I spent Tuesday working at the polls in one of the most beautiful settings in the county, the courthouse. I worked alongside 4 other great people in the Eden, Harrison, Taylor Precinct. It's always fun to see my neighbors and friends come through the line.

We had a bit of a treat with a delivery of donuts early on in the morning from a little gal that decided her mission was to spread a little happiness and cheer via some carb loaded sweetness. It put a smile on the faces of those of us who had signed up to assist voters for the day. A bit of kindness after a long and miserable century of campaigning for this election day, well, it felt like it was that long.

Throughout the day I saw so many new voters come in. Most in their youth voting for the first time. Amazingly enough, some in their much older years voting for the first time. That's how important everyone felt that this election was.

The opportunity to share the day with all of these people is always fun to do. Watching the newbies come in a bit hesitant and unsure, always makes me smile. It's like seeing the grandbaby accomplish something for the first time, and it makes you feel proud for them. I have to admit, I think the part that brings the most smiles was in handing out the "I Voted" stickers. For some reason that little act of receiving that little sticker puts a smile on the faces of voters. I'm not sure if it's the feeling of returning to your childhood and getting a sticker or if it's the pride in declaring that you voted, whatever it is, it works to trigger smiles.

I arrived at the courthouse at 5:30 a.m. I didn't need to be there until 6, but when you're already up, you might as well sit outside the courthouse and enjoy the sight from the curb as you wait until the doors open. Well, hey, that and I ran quickly through the email to see if there was any news I needed to pop onto the website before going in.

The courthouse was already lit up on the second floor, home of the Auditor's Office. Hayley Rippel and Gina Edler these two gals, let me brag on them a bit. Even though Hayley is elected for this job, she takes the seriousness of protecting our election as you'd want her to. She's quick to point out that the slightest suggestion of improper behavior cannot be tolerated. Gina is the Energizer Bunny before and on Election Day. This gal is the one you want to plan a trip for you. She spent a couple of hours training us on how to run the polls, after spending days packing our bags to get us through the election with supplies that you might not think that you'll need, but you do. This year we had a special COVID rubbermaid complete with gloves, masks, face shields, hand sanitizer and spritz bottles so that we could continually sanitize our area throughout the day. Something that is not normal for elections.

The staff in the Auditor's Office, and I don't know all of their names, worked from early in the morning until late in the night to wrap up this election in a timely manner. The absentee vote counting began as soon they were allowed to, or as soon as they needed to so that we could have the results of the Benton County election as soon as possible. No, you didn't hear our Auditor and staff whining about not being able to get the job done. They simply did their jobs.

This office is one of those that you don't notice too often and then it's only during election season. But as we all know, elections are probably one of the most important functions of our county.

From those of us in Benton County, I want to send a heartfelt thank you to all of the staff in the Auditors office for your dedication to your position, for the care you take to ensure our votes are taken seriously and our elections are run with honesty and integrity. Thank you for the hours you put in before, during and following the election.

Thank you also to all of the many poll workers that showed up to do the job, Many of you sat in masks and face shields throughout the long day and that wasn't easy to do. Some counties couldn't find enough workers, but not in Benton County. When there's a job that needs to be done, we step up and do it, and we do it well.

Thank you to everyone who helped in any way to get this done. To the spouses that delivered food and to the donut gal that showed up with treats for the workers in town, you all made the day a great one!


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PM November 4, 2020, 4:38 pm It ran like a well oiled machine! Great job everyone!