100 poll workers fired for not voting

 

More than 100 Hamilton County poll workers got fired Thursday for failing to do the one thing that matters most on Election Day.

 

They didn't vote.

 

The board of elections said goodbye to the 104 workers after learning they had not voted in either the 2013 or 2014 elections, despite spending most of those Election Days in a polling place, surrounded by voters and ballots.

 

"I'm frankly kind of shocked by the number of people on that list," said Tim Burke, chairman of the board and leader of Hamilton County's Democratic Party. "We want everyone to vote. If we have poll workers who don't vote, we're not encouraging that."

 

The board reviews the performance of poll workers after every election, and voting is one of the requirements that most often trips people up. Depending on their responsibilities, poll workers are paid between $161.50 and $181.50.

 

The number of non-voting poll workers increased significantly this year compared to 2012, though it's not clear exactly by how much because the board changed the way it keeps records. Two years ago, 62 workers were let go for failing to vote or for other performance issues, which means the number from 2014 is at least 68 percent higher.

 

The increase from 2012 is due in part to the presidential election that year, which attracted far more voters overall than the 2014 election, but elections officials say that's no excuse. Poll workers are expected to vote.

 

"They don't bother to vote and yet they work for the board of elections?" Burke said. "We're not going to hire people who don't vote."

 

Four other poll workers were fired for low scores on their post-election assessment, which is based on complaints, operations reports, spot visits by trouble shooters and other criteria. In the case of those four, 10 of the 20 provisional ballots they handled were filed improperly and the electronic scanning equipment at the polling place where they worked was not turned on until 12 minutes after polls opened.

 

Far more poll workers – 96 of them – were fired in 2012 for making mistakes handling provisional ballots, so members of the board were happy about that. Still, they saw room for improvement, starting with hiring more workers who will cast a ballot themselves.

 

"Our system mostly works," said Alex Triantafilou, a board member and chair of the county's Republican Party. "Our struggle to find great poll workers is ongoing."

 

Almost 600 poll workers will receive additional training because of minor mistakes, and more than 2,100 scored well on the assessment and will be retained.

Im trying to understand how they can fire them for not voting.

Agreed. You have a right to vote, not an obligation to vote. Is this even legal? Frankly, if you are not up to speed on the issues or candidates, I would prefer you not vote.

Im trying to understand how they can fire them for not voting.

 

Maybe it's a condition of employment as a poll worker that they vote? We are highly encouraged to vote early absentee before we work the polls, but I have never been told I had to vote.

 

I got to tell you, as a poll worker it can be a TOUGH job if you are serious and do it right and you are located at a voting place that is at least somewhat busy. I'm very diligent in what I do and I have still made mistakes. If they are firing people every time they make a mistake, which sounds like the might be doing as well as those that don't vote...well then they are going to have a hard time getting workers cause it's very easy to make a mistake. And also remember this isn't a full time job, this is something you do at most twice a year, so it's not like you have a routine burned into your brain.

 

And evidently Hamilton Co is in the minority. If they can fire that many people, then they must have people lined up to work the polls. That is NOT the case in most areas. Many places have to almost BEG people to come work.

Maybe it's a condition of employment as a poll worker that they vote? We are highly encouraged to vote early absentee before we work the polls, but I have never been told I had to vote.

 

I got to tell you, as a poll worker it can be a TOUGH job if you are serious and do it right and you are located at a voting place that is at least somewhat busy. I'm very diligent in what I do and I have still made mistakes. If they are firing people every time they make a mistake, which sounds like the might be doing as well as those that don't vote...well then they are going to have a hard time getting workers cause it's very easy to make a mistake. And also remember this isn't a full time job, this is something you do at most twice a year, so it's not like you have a routine burned into your brain.

 

And evidently Hamilton Co is in the minority. If they can fire that many people, then they must have people lined up to work the polls. That is NOT the case in most areas. Many places have to almost BEG people to come work.

 

That's exactly what it is — a requirement of the job.

 

From the article:

The board reviews the performance of poll workers after every election, and voting is one of the requirements that most often trips people up. Depending on their responsibilities, poll workers are paid between $161.50 and $181.50.

Even though this is a condition of employment, I would strongly disagree with the legality of this. (although I bet no one challenges being terminated)

 

100 losing their jobs is statiscally insignificant is you compare that to the number of dead voters in Ohio, which is 1.8 million.