Elections inspector Claire McGrheh ruffled through piles of paper, searching for a few more envelopes.
“They didn’t give me enough!” she says. Meanwhile, several voters waited behind her at the table, clutching ballots.
McGrheh, one of four elections inspectors at the Goldstein Student Center polling place at Syracuse University, was looking for affidavit envelopes.
When voters names aren’t in the book of registered Democrats and Republicans, they can fill out a paper ballot to be counted after their registration can be looked up by the Board of Elections. In about six hours of polling, there were 28 affidavits for Democratic voters at Goldstein.
“Students say they’ve registered to vote, but if we can’t find them, they get the affidavit ballot,” McGrheh said.
It’s just one of the problems that arise on a day like Super Tuesday.
McGrheh was amazed by the turnout at the polls throughout the day.
“You know how many Democrats we’ve had?” she said to the voters in line. “Two hundred-eighty! In six hours!”
Around 6 p.m., voters lined the Goldstein hallway—Democrats to one table, and Republicans to the next. With such a steady stream of voters, some are bound to have time-consuming issues with affidavit ballots. Janelby Ramirez, an SU sophomore, had some trouble casting her vote in the Democratic primary
“They said I wasn’t in the book,” said Ramirez, an SU sophomore international relations major and New York City native. “I’ve never voted before, I was excited. It’s discouraging.”
At Nottingham High School, Carole George was an elections inspector for the 17th district polling place. The booths were originally set up near the gym. But the high school administrators, George said, told her that the location needed to be changed because of a basketball game later.
“It’s very upsetting when a basketball game is more important than voting,” said George, 74, who has been working at elections for the past three cycles. “It was very hectic when we got here and they told us we had to move. It was a lot of confusion.”
Tthe Board of Elections sent over more workers to help change the location place to a difference entrance of the high school. But, George said, it confused voters who were arriving after the polls opened at noon.
The process also hit roadblocks when voters who had cast absentee ballots also showed up in person to vote on the machines. “When an absentee ballot is used and the voter comes in, we have to call the Board of Elections to make sure it’s not counted twice,” George said.
As for the rush of voters throughout the day, George also noticed the heavy Democratic turnout. Not surprising. “It’s a highly Democratic area,” George said. “The Republican side just won’t be the same.”
But to George, working at the polls on a primary day isn’t about the numbers, or even who wins or loses. And to her, it’s worth the time and effort she puts in to take part in the process.
“The patriotic spirit is my favorite part,” she said. “And the fact that it’s people from all walks of life, all age groups and all nationalities. It’s interesting to see who comes out.”
(Melissa Daniels is a junior newspaper major.)
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