Poll-Worker Crunch Among Election Challenges in Indy

[IndianaGreen]

Poll-Worker Crunch Among Election Challenges In Indy

INDIANAPOLIS -- On the afternoon before Tuesday's elections, about 20 polling-place jobs in Marion County were unfilled and 183 of the county's poll workers failed to pick up voting materials, raising concerns that some polls won't be open for a full 12 hours.

The county's Republicans are supposed to fill the jobs because their party holds the secretary of state post. Late Monday afternoon, Marion County Democrats said Republicans asked them to help fill precinct inspector positions -- a move that could ensure all polls will be open as scheduled, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., 6News' Norman Cox reported.

Marion County Clerk Doris Anne Sadler, a Republican, said some longtime poll workers declined to work this time because they felt they couldn't deal with a new computerized voting system being introduced in the county.

"Some poll workers ... have come out and said, 'I'm sorry. I just can't do it,' " Sadler said. "So, we still have concerns about tomorrow morning -- that all our poll workers can get those machines up and running."

Before Democrats said they had been asked to help staff the polling places, county Democratic chairman Ed Treacy said he was concerned some locations wouldn't open on time, and he suspected that if there was a worker shortage, Republicans would make sure the understaffed spots would be in heavily Democratic areas.

http://www.theindychannel.com/politics/10259136/detail.html