New county director makes her debut
For most people, Election Day requires a couple minutes of their time to cast a vote. But for Butler County Bureau of Elections personnel, it is an all day affair.
On Election Day, director Shari Brewer and her staff will arrive at the office about 6 a.m. They will spend about an hour Tuesday making sure the polling locations are set up.
This is Brewer's first year as director, a post she took over on Aug. 30. Before that, she was a registrar in the bureau office.
At 7 a.m., the polls open.
About 500 people will work on Election Day. Each polling site has about five poll workers. The judge of elections gets paid $125 and the minority inspector gets $130. The remaining workers get $110.
Brewer said the poll workers have developed a food routine at their locations, bringing in snacks and prepared dishes throughout the day.
"Some of them must plan a whole meal," she said.
At the polls, voters are given stickers declaring "I voted," which have to be bought every once in a while.
"We purchase enough so that we don't have to buy them every year," Brewer said.
The stickers cost $3.80 for a roll. There are a thousand stickers on a roll.
Brewer will spend most of the day in the office, answering calls and helping the registrars.
If there is a problem at one of the polling places, one of the 15 rovers employed by the county will check it out. If the rovers cannot help, retired bureau director Regis Young will.
Young is working part time this year to help Brewer with her first Election Day as director.
"I think I'll always have his number somewhere in case I need help," she said.
There also will be a representative from ES&S, the company that makes the voting machines, in the office in case there is a problem with one of the machines.
Constables will be around the county at some polling locations to monitor safety or illegal campaigning.
At 8 p.m. the polls close. Brewer said the first ballots, usually from the city, arrive between 8:30 and 8:45 p.m. Poll workers bring the ballots in black duffel bags to the bureau office.
All of the vote counting falls to one tabulator, who is an employee of the county's information technology department.
Brewer said she hopes the final tally will be done between 10 and 11 p.m. She said the final count was in by 10 p.m. in 2009.
"But anything could happen," Brewer said.
