September 14, 2006 - Here's the rundown on Elections Office

Paper: Davis Enterprise, The (CA)

Title: Here's the rundown on Elections Office

Date: September 14, 2006

Ever wonder where to go if you wish to run for elected office? Or who counts your ballot once it's cast? The Yolo County Elections Office, headed by Clerk- Recorder Freddie Oakley, is your one-stop shop before, during and after each election held in Yolo County.

The Elections Office not only plans and conducts each election held in Yolo County, it also facilitates registration of candidates, referenda and recalls. Anyone interested in running for public office should partner early on with Oakley's staff to ensure that all forms and filings due to the county and the secretary of state are completed and in on time.

"My staff is always on hand to walk those interested in running for office through the process," Oakley says. "We are here to help remove barriers for candidates (and measures) so that all citizens can participate in democracy and self-governance."

Elections staff members plan many other aspects of local, statewide and national elections for Yolo County citizens, including maintaining voting machines, identifying polling places and hiring volunteer poll workers. All elections take at least five months of planning, and ultimately hundreds of employees.

After Election Day, staff counts all ballots and reviews provisional ballots against the voter file to determine valid voter registration. Elections departments nationwide began using provisional ballots in the 1990s with the passage of the Motor Voter Act.

This act stated, among other things, that a citizen cannot be prevented from voting because he/she is not in the voter file at their chosen voting location. This measure was intended to remove barriers to those who have moved and are not on the roster in the precinct in which they cast their vote. This also works in favor of those who cannot get to their precinct before polls close, removing time and geographical barriers.

In recent years, elections staff has made tremendous strides in moving polling places out of garages and into heated and air-conditioned buildings to better accommodate poll workers, most of whom are senior citizens.

"Our poll workers are exceptional," Oakley says. "Many come back election after election and we are so grateful for their time and commitment."

Unfortunately, Yolo County still has to scramble to fill its 500 poll worker positions before each Election Day. Citizens interested in working the polls are encouraged to call 666-8133 where staff can answer questions and enroll those interested in the poll worker program.

"An election is a machine with hundreds of thousands of moving parts," Oakley says. "In Yolo County, 90,000 of those moving parts are voters, so as you can imagine, no election can ever be perfect. We try, however, to make Election Day run smoothly for voters and poll workers, while still maintaining the integrity of elections in Yolo County."

For more information on the Yolo County Elections Office, visit the department in Room B05 at the County Administration Building, 625 Court St. in Woodland, or go online to www.yoloelections. org.

Oakley also oversees the Clerk/Recorder's Office. Stay tuned for more information on that other important county service.

— Beth Gabor is Yolo County's public information officer; Kimberly Bellows is a UC Davis intern in her office. This column appears monthly.