Board of Elections gets set for Election Day

By C.J. Marshall

TOWANDA - It's Election Day, and Marie Zbyszinski, director of elections for Bradford County, is busy setting up voting machines at what will serve today as the polling place for Towanda's Second Ward.

Located at a storage facility used by Hurley's Supermarket - formerly the Towanda Beverage Company - the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today in the Second Ward, as well as the rest of Pennsylvania, to allow people to exercise their right to vote.

Because flu season is getting into full swing, Zbyszinski is asking voters who may feel "under the weather" to be considerate and take certain precautions before going to the polls - things such as washing hands, and having tissues or handkerchiefs handy to catch sneezes.

"I don't expect people to go around with masks on," the director explained with a laugh. "But just to take precautions."

Zbyszinski said she's also made certain that each polling place has hand sanitizers and wipes.

Each election, whether general or primary, requires a dedicated group of people who work hard to make certain that all eligible voters going to the polls has a chance to cast their ballots.

Helping Zbyszinski set up the operation is Cynthia Young, the acting judge of elections for the Second Ward. Although Young is officially the majority inspector of elections, she is acting as judge to fill the vacancy left when Paul Pringle, the previous judge of elections, retired.

"It's fun," Young explained when asked what it is like to work at the polls. "It will be great to see people that I haven't seen in the past year."

Zbyszinski explained that it can be difficult to get people to serve as poll workers on a regular basis. Normally, she said, each polling place has five workers. Three of the positions - the judge of elections; the majority inspector of elections and the minority inspector of elections - are elected positions, Zbyszinski explained. In addition, there are two clerks. The only criteria to serve in any of the positions is a person must be a registered voter, Zbyszinski said.

Although being a poll worker only requires a person to be on the job twice a year, the position does have its demands, according to Zbyszinski. They must be at the polling place when it opens at 7 a.m., she said, and cannot leave until after it closes at 8 p.m. In addition, each worker has to undergo training to make certain everything goes smoothly, and must also perform preliminary work in getting the polls set up before each election, and complete certain tasks after the polls close.

The judge of elections, the director continued, acts as a supervisor, overseeing all the operations at the polls, and helping out wherever necessary. In addition, the judge also makes certain that everything remains in place from a legal standpoint. By law, a person cannot campaign closer than 10 feet to a polling place, and if someone violates the rule, the judge will inform the person and ask that they move farther away from the premises, Zbyszinski explained.

The majority inspector of elections, she said, encodes the ballot with a special calculator on every card for each voter used in the machines on Election Day. The minority inspector, she said, keeps the poll books that contain the names of the registered voters, having them sign in and verify their identity. The clerks help out with various tasks that may come up at each polling place.

After the polls close, she said, the workers complete the paperwork, close up the operation, and bring the cards with the voter information to the Board of Elections at the courthouse annex where it is tallied and released to the public.

"I like the whole board to know each other's jobs," Zbyszinski explained about procedure. "That way, if someone doesn't show up (on Election Day) the others can help out.

One more worker the Election Board uses is a "rover," the director explained. These are county employees who travel to specific polling places while they're open, making certain that everything is running smoothly, and trouble-shooting problems when necessary. If, for example, a voting machine stops functioning, she said, a rover will replace it with a working system. The rovers, Zbyszinski said, save her or someone else from Towanda from having to run all over the county on Election Day.

During the setup operation, Young asks Zbyszinski about sample ballots, and other things they might need on Election Day.

"I don't think we're going to be very busy, but you never know," she explains.

Because the workers cannot leave once the polls open, Young checks around to make certain all supplies are in place.

"We have enough paper towels," she announces during the setup.

Poll workers cannot even leave for lunch or dinner. Instead they must eat on the premises during Election Day.

"It's always nice to see the elderly citizens come out and vote," Young said about her experience as a poll worker. "They make the effort because they want to come out. I've seen many of them come in, even with their walkers."

Zbyszinski said that anyone interested in serving as a poll worker in Bradford County can contact her or another member of the Board of Elections at (570) 265-1717.

C.J. Marshall can be contacted at (570) 265-1652; or e-mail cjmarshall@thedailyreivew.com.

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