Election-Repair Crew Scopes Out Polls

The Registrar of Voters office, a new consultant and a handful of moderators got to kick the tires on New Haven’s upcoming mayoral primary with the first of a series of tours of polling places.

With just four months until the Sept. 10 Democratic primary election, and with efforts underway to correct problems that have created years of botched elections, the tour pulled into Roberto Clemente at Columbus and Howard avenues in the Hill Monday.

There, Democratic Registrar Shannel Evans and newly hired consultant Jackie James along with moderators tried to imagine what it will be like for people to vote in the school gymnasium.

Ward 6 voting will take place at Clemente this year instead of at New Horizons School, where it has occurred in most recent elections.

James has been hired as a consultant to help the registrar address everything from how polling places are staffed to the mess that is Election Day Registration at City Hall.

She challenged the assembled to think through the natural traffic jams and bottlenecks that leave people standing in line, or confused about what they need to do to cast their ballots. The tours, which are going to all 30 polling places by the end of the month, are aimed at working out the many problems that have plagued previous elections before the next big one, which happens to include a hot mayoral race.

“As a voter, I hate coming into a polling place and being confused,” James said. ​“When you’re not greeted by staff it gets to be very confusing, particularly for the elderly.”

At this particular polling place, voters will be entering and exiting from a side door that leads to a parking lot. Evans invited the moderators to take a look so they’d be familiar with it.

One moderator noticed that one of the doors didn’t open. Evans made a note to talk with school leadership so that it could be repaired.

During gubernatorial and presidential elections, Roberto Clemente is staged to serve two sets of voters, because of how districts are drawn: Ward lines overlap with different parts of state legislative districts, some ward voters choose among different sets of state legislative candidates. In odd-numbered year municipal elections, like this year’s, it serves as one polling place, for one ward.

Evans said that for this election that means that the polling place will be staged in only one half of the gym. The other side will be cordoned off by a divider.

When people questioned the wisdom of using only half the space, she the idea was to keep people contained and flowing in one direction to vote and back out the way they came in.

“I understand the vision you have, but here’s the reality: They’re not going to go through separate doors,” said longtime moderator Cameron Davis-Taylor. The outspoken moderator said she’s been working elections since she was in her 20s; she’s now 54. She pointed out that the tabulators, which need electricity, must be where the plugs in the room are, and that they need extension cords. Davis-Taylor, who uses a wheelchair, also spoke up for the voters who might have physical disabilities or limited mobility and need special accommodations to vote.

After making sure that the entrance/exit would accommodate wheelchairs, James reminded everyone that all polling places need to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“We have to be respectful of everyone,” she said.

James said she wanted to impress upon those who are working the polls this upcoming election that they need to operate with a customer service ethos. Polling places also need more signs, she said.

“I think part of it is that this system is very antiquated,” she said. ​“It’s been the same system, the same process for decades.”

Around they went, simulating the anticipated flow of traffic inside the halfcourt of space until everyone felt comfortable they knew where things would be. James also let people know that while there would be food for Election Day workers, they were not to be eating while they were actually working. All Election Day workers, veterans and newbies alike, must participate in a job fair session that will be announced at a later date.

James said after the first tour that in addition to increasing the staffing levels at polling places, the team will arrange more access to IT staff. She is working with registrar staff to brainstorm a contingency plan for dealing with inclement weather like the torrential rains voters faced in the election, casting soggy ballots that had to be counted by hand. She noted that Election Day Registration at City Hall and the Hall of Records polling place also need their own specific plan to make the flow of traffic easier.

“There is a lot to think through,” she said.

Only 29 more polling places to go.