Election Officer FAQ

Ask them to do the best that they can at signing their name in their assigned space.  Do not make any notes on the Roster page. Do not ask them to sign in the other person’s signature space. If you have not already done so, make note of the error in the Sheriff’s Report so the person that signed in the wrong spot will get voter credit.

Treat the ballot as a spoiled ballot, and place in the Spoiled Ballot Envelope.  You do not know whose ballot it is, so you will not be able to retrieve the ballot stub number.

Have the out of state voter contact the Election Center to get instructions on how to be removed.

Have the person informing you of the death contact the Election Center for instructions.

The Election Officer Assistant can write you a new Credential when visiting the precinct. If you are new to the precinct, the Election Officers can tell 574-VOTE to verify that you are in the correct location.

Each voter should be able to vote a secret ballot.  Ballot stub numbers help Election Officers keep track of how many ballots have been issued. However, the ballot is torn from the stub and there should not be a way for anyone to look at a ballot and match it to a voter’s identity.  If you are writing the ballot stub number on ballots, you are taking away that voter’s right to a secret ballot. DO NOT write stub numbers anywhere on the ballot.

Yes, about two weeks before an Election, everyone registered within that precinct receives an oversized manila postcard announcing the precinct change. During the last Presidential Election, postcards were mailed twice (at six weeks and again at two weeks before the election) in hopes that the voter will notice the change.

A 17 year old can vote during the May Primary if s/he will be 18 years old by November’s General Election. Some students register to vote at school and parents are sometimes shocked when they see their child’s name in the Roster Book.  Many people are not aware that 17 year olds are eligible to vote in the Primary if they will be 18 by November’s General Election.

If a voter tells you that their personal information (ss#, name, date of birth) is wrong in the Roster Book, ask them to complete a Voter Registration Card. Turn in the card with the other forms at the end of the night.  We will make the correction once it is received. Do not make notes about the typos in the Roster Book or in the Sheriff’s Report. The Voter Registration Card will correct the error.

If a voter comes in with an absentee ballot or absentee application, you must contact the Election Center at 574-VOTE. Do not allow them to vote. They must speak with the Election Center.

A red line through a voter’s name means the voter informed us that s/he moved to another address after the books closed. The voter has been assigned to another precinct, and the voter’s name will appear in the Supplemental Roster at the new precinct. Ask the voter if s/he remembers where the new precinct is located. If the voter does not remember, contact 574-VOTE for that information.

Any driver’s license will do. A driver’s license, from any state, is a valid form of ID because it contains the voter’s picture and signature.