Kansas City mayor turned away at polling location on Election Day, says it's time for more tech-savv

[pstokely]

Source: KCTV

A representative for the Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners said officials began working immediately on figuring out why Lucas wasn't showing up in the poll location's list of eligible voters. After a brief investigation, they found out the poll workers accidentally transposed the mayor's first and last names.

The election representative said the poll workers are elderly and may not be as familiar with the modern technology at polling places. She said the mayor relayed to the Election Board that maybe it's time for them to utilize younger, more tech-savvy volunteers to run the polling locations. The election representative said that's a valid concern.



Read more: https://www.kctv5.com/politics/kansas-city-mayor-turned-away-at-polling-location-on-election/article_8e2b2c5e-62cc-11ea-89ac-1ba48ed21669.html

[CaptYossarian]

1. This may be our next pandemic.

I haven't met a poll worker yet that didn't vote for Coolidge.

[MineralMan]

4. Time for younger people to apply for those voting place jobs, eh?

[Lulu KC]

25. Yeah--that bothered me!

It could happen to anyone. Especially if a little nervous.

[leftieNanner]

27. Most of them are working

I used to be a poll inspector when I lived in California and most of the poll workers we had were retired. Very few people can take a full day (from 6 am to 9 pm) day off work.

I agree with your post MM. Don't know how we fix that. Making election days on a weekend might help. But then more people would find it easier to vote, so that might be a problem for some of our leaders who would prefer that FEWER people voted.

[MineralMan]

29. Yes. I've worked at polling places in the past.

I agree that our elections should be on Saturdays. That would make it much easier for most people to go and vote. And, it would let working people be more involved, as well.

The poll workers at my precinct's polling place, however, do an excellent job. One of them is a nearby neighbor who I know. She's done it for every election since I moved here.

I always make it a point to thank the poll workers after I've voted, for showing up and working so hard!

[True Blue American]

56. In a small Precinct

You have your neighbors voting. I enjoyed that part.

[SharonAnn]

43. It is an exhausting day. Must be there from the time the polls open until they close. No half-days

And since I worked as Election Officer, I got to deal with all the problems, confusions, upset people, etc.

However, I felt it was my contribution to Democracy. But, I finally felt that the physical toll was too much.

[leftieNanner]

44. It is exhausting!

Don't know if I could do it now. We moved to Oregon where we vote by mail 100%. All states should be ramping up to do that in November.

[True Blue American]

55. I really felt for the BOE

Workers! They were solving problems all over the County!

[jayfish]

5. Ageism Still A Thing On DU I See. -NT-

[tavernier]

15. That's ok. I'm old. I laughed!

We may have voted for Coolidge, but we voted. Young whippersnappers can’t be pole workers because apparently they can’t find the polls.

[MineralMan]

33. There are almost no people still alive who voted for Calvin Coolidge.

Even my parents, who are both now 95 years old were just small children when he was President.

Oh, well...

[tavernier]

45. Really?

I dated him.

[MineralMan]

47. LOL!

Of course you did!

[True Blue American]

74. I do not remember Calvin Coolidge

I remember Hoover from later times. But I clearly remember FDR and his Day of Infamy Speech!

No matter how little you were you listened to that and his Sunday Night Fireside Chats. You darn well better keep your mouth shut,too!

[CaptYossarian]

21. I live in a small backward town where with each

high school graduation, there's a mass exodus to the real world. Nobody returns. It's the opposite of those Roach Motels.

Our local weekly paper prints about 1 birth a month (representing 4 similarly-sized communities) to 4 or 5 obituaries a WEEK. The area is loaded with family farms and the retired farmers enter the village limits when they can no longer work and have to get used to blacktopped roads, etc.

At 58, I'm considered a kid in my town. That's why I'm greeted by elderly poll workers each time. Thank God we have paper ballots.

I'm not an ageist. I'm hoping to get to their age one day and reminisce about the Obama years and cars that drove on the ground.

[The Genealogist]

7. I've seen fairly young poll workers fumble to work the check-in tech

Please cut out the agism.

[ret5hd]

14. But you've never seen CaptYossarian fumble to work the check-in tech.

Can you guess why?

[The Genealogist]

16. Id guess he or she has never done it.

I dont care what age the people who work he precincts are, they are providing a necessary and valuable public service on a voluntary basis. And despite often long times, I cannot recall a cranky volunteer. They are always very pleasant and helpful. I'm sure they have to put up with all kinds of crap from yahoos all day long.

[CaptYossarian]

22. Hey, I've mastered my toaster.

So, take that!

[The Genealogist]

24. I just got a new toaster

My partner selected it. It takes its design queues I suspect from early 50s cars. Too many buttons and knobs. I just want my toast, dammit!

[CaptYossarian]

31. Lol. It's trial and error.

My slide bar for darkness gets moved when I take it out of the cupboard.

I think the toast gods are angry at me.

[True Blue American]

75. There was a thread here a few days ago about a dishwasher they operated

By phone.

Now, I love my IPAD, Mini Pad, Smart phone, Smart TV, Ring Doorbell but I will be darned if I want a dishwasher I Control by phone. I think my Toaster is 30 years old. Works for me!

[CaptYossarian]

77. Mine works by phone too.

My wife calls from work and I do the dishes by hand.

The house we bought has asbestos under the linoleum, so we can't run any water pipes or drain pipe for a dishwasher. I'm surprised I don't have to climb a pole to use the phone, like in Green Acres.

[True Blue American]

78. LOL

[True Blue American]

79. I did buy a new flat top stove a few years ago.

People still ask me where the buttons are. That is why I went electric and digital. Hated to clean the burners and behind the buttons. No one bothered to tell me you need a razor blade and special cleaner to clean the top.

[CaptYossarian]

23. Please read my post #21.

It's my environment that caused me to post that. Sorry.

[LanternWaste]

19. We really need the tide-pod challengers to run polling stations.

[CaptYossarian]

32. They do--from St. Petersburg Russia.

[rickyhall]

40. At least 117, maybe not, FDR maybe.

[jayfish]

2. Or,...

maybe the system's UI should be designed to be usable by anyone who sits in front of it.

[liberalmuse]

3. How about mail-in our drop-off ballots?

I can sit down and vote while drinking a cup of coffee, then hop in my car, drive 3 blocks and drop off my ballot in one of the many ballot boxes around town without leaving my car. It’s inconceivable that every single American can’t do this as well. Bless everyone going to their voting locations today, but there is a pandemic, and that’s worrisome. If this virus isn’t contained by November, or subsides and makes an unwelcome return, I can see Trump suspending elections in the name of public health and safety in an attempt to to save his ass. We need a voting overhaul in this country.

[Rebl2]

13. Not in MO

No mail in ballots here, no early voting here unless you are going to be out of town or having surgery that day. Thank you Republican state house-NOT.

[lagomorph777]

6. I was once blocked from turning in a cell phone and shutting off the account for that reason.

Some idiot had reversed my name in the system.

I smashed the phone on the floor and told them I was not paying any more bills on it.

They got the message.

[True Blue American]

38. Not to say this, but you sound like Cenk.

[lagomorph777]

64. Hey, politically I'm not.

Normally you would think I'm the calmest person you've ever met. But about once every 15 years, somebody pisses me off enough to make me yell, or in this case, break something.

[True Blue American]

66. Did they call the Supervisor?:)

[lagomorph777]

67. Yes at my request - and she turned off the account and apologized.

[True Blue American]

68. Right way to go!

[lagomorph777]

70. It was actually the end of a process that took a couple of months and a dozen in-person visits.

I don't boil easily in real life.

Also, these idiots had been staring right at my record on their computers - they just pretended they didn't believe my identity - despite actually (eventually) the production of a birth certificate, and of course the actual phone in question.

Kind of like voting while black.

[True Blue American]

72. They should have called a Supervisor

Right away so I understand your anger. I have just had to deal with the situation from the other side too many times. You have to be able to solve a situation. And keep the customer happy. There is a way to do that. Some never learn.

I went to Apple a few weeks ago. Great service but I was also a good customer. The clerk actually followed up by calling me to make sure I was satisfied. Bought a new IPad, had a battery replaced in the old one. They actually gave a new one just like the old. Another family member has that one. Cost $105, plus my new one cost less than half my old one.

[tanyev]

8. He knows the whole city got moved to Kansas, right?

[pstokely]

11. MO actually doesn't have party registration

and municipal offices are officially non partisan, you ask for a party ballot at primary, although KS where tRump thinks KC is does have party registration

[The Genealogist]

18. True

Although you can research it out a little and see where municipal officials party alignments lie. For instance, because of the circles I run in I know at least a couple of members of my city council are Dems.

[True Blue American]

34. Precincts

Are supposed to have 2 Democrats, 2 Republicans.

[Bengus81]

10. Election worker had his name reversed?!?!?!?

And yet they never said his name back to him as they were looking?? Nope I don't see a listing for a Lucas Quinton anywhere in my list.

SERIOUSLY???

[True Blue American]

35. Do not blame the worker

It was put in the computer wrong!

[Bengus81]

41. Yet the guy has voted in the same place for 11 years?

[True Blue American]

61. All it takes

Is a mistake entering it in the records sulfur have been able to fill out a Provisional ballot.

The way Republicans are deleting names, anything can happen.

[Igel]

65. Unclear if they misparsed it

or the data entry clerk got it wrong.

I personally find it hard to keep track of things when there's a few people with two first names.

"Jordan Richard."

"Lewis James."



What's worse is when the polarity's flipped.

"Davis Anthony."

"Jefferson Andrew."

[Hangingon]

71. Why didn't they read the required photo I'd?

[PuppyBismark]

12. they do not pay poll workers much

It is hard to get a young person to miss work and get next to nothing. Only retired persons have the time to do the work and there is also a four hour or so training class that also pays next to nothing.

[Maeve]

17. here are some figures to back that up

I can't speak for others, but Franklin Co, Ohio pays $133.72 for a 15 hour day (training runs $15 to $50, depending on the job)
That's $8.92 an hour--better than minimum, but....

[True Blue American]

36. Have you served?

[Maeve]

42. Since 2008

One of those grey-haired ladies at the polls!

[True Blue American]

48. Glad to hear that.

Then you know it is not just helping people vote.

We were there when the new Diebold machines came in that Blackwell ordered. The paper rolls kept twisting, we did not have but 4 Memory cards for 20 machines. Had 2 lines

Much easier now with computers. They paid much less than $100. The machines had to be put up, taken down.

Thank you for serving. If I sound defensive I burnt out. The last 2 years we had 2 high school girls earning credits. They were great.

[Maeve]

49. Youth in the Booth has been a great idea

(that's getting high school seniors into the system--they usually do the machines in our precinct)

And the computer check-in system is so much faster than the old paper pollbooks. I'm usually stuck at the paper ballot table and as ride-along, taking the completed ballots to the BOE--adds a full hour to my 15 hour day.
I understand burn-out and thank you for working it as long as you did!

[True Blue American]

51. Those girls said they learned a great deal from me

In how to handle irate voters. One was giving them a hard time because they had to have voter ID. She flipped her Nurses card at them, became angry when they asked for her Drivers license.

When I gave her the memory card I pushed a Volunteer paper in front of her, telling her we really need Volunteers and would she like to sign up. She was nice when she brought back the card.

I think it is a great idea to give credits and get them involved. They came back, asked to work with us. I encourage it.

[SoCalNative]

39. Some people do actually get paid days off

that they could take for this. Use a vacation or personal day. Then you can get paid twice.

[True Blue American]

62. Different areas

Pay different amounts. Usually set by the County Commission.

[NurseJackie]

20. It's more likely POOR TRAINING than age-related.

[True Blue American]

37. Mostly it is poor machines.

I am asked to come back every time I vote. I live in Montgomery County. It is a long, hard stressful day. And I live in a small Precinct. The cities sometimes are there half the night.

[HardLineDem]

26. Democracy needs old ladies!

I mean that. As long as I've been voting*, the polls have largely been run by old ladies. Folks like them (and some old men, too) have provided the labor -- and to a great extent the knowhow -- to keep democracy running. I've long thought that in new nations which have trouble in maintaining a representative government, a good part of the problem is that there isn't a continuously renewed corps of people who just know how to run the mechanics of the system on the ground. But in America, it's been the old ladies. Give 'em a hand with the technology, but don't you dare run them off.


*By now, a longish time. The old ladies used to be a lot older than me. Now they look a little older than me. Well, maybe older, maybe not.

[True Blue American]

30. The long, hard day

Is rough. I lasted 7 years.

[True Blue American]

28. Most Poll workers

Are elderly. Very few are willing to give up a days pay to work a 14 hour stressful day.

Most volunteer but soon check out after they see what they have to do. Long lines, irritated voters.

And Republican officials make it harder by closing Precincts to make it harder to vote.

Voting should be a paid Holiday so more would volunteer, more Precincts. Instead of all these dead people Holidays Voting should be number one.

[Sapient Donkey]

46. Have they been explicitly only bringing on elderly folks, or are those the only people interested

in working at the polling locations? Basically I am trying to determine if they need to change a policy that favors older folks, or if they need to come up with ways to incentivize younger folks to take the job. Either way, I don't know if I buy that it's because of the ages of the poll workers. Seems like taking a look at the training and the usability of the systems should come first.

[LisaM]

50. I did this all through college, and even after I started working (I'd take a day off).

I started when I was 18, and probably did it for 8 or 9 years, all elections. It paid well - more than I was making at my job - and it was really a good gig for a college student. I don't recall if I had to seek permission from a professor, but I can't imagine it wouldn't be easily granted.

Most of the other poll workers were either stay-at-home wives or older people, usually, but not always, women. I looked forward to it; it was a nice break from my routine. One year I was actually part of the counting at the county seat - that was fun, too. And I learned a lot, in particular, that most poll workers take it very seriously.

Anyway, my larger point is that this is a great thing for college students to do, but I don't know if most college students today would do it.

[True Blue American]

53. I did see how hard the BOE

Workers worked. Those precincts that were swamped were still open all night.

[Sapient Donkey]

58. Back when I was in school the idea never crossed my mind

but I am willing to bet if the steps to get involved were put in front of my face, then I would have seriously considered it.

[True Blue American]

63. Here the Schools gave credit

For working. A great idea.

[True Blue American]

52. Most younger people

Can not afford to miss work. You get mostly housewives or older. They gave you 4 hours training but many still do not know what to do.

[Sapient Donkey]

59. I can see that. Seem like just another reason to seriously consider making voting day a holiday.

Although, that would suck for those, who for whatever reason, don't have paid holidays.

[True Blue American]

60. They could cancel one of the useless Holidays.

Voting is more important than honoring dead people. Make it a Patriotic Holiday!

[fierywoman]

54. Paper ballots. Vote by mail 100%

[True Blue American]

57. Yost is now telling people to vote mail in.

One week before the election! We used to get notices asking if we wanted to vote by mail. Husted and his 50 law suits stopped that.

[Igel]

69. I've been a poll worker.

Had time to serve as a poll worker for something like $11, all day. Don't know that I bothered to cash the check I got for a 3 hr training session and then working from 7 am to 9 pm with a single 45 minute lunch break.

The county I live in has a high school program. Teachers promote it, and high schoolers (16-18, I think) apply to be poll workers. It's an excused absence from school and they get paid whatever the going rate is for this county.


As for "younger, more tech-savvy" that's making a few assumptions. I know lots of tech-dopey young people. They've learned to do a few things like trained chickens, and when the tech confronts them with something new they, at best, sit and peck at their screen. (Even better on a laptop, turn off the touch screen and watch them poke and get confused as to why nothing's happening, and then near anger when they realize they don't know how to use the keyboard. And if their mouse doesn't work, woo-hoo!)

[True Blue American]

73. The old books are gone

And very few know the procedure. Last time I voted one woman knew, but they were new machines. You could vote computer or paper and scanner.

Yost is now telling people to vote absentee, one week before the election! Can not happen.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

76. Quinton? They turned away Quinton?

Oh, dear. If nothing else, they should have recognized him.

Full disclosure, my kids attended the same school he did in KC, so I sort of know him.