MML The Review MarchApr 2021 Magazine

Montague City Clerk K.P. Mahoney convened a team of volunteers to process and mail AV applications to voters, rather than having them sent by the SOS. She heavily marketed the mail-in and early voting, to minimize exposure to COVID-19. “The lion’s share of votes were cast prior to election day in our small jurisdiction,” said Mahoney. “We had an actual Absentee Voter Counting Board (AVCB) with its own tabulator that we purchased through the federal CARES Act grant to the SOS. It by far was the safer(est) and most efficient way to conduct our election.” Counting Every Vote Bydalek explained that there are many steps to receiving in an absentee ballot and having that ballot count on election day. The ballot envelope must be scanned into the Qualified Voter File (QVF) as “received in,” once the signature has been verified, date and time stamped, then sorted by precinct before being given to an opening team consisting of both Republicans and Democrats. The ballot is then scanned, followed by a stop at the adjudication team before being fully processed. After 8 p.m. on election night, once all ballots have been scanned and the ballot count matches the clerk’s report, the AVCB can then close and seal their precinct results to be submitted to the county.

“Election night results will never be a quick and simple process because voters are able to hand in absentee ballots until 8 p.m.,” said Bydalek. “Walker received around 25-30 absentee ballots in the fifteen minutes prior to 8:01 p.m.” Troyer and her team also worked long hours. “On November 3, our AVCB worked from 7 a.m. until 1 a.m. to process 3,343 AV ballots,” she said. “The bottleneck is the tabulator itself—feeding each ballot is a very slow process.” enforcement to two precincts—one due to voter intimidation complaints, and one due to illegal campaign clothing, according to Clerk Mary R. Clark. “This election season was a wild ride,” said Clark. “We started right after Labor Day for November. We had plexiglass installed between workstations and between our counter and our voters. We registered 84 voters on election day and had to deal with a few rude, demanding people; but for the most part, people were patient and understanding.” K. P. Mahoney, Montague’s city clerk, takes great pride in her election team. “The trained team of staff and election inspectors, with up-to-date technology, were on the job and up to the task to ensure that one of our greatest democratic institutions—public voting—was accomplished both efficiently and effectively,” she said. Challenges at Polling Place On election day, Delta Charter Township had to call law

Sarah Bydalek, Walker City Clerk; Mary R. Clark, Delta Charter Township Clerk; K.P Mahoney, Montague City Clerk; Robin Troyer, Sault Ste. Marie Assistant Manager/City Clerk

MARCH / APRIL 2021

31

THE REVIEW