It’s two weeks to Montana’s primary election and Yellowstone County Election Administrator Dayna Causby is doing a public test of the high speed scanners that capture the selections made by the voters. Doing the testing are the election judges who will operate these machines to tabulate the votes.
Causby is the election administrator, but it is the passel of election judges who do much of the work, from preparing and processing ballots to those who staffing polling locations on election day.
DeAnne Malnee has been an election judge for decades.
“What happens to a ballot from the beginning to the end,” commented Malnee. “People take it for granted that it shows up and they voted. They have no idea of the work that goes into it to get the ballot to them and processed.”
On this day Malnee is verifying signatures and birth years, comparing it to the voter’s registration profile.
Causby says her office utilizes some 350 election judges during a federal election year.
“Without them we absolutely could not function. We are a small staff. We grow really big around the election and shrink really small when it’s not election time,” said Causby.
Judges are expected to serve a two year term and are paid-- at least a state or federal minimum wage, whichever is higher.
Election judges must be 18 years or older, a U.S. citizen, a resident of the county, a registered voter and cannot be a candidate or relative of a candidate.
Causby says every county always needs election judges.
She recommends voters to turn in their mail ballots to their election office and not mail them to ensure it’s received by 8pm on June 2, primary election day.
