As the 2020 presidential election looms, the Washington County Board of Supervisors want to ensure the process for voters is as seamless as possible.
To that end, the BOS voted to authorize circuit clerk Barbara Esters-Parker to hire up to six individuals as temporary workers at the minimum rate of $10 per hour at their regular meeting on Tuesday.
Though Esters-Parker has yet to determine if she will need as many as six temporary workers, the order allows her to prepare as such.
BOS president Carl McGee alluded to concerns about the heavy amount of traffic coming through the circuit clerk’s office as election day approaches.
He asked Esters-Parker what was needed of the BOS to accommodate her office and make the process as “smooth and safe” as possible given the circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ll definitely need some more space because I”m anticipating an enormous amount of people applying for absentee ballots this year,” Esters-Parker said. “They don’t want to go to the polls because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In addition, Esters-Parker pointed out that a lot of people are changing their addresses and registering.
The Washington County Extension Building will serve as an extension of the circuit clerk’s office at some point leading up to the election.
The BOS also approved a request from the Washington County Election Commission to hire, train and pay all election workers for the upcoming presidential election and for COVID-19 supplies for every precinct worker for a total estimated cost of $76,796.
Of that amount, $18,870.65 will cover COVID-19 supplies.
The funds will be allocated from the fiscal year 2020-2021 budget for elections along with funds amounting to roughly $25,000 from the Office of the Secretary of State.
Supervisor Mala Brooks made the motion to approve the request and BOS vice-president Lee Gordon seconded the motion.
