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Eileen Yager,
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© 1993 to 2010 Curators of the
University of Missouri, all rights reserved.
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Oct. 3, 2003
By the 2004 presidential elections, Missouri's poll workers will be better equipped to meet federal requirements through training provided by University Outreach and Extension.
UO/E Community Development was awarded a $730,868 contract to train poll workers under the federal Help Americans Vote Act, or HAVA. UO/E Community Development will provide leadership for the 12-month effort funded by the Missouri Secretary of State's office.
"Poll workers will need a lot of help to meet the federal requirements under the act. One is civil rights education for poll workers, including sensitivity training to assist voters with special needs, and "basic customer service techniques," says Mary Leuci, community development program leader and project manager. "These poll workers will have to deal with more people in one day's time than most service employees ever do."
Betsy Byers is co-director of elections for the Missouri Secretary of State's Office, which oversees statewide elections in Missouri. "I can't think of anything in the election process more important than poll-worker training," she said. "They are the people who deal with the voters personally, and we rely on them to make sure elections go smoothly."
In the wake of Florida's electoral chaos in 2000, Congress has emphasized strict accounting and ballot security procedures, Leuci said. Also, some polling places might be switching to new technologies, such as optical scanners or touch-screen voting, with which even many longtime poll workers are unfamiliar.
Poll workers' average age is about 70, Byers noted. "That's a generation of people that doesn't have a lot of computer skills. Some of them have never sat down at a computer. Even if they won't actually be working at computers, they'll need some skills for some of that technology."
Leuci noted that poll workers often toil for 14 hours or longer on Election Day. "There are a lot of complex ballots -- sometimes dozens of different ballots in the same county." Poll workers of both major parties must be present at each polling place, she said. "That can make it very complicated."
Byers agreed. "They're under a lot of stress," she said, "and if their training makes them more comfortable with the system, they'll be able to handle it a lot better."
University Outreach and Extension will develop a curriculum to train workers, including conducting training sessions throughout the state and developing a manual. "We want to develop a training package that can be used year after year, with some updating," Leuci says.
Diane Kuschel has been hired as a community development specialist to manage the project. Kuschel was an extension associate for UO/E's Center on Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy and Parenting from 2001 until her new appointment. She also worked as a planning and communications specialist for the Columbia/Boone County Community Partnership, 1999-2001. She was a college educator, teaching sociology and women's studies courses, from 1989-1999.
Kuschel received a master's degree in sociology from MU in 1995 and a bachelor's degree in sociology and German from Central Michigan State University in 1989.
Contact Kuschel at 213 Gentry Hall, Columbia, MO 65211; (573) 882-4657; or e-mail.
To date, 658 events have been entered into the unified calendar. "Next week, we will be going to each county and regional website and changing the links on the front page from pointing to static calendar pages to the unified calendar," says Kate Akers, UO/E webmaster.
The county view will show only events with locations defined for that county. Regional views will show all events for the region and the counties within the region. The Perry County and Wayne County calendars already have been linked.
"Events in the unified calendar will remain there indefinitely, so you will be able to page back to previous months for reference," Akers says.
A problem encountered earlier this week -- new entries not showing up immediately when selecting "view calendar" -- has been corrected, Akers says.
The next phase of implementation will provide more options for faculty and staff entering events, including an option for recurring events, such as extension council meetings. Implementation is scheduled for early November.
Until the recurring event feature is added, Akers offers tips to save time:
Corrections can be made by selecting the "View/Edit Events" button. Click here for detailed instructions.
"We are updating these instructions regularly," Akers says, "so people should periodically check for new additions, which are posted at the top of the page."
Questions about the calendar or suggestions for additional features should be sent to Akers.
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Eileen Yager,
yagere@umsystem.edu |
|
|
© 1993 to 2010 Curators of the
University of Missouri, all rights reserved.
DMCA and other copyright
information |
||