EDITORIAL: Thank you, poll workers
Published 10:56 pm Sunday, November 29, 2020
- Editorial
This week, as we prepare to give thanks, we’d like to extend a special heartfelt thank you to the volunteers and elections staff in Baldwin County. Not only did they work hard to ensure that Election Day ran smoothly in Baldwin County, they also worked tirelessly to recount every ballot by hand last week.
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In Baldwin County, the recount tabulations were just a few votes off the preliminary results.
As Todd Blackwell, Baldwin County elections superintendent, has reiterated, it takes a whole team to ensure that the election process runs smoothly. Keep in mind that voting isn’t confined to one single day. We had record voter turnout in early voting and absentee voting as well — and we still have another recount and a Senate runoff ahead of us.
Already, more than 750,000 absentee ballots have been requested for the Jan. 5 runoff elections. Local elections officials are taking care of these requests all the while recounting ballots.
This has been a challenging year for elections and poll workers have worked under stressful, high-risk circumstances to ensure the security of our vote. They braved risk of exposure amid the coronavirus and were up to the daunting challenge. Keep in mind also that they were trained on new voting machines and software amid the pandemic. Their hard work and dedication ensures that our voice is heard in the selection of our leaders. They give of their time and themselves to make that happen.
As we list our many reasons to give thanks and be grateful, don’t forget the poll workers and volunteers who have worked amidst these unprecedented circumstances this year.