Volunteer to observe vote counting!!

Next week is the State of Oregon's Primary Election!

Observing the processing of ballots is one way that we can work for honest elections.   
Observing is now done by camera.  We can have one observer from the Republican Party observing at a time. The observer sits in the lobby outside the elections office in the basement of the Benton County Courthouse, and the observer can see what's going on in all the rooms where ballots are being handled via video.
The areas that can be observed are: watching workers scan signatures on ballots; watching workers open ballots; watching workers process ballots; watching the machine count the votes.

WILL YOU BE AN OBSERVER on TUESDAY AFTERNOON, May 20,  from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.?  The Party has only this one observer slot left to fill.  Will you be the one?   If you will, please respond to this e-mail immediately so we can get you certified.
In order to be an observer, the Party chairman must submit your name to the county clerk,  along with the times that the person is available to observe. 
Handling the ballots has already begun. Workers are already removing the outside envelope and scanning signatures.  Next, the inner envelope is opened so that elections workers can quickly remove the ballot and check to see if it has been properly and adequately marked.  Elections workers work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, May 19 (a day that ballots will be processed) and 8 a.m. to sometime after8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20.  The workers take an hour off for lunch.  It's been my experience that ballot processing usually gets going at about 8:30 a.m. until 12:00noon and begins again a little after 1 p.m. until about 5 p.m.  There are breaks in the work about half-way through the shift.

 

If you will be an elections observer, please do the following:

1. Arrive early.  Let everyone know that they should be at their post in the basement of the Benton County Courthouse at the door of the Elections Office  at least 15 minutes early so that can be oriented by the Elections Office staff.

2.  Bring a bottle of water and a snack if you want something to eat.  You cannot leave your post except to go to the potty (which adjoins the lobby) when you are an observer.  No wandering around, and Absolutely no going outside. 

3.  No visiting with other people.  Be very careful not to disrupt anyone else who is observing.  

4.  Bring a pad of paper and a pen so if you see something irregular going on you can record it and report it to Benton County Clerk James Morales or Saw Ling, who is acting elections officer.  Be careful not to interrupt them, however; they are very busy and are trying their best to carry out honest, fair elections.