Election judges are volunteers trained to follow each and every ballot, they pay special attention to detail and sign off that the ballot numbers are valid and match each voter, they count each in-person, absentee, and mail in ballots.
There are three judges that sit at precinct tables: the registration judge, the poll book judge, and then the ballot box judge. The registration judge calls out the name of the voter and has them sign the registration book. The poll book judge verifies the voter and notes if they are absentee or non absentee. Then, the ballot box judge is the one that makes sure that that elector gets the right ballot, votes, and returns to that same precinct box. Each precinct box is then responsible for counting those votes.
There are over 140 volunteers participating as election judges in Cascade County, trained on protocols for write-ins, provisional ballots, ballot counting machines, and anything else that may come their way at the polls to ensure each voter is able to cast their vote.
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Election Specialist with the Cascade County Election Office Devereaux Biddick explains the goal of election judges is “to help our Cascade County voters get their vote across legally and safely. We’ll stay there till the cows come home to make sure that we have every single ballot issued. Keep track of it all day long. Never miss a beat, even when they're spoiled ballots and you have to redo”.
Biddick also says the election judges leave their politics at the door, stating, “when we are in election mode in the office and at the polls. We are one unit. We just we all help each other. We're Republican, Democrat, Independent, Green, whatever, and everybody gets along. That's our goal to just leave all that behind.”
Although the cutoff for voter registration through mail or online has passed, you can still register to vote in-person at your local election office or even register to vote right there at the polls and cast your vote the same day.
For the latest information from the Cascade County Elections Office, click here.
