CHRISTINA TASCON

An old adage says that housework is one of those things no one notices until it is not done…basically the job of unseen heroes who keep the wheels greased and the machinery in working order.

So it is at the Supervisor of Elections (SOE) and Voters’ Registration Office.

Although many of us do not give a thought to the monumental task of this office, we all tend to believe that Elections staff must only be really busy once a year or even every four years.

For the conscientious staff and its elected head, Leslie Swan, that is far from the reality.

“We are responsible for so much more than I think people realize,” said Swan, Supervisor of Elections.

“The most nerve wracking time is during Early Voting and on Election Day but my staff works really hard year-round and they are very dedicated to what they do.  They take pride in running an efficient office.”

In reviewing the six page list of responsibilities of the Election office, it is easy to see why it needs every one of its six full-time and three part-time employees.

The voting machine maintenance and review is a big job for the staff that is constantly scrutinized each time there is a failure in the machines or the working of the voting procedures.

Each year routine maintenance and cleaning must be done by the staff of the voting booths, machines and materials.

“People would be surprised at the number of voting booths that people have doodled on with pens and pencils,” said Swan.

Every other month the office hosts a two-hour orientation session for perspective poll workers including information about the voting equipment and responsibilities associated with serving as a poll worker.

Once hired, poll workers must be trained prior to each election and must be capable of working 14 hours on Election Day.  Poll workers need to be familiar with emergency management when a problem arises.

“One year a squirrel had chewed through the wires at the main library in Vero Beach during Early Voting and the electricity went out,” recalled Swan.

Living in a state where storms are a major issue, Swan’s staff must also prepare disaster plans in case of a hurricane, tornadoes or other natural disasters and teach poll workers how to proceed.

Another major task is staying informed of legislative changes.

“The   election laws are amended and “reformed “frequently and all of the materials we print and post must be edited to comply with any new legislation,” said Swan.

No easy task especially since the changes must be exactly written and then re-distributed to all of the outlets where they are available to the public to be sure they have the correct and most up-to-date version.

Another herculean task is keeping the voter registration records correct.  Not only do residents move and change voting precincts, many variances may occur which require notification and revision of the registration records.

Name changes, party affiliation switches voting right revocation due to felony conviction or mental incapacity status change and signature verification are all tedious and time consuming ongoing updates requiring many man hours.

The Department of State notifies the office whenever a person has been adjudicated mentally incapacitated or has been convicted of a felony so that the voter can be removed from the vote rolls until such time as their rights are restored.

This process alone is time consuming and costly since by law each person must be notified by certified mail-return.  After a period of 30 days without response, the office must then publish a notice in the newspaper which gives them another 30 days to respond.  If no response within another 30 day they are removed from the voter rolls.

In just the last 6 months, 270 certified letters have gone out and 120 voters have been published.  All of which must be done by one part time employee who is dedicated to processing these particular voters.

Last year, before the Primary Election in August, 893 voters switched parties to vote in the primaries and then switched back because of Florida’s closed primary law.

Some of the SOE’s activities have been implemented by Swan herself to make the office run efficiently and be more community involved.

A new policy has been implemented to make sure that all of the employees are cross trained to be able to fill a gap should another employee leave or have to take an absence.  Staff members also attend continuing education classes to gain certification in their particular areas of expertise.

Swan’s staff participates and volunteers at the County Health Fair as well as assists in the organization and planning.  She feels that her staff and the county benefits financially in the long run by teaching preventative WellCare care rather than emergency restorative care.

Other items that the SOE office works on every year are analyzing budgets and expected expenditures which fluctuate depending on whether it is a gubernatorial or Presidential year.  In addition, some years, special elections may be called to add to the expenditures.  Every ten years the census results show new population numbers and re-districting also must be taken into account for the budget.

A big aspect of the SOE’s responsibility is voter education and registration efforts.

In slower times the SOE goes out to various schools and teaches young students about the voting process. Facility tours for the public are also available.

“Visitors are shown first-hand what goes on behind the scenes of conducting an election,” said Swan about the facility tours.

Educational programs range from teaching the middle school aged kids about the voting process by voting for their favorite books using the official touch screen voter equipment to Democracy Days.

Democracy Days is a program that takes the staff into the classroom giving a 45 minute presentation to educate older teens about the election process.

Using mock debates, pop culture, class participation and things teens can relate to, SOE staff hope to raise the level of enthusiasm for the teens to want to register to vote.

The public has a chance to register to vote when the staff boards the seven GoLine bus routes throughout Indian River County and answers election questions from the riders.

“It makes the public aware and brings voting awareness to different areas of the county and diverse group of people,” said Swan.

Finally, the SOE is the first stop for candidates to submit their Financial Disclosure forms and their paperwork to run for office.

Whew!  So is that all they have to do?  Wait, you must include customer relations to that long list.  Residents are often surprised to hear Swan answer the phones personally when they call her office.

“Situations arise every year with someone being upset with something that happened at a polling location but I find that if you talk to them right away and explain that many procedures are required by law they calm right down .”

Swan regards her position as Supervisor of Elections an honor which she does not take for granted.

“Being elected by the voters of Indian River County after the appointment by the Governor has got to be my proudest moment,” Swan says sincerely.

The next election is only in a few months for municipal offices on November 5th, 2013, which is not that too far in the SOE’s future.