski. “It’s like an oversight position.”
District 4 Legislator Jean Maneen, chair of the Administration/Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said she did not foresee the county having difficulty finding candidates to fill the coordinator positions.
“Due to the salary and the use of electronic voting machines, I do not see a problem with filling the positions,” she said. The salary for the position is $15 an hour.
Wallace said the coordinators are not required for school or village elections.
District 10 Legislator Raymond Smith cast the lone no vote on the resolution.
Herkimer County residents casting ballots at their polling places in the next general election will notice two additional election workers posted at their station.
The legislature’s Ways and Means Committee acted on an Administration/Veterans’ Affairs Committee recommendation Monday night to approve posting 68 election coordinators — 34 Democrats and 34 Republicans — at each of the county’s polling places.
The additional positions, according to County Administrator James Wallace, will raise the county’s election costs from $23,000 to $40,000. Those costs, he added, will be passed on to the towns.
“These positions are in addition to what we already have and two election coordinators, a Republican and a Democrat, must be posted at each polling place,” said Wallace. “This is another example of an unfunded mandate that is being passed down to us from the state, so we have no choice but to follow their lead and create the positions so we can be in compliance.”
“We have to do what the state tells us to do,” said District 14 Legislator Dennis Korce.
Wallace said part of the $40,000 cost will cover expenses related to training coordinator candidates, as he said the position does have some technical requirements. The county may utilize some of its remaining Help America Vote Act of 2002 funding to cover the training costs.
The technical requirements, he said, include assisting voting machine inspectors with any optical scan machine problems that may occur. “That’s a reason why the training is necessary,” said Wallace.
Coordinators would also be responsible for duties such as maintaining the flow of voter traffic within a polling place by directing voters to their correct election districts.
“The requirements for a coordinator are more involved than those for election inspectors and voting machine inspectors,” said District 13 Legislator Bernard Peplinski. “It’s like an oversight position.”
District 4 Legislator Jean Maneen, chair of the Administration/Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said she did not foresee the county having difficulty finding candidates to fill the coordinator positions.
“Due to the salary and the use of electronic voting machines, I do not see a problem with filling the positions,” she said. The salary for the position is $15 an hour.
Wallace said the coordinators are not required for school or village elections.
District 10 Legislator Raymond Smith cast the lone no vote on the resolution.
