Reynolds’ last election

For the last 15 years, voters in Osceola have been greeted on Election Day - and other elections - by Lucille Reynolds. While last Tuesday’s election was no different, it was the last one that Reynolds will be working as a precinct election official, as she turns 90 in the spring and said she won’t be doing it any more after her birthday.

Reynolds got into election work after a friend suggested that she should come and help out.

“The first election I worked was a general election,” Reynolds said. “I was scared to death.”

The first election she worked was at the courthouse, that year’s polling place for Osceola’s 2nd Ward. When redistricting moved Reynolds into Osceola’s 3rd Ward, the polling place eventually ended up at its present location of the Osceola Municipal Golf Course.

In the near-two decades as a poll worker, Reynolds has seen many changes in how elections are conducted, the biggest change being the use of electronic equipment.

“We used to write everything on paper and now it’s all machines,” she said.

Where once poll workers had to count all of the marked ballots by hand, now a machine takes care of that. PEOs just need to count the number of remaining ballots left against the number in the machine to make sure all are accounted for. The only time Reynolds touches the ballot is when she hands it to a voter in a ballot folder - the voter then takes the ballot and inserts it into the voting machine.

In the event of a spoiled ballot - say someone marks an “x” instead of filling in a circle - those go in a special folder kept track of by Reynolds. The voter then gets a new ballot to vote again, with only the correct ballot counted towards election totals

While there still exists a binder of all eligible voters, instead of having to manually go through and check everyone, now a computer scans a voter’s ID and produces a declaration of eligibility form.

“The computer prints everything that says they can vote,” Reynolds said.

Everything a PEO touches goes in a bag that is sealed, initialed and delivered back to the auditor’s office.

Some elections have been busier than others. Reynolds said the biggest turnout she’s seen was last year’s General Election. Other years, there have been as few as 30 people show up.

As of 3 p.m. last Tuesday, 63 people had been through the Country Club to vote.

Interested in working the polls?

Poll workers do more than just check people in to vote on Election Day and keep track of ballots. They also help voters register to vote, set up the polling place and equipment, assist voters who need to vote from their vehicles, complete paperwork and close down the polling site, as well as answer questions voters may have. The need for PEOs is one that is always there.

Clarke County Auditor Jessica Graves said they are always looking for new people who are willing to step up and help out for primaries, special elections and Election Day, especially in years where elections require an even balance of Democrats and Republicans at polling locations. Polling locations in Woodburn and Osceola’s third ward are two places in particular that will be in need of more workers come June’s primaries.

Polling places generally have three to five workers depending on the type of election being held.

Most PEOs will be called to work in their own precinct, and are notified by phone or mail; PEOs are not required to work an election if not available.

There are requirements to be a PEO in Clarke County, such as being a registered voter in the county, and training sessions that are held before each election.

PEOs are currently paid $10 per hour, a rate set by the Clarke County Board of Supervisors plus mileage reimbursement of $0.64 round-trip from instructional school and to one’s assigned polling place.

To learn more about becoming a PEO or to apply, interested persons may stop in to the auditor’s office, call them at (641) 342-3315 or email Graves at jgraves@clarkecountyiowa.org.

Application forms can also be filled out online at pollworker.iowa.gov, and the appropriate county auditor will contact you.