Reply #20: Md. Counties Seek Hundreds of Election Judges

[kpete]

Md. Counties Seek Hundreds of Election Judges

By Rosalind S. Helderman and Cameron W. Barr
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, October 4, 2006; Page B01

Prince George's County must hire nearly 1,000 new election judges to serve as poll workers before the Nov. 7 election, and Montgomery County needs at least 200 more to ensure that voting runs smoothly, elections officials said yesterday.

At a Prince George's County Council hearing, Interim Elections Administrator Robert J. Antonetti Sr. placed much of the blame for voting problems in the Sept. 12 primary on state officials.

But he acknowledged that the county's roster of technicians and election judges needed to be enlarged and retrained before the general election. Among other things, workers need a refresher course on basic procedures such as handling provisional paper balloting, he said.

Classes for election workers began yesterday, despite a new order from the state that training should not begin until after Oct. 8. Antonetti said he thought the county needed to get started.

more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/03/AR2006100300819.html