Election Day 2002: an insider's view

In October 2001, I was selected to be Substitute Member of the Mont gomery County (Maryland) Board of Elections by the MC Democratic Central Committee, the political body in the county that submits names to the Governor for such appointments.

In November, I was sworn in, and attended my first meeting. The timing could not have been more perfect. Earlier in the year, the State had embarked on the procurement process for a new voting system. Both the board members and the staff were understandably apprehensive about implementation for the primary on September 10, 2002.

The Maryland State Board of Elections selected four counties, including Montgomery County, for this ambitious project. Among major issues that needed to be addressed were:

* County-wide demonstrations of the new system to the voters;

* Installation of over 3,000 new touch screen voting machines;

* Installation of appropriate electrical outlets at each polling place;

* Publication of new training manuals for election judges;

* Recruitment of additional judges beyond the number needed in prior years;

* Implementation of Section 203 of the 1965 voting Rights Act--the translation of all signs, documents and ballots into Spanish plus recruitment of Spanish-speaking judges;

* The creation of an IT team of experts; and

* Implementation of new procedures for election night: election returns, etc.

September 10, primary election day arrived--the day when all the hard work would be tested. Many things did not go as successfully as anticipated. I personally traveled to 12 different precincts in Chevy Chase, Bethesda and North Bethesda. I experienced the problems not only at my own polling place, but also witnessed first hand the problems faced by elections judges in other precincts. On election night, I stood for almost 6 hours as all the ballot judges brought their information to the MC Board of Elections. I believe that it was almost midnight before we could say with certainty that the election results from all precincts were in.

Then, the work began again. The MC Board of Elections along with the State Board of Elections reviewed reports from the elections judges, the elected officials, the press, and anyone sending in comments, and reassessed the recently established procedures. We had only seven weeks to address the issues that did not work during the primary election.

As we approached the general election date, November 5, 2002, expectations and apprehensions were running high. The Board of Elections as well as the voters, the elected officials, the candidates and the media were anxious to see what would happen.

This time, I decided to work as a Spanish-speaking assistant chief judge at Connecticut Garden Park School. My main goal was to witness first hand the efficacy of the adjustments made to election day tasks and also provide language-appropriate service and assistance per Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act.

General Election Day 2002--all 12 hours--was one of the most rewarding experiences in recent years for me. The election judges comprised a highly professional, dedicated team of veterans of many prior elections. By 6:30 a.m. the polling place was set up and ready to go--all signs were up and the machines properly installed and in working order.

This particular polling place had 1,900 registered voters. Turnout for the general election was over 50 percent as compared to 33 percent in September. Throughout the day, there was a steady stream of voters, who were enthusiastic about voting and about the voting equipment. For the most part, the changes and adjustments made after the primary were successfully implemented. Lessons had been learned from our primary experience!

Zaida Arguedas is an LWVUS staff member, a member of the LWV of Montgomery County and a substitute member of the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

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