Latest / Rick Outzen: (we don’t) color on the dog / Voter Registration Deadlines
Transcript
- Rick Outzen: Hi, I'm Rick Altson and this is Rick's Blog Live. Thank you for watching. You can us on YouTube. We don't color on the dog. ⁓ and subscribe. That helps us keep this show going. Of course, you can always reach out to me at the paper at any time. The blogs, rixblog.biz, inweekly.net. And this is ⁓ the part the inweekly media empire. And so who knows we'll go ⁓ and this isn't this is real, this is me. ⁓ one thing we want to bring in ⁓ every week is is newsmakers and what's happening in the news. The election is approaching. There are a lot of dates to keep in mind, a lot of opportunities for you to to vote and to help us understand it. I've asked supervisor for election, Robert Bender, to come in. Robert, thank you for coming. ⁓ Robert Bender: See ya, thank you, Rick. Appreciate it. Yeah. Rick Outzen: You've done the final through of the primary. How did you do as far as accuracy? Robert Bender: We did great. Of course, ⁓ we we take every one of those ballots, run it through an independent system, and they had a ninety-nine over ninety-nine point nine nine percent match. ended up being twenty-nine individual votes that were different. four of those were just from one ballot that hadn't been read in the machine. And so so again, twenty-nine votes out of a couple hundred thousand were the were all the the differences. And again, most of those are ovals not being filled in properly and the two systems reading. ⁓ one as an under vote and one as a as a vote in that contest. So again just different parameters and and how they're designed, but other than that, we we can identify usually each one of those and and what caused it. and ⁓ again twenty nine votes off over ninety nine point nine nine percent. we've had that in every election that's been used so we know we'll again ⁓ show that the are being properly tabulated in November. Rick Outzen: Yeah, you had new volunteers this time. how did how you know, how did they They they you get trained by fire. Robert Bender: It it is and and unfortunately, you know, again you sometimes find those little mistakes or errors that happen. I usually tell them that ⁓ day is like organized chaos. ⁓ and really we're there on the back end to ⁓ to that and and find everything. ⁓ The thing is and and really also that election day is what when the election starts for us and in terms of sure that we send the proper ⁓ voting history to state, because if somebody comes in ⁓ and and and gets a ballot and then doesn't vote it, we have to make sure we can try to back that history out because they ended up not v not voting. and again it depends on what happens. But you those are all things we send in the state. If we're up one, you know, we had one where someone got a wrong ballot style in a in a reprint at an early vote site. So again we we ⁓ wanna focus on during training to where it didn't affect the races they were voting, but you know, just little things that that happen when you're trying to to manage eighty precincts on a single day or do all that. And and and ⁓ again, our our election workers are great. We wouldn't be able to do it without ⁓ they haven't really worked since last April, ⁓ know, so you only do it twice every other year or something like that. It it it does take a little bit. So we're very thankful to have them. Appreciate the new people that stepped up 'cause ⁓ you know, we had a little over five hundred. It's amazing. We we probably did have about fifty people that called out the week before the election to say they weren't gonna make it. And so you're trying to fill those gaps and everything like that with the the the people that have been trained because you know, just like in football, we have to sort of kinda say who our election worker is gonna be. Right. B it ⁓ the there's a deadline to appoint somebody as an election worker, and they have to have that mandatory training and things like that. So, yeah. Rick Outzen: Well, it's you know, we we've we I think the most important thing that we need to do is is go over the dates. It's not you know, this is gonna be an interesting election, I think, Robert, because we're we're we haven't had a lot of excitement ⁓ the you know the last ⁓ you know, two years ago, four years ago. ⁓ having a new level of excitement at the state level. A very, very competitive races this so ⁓ if someone wants to vote ⁓ and they they still have time to register, right? Robert Bender: They do. October fifth is the deadline. you can go online to our website. It it it takes you to the state's website and do that. ⁓ are paper forms available in libraries. They're available in our office. come by and do that. But needs to be postmarked by October fifth or done online by the end of the day on October fifth, to to register to vote. Again, party change it it would still apply, but 'cause we we do ⁓ close the books, but it doesn't matter, everyone's getting the same ballot style at a in a precinct, so ⁓ but yeah, you know, if you think about it, know, typically in a in a midterm election like this, a gubernatorial cycle, our turnouts are are in the low fifties. but eight years ago, the last time we had an open ⁓ gubernatorial seat, were at sixty one percent in this Gambia County. ⁓ we also did do about two percent higher than the state average in terms of turnout for the primary, but twenty-seven percent. But but again, hopefully we close to that sixty-one percent. that we'll see. ⁓ you know, looking at we were ordering ballots last week. usually it's about fifty to sixty thousand is where we've averaged election day. ⁓ So it's gonna see who turns out for early vote. we'll have thirteen days of early vote, October nineteenth through the thirty-first, ⁓ eight A.m. to PM at our ten locations around the around the county. ⁓ I can go any one of those those ten locations. Rick Outzen: Now, as far as vote by mail, there's a deadline the last time that you the la there's the last a deadline for the last time you can request a vote by mail. Robert Bender: Yes. So October twenty second is the last day to request a a vote by mail ballot to be mailed. You can still come in the office and and do an over the counter or emergency affidavit if if if you need to pick it up for someone who who may not meet that deadline. ⁓ forms are available online ⁓ to do that. But yes, October twenty second is the deadline. We'll also be sending out sample ballots to everyone who doesn't have a vote by mail request on file. because we're starting early vote October nineteenth, they'll they'll come a week earlier. ⁓ so we would look to probably getting them out in the mail October eighth or ninth, ⁓ so that they you almost get it a full week before early vote, give you a time to review everything. We have three constitutional amendments on the ballot. it is a two-sided ballot. So we have under each race on both sides, that's the the last race on that page, ⁓ vote both sides and then also again on the corner. So four places on the ballot, we say we tell you to vote both sides, but ⁓ really we wanted a more uniform backpage. So the back page is the second amendment, third amendment, and then the county referendum on the L O S T. ⁓ Rick Outzen: Cool. And I think I g the reason in sending it out a week early is to give the a person an opportunity to do more research on who's on the ballot. Robert Bender: Do that but also because we're we're we're moving from eight days to thirteen days for early voting. So the fact that it it gets in their mailbox about a week before early vote begins, gives them a time to review the ballot, make the plan to come and and and come to that early vote site. also it'd it'd be about ten days before that V B ⁓ deadline, so that if if once they get it they they have time to to think, okay, I need to request that vote by mail ballot. So Rick Outzen: So it's starting to rev up. Robert Bender: It is. We've ⁓ last week we've mailed out about eighteen hundred vote mail for our military and and oversea voters. Did another seven hundred email ballots for the so for those those same voters that are are military in the US they can get emailed ballot. if they're in the US they have to mail it back, but if they're overseas they can fax it back. ⁓ so a little over twenty four hundred ballots went out last week. and now ⁓ we're actually at the office right now inserting ballots and and again a probably a little more twenty-two thousand, twenty-three thousand will go out this week to what we call all of our domestic voters. so if you're local and have that vote by mail ballot, it should it be getting in the mail shortly. Rick Outzen: Well great. Well Robert, thank you so much for coming on. We'll do this again. That's a lot of support. Robert Bender: Third is the election day. That's right. Yes, November third, seven AM to seven PM. Have to go to your your polling location on election day, but hope to see you out there. Again, we have our new two fifty America stickers that were given out. Had had great reviews on that and ⁓ looking forward to seeing you at the polls. ⁓ Rick Outzen: Alright, good deal. Let's go ahead, let's take a break. We'll be right back. I'm Rick Alton.