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Registrations jump ahead of election for U.S. president

JIM RUNKLE/THE EXPRESS Clinton County Voter Registration Director Maria Boileau works in her office recently.

LOCK HAVEN — There are a lot of new voters out there in Clinton County.

According to county Voter Registration Director Maria Boileau, the large numbers are a tribute to the intense local interest generated in this presidential election year.

“You can expect lines in some places,” she cautioned.

Given the national ramifications — and competitive local and statewide races –Boileau said new voters represent the biggest trend when it comes to the voting population in Clinton County.

“We had one person come in to register who’s in her 80s,” Boileau said. “She said this is the first time she’s ever voted.”

Boileau said the more traditional new voter is still in his and her teens, but the registrations are happening in larger numbers.

Part of the reason, she said, is due to the ease of online voter registration, which has created a surge in the number of voters locally and statewide.

With three weeks to go, Boileau, a guest speaker at the Kiwanis Club of Lock Haven meeting Thursday, offered the audience an update on local efforts to insure a fair election, and said special steps were being taken to make the process as pain-free as possible.

She also said that, given the stronger local interest, voters should be patient, plan ahead and expect delays to occur at any given time on election day, Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Boileau took pains to emphasize that every step was being taken to insure the integrity of the election, including poll-watching, checks and double-checks of the computerized voting machines, and monitoring of voters as they line up to make their votes.

Polling precincts will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 8.

Boileau said there’s a clear division between who’s allowed inside and who must stay outside the polling places. Those allowed inside are voters registered in the specific district, election workers, constables, and a limited number of poll watchers from either party, and employees for the county government acting as trouble-shooters .

Boileau said as many as 175 to 180 election workers are expected to participate in the process this year, with 20 to 25 more “rovers” traveling precinct to precinct as necessary.

Outside, police officers, party workers for the candidates, and media members (unless casting their votes) must maintain a distance of at least 100 feet away from the door, unless officers see an emergency.

Regular voters, she said, are the most common category of voters, and they show up, sign their name and are directed to the machines. Inactive voters — Anybody who is registered to vote but hasn’t voted for five years — are asked to fill out a verification form. First-time voters will be asked to provide identification, like a driver’s license or utility bill. Voters who aren’t in those categories but still insist they are allowed to vote will be issued provisional ballots which will be checked later. Voters who believe they are valid within the district, but who face an emergency such as surgery, will also be given an opportunity, based upon the verdict of the election officials tasked with that consideration.

Clinton County has a population of 39,954, of which 29,965 are of voting age, Boileau said.

As of 8 a.m. Thursday morning, the total number of registered voters was 22,171.

That number is going to vary a bit, as Boileau deals with processing absentee ballots and counts online registrations, but as of that time, there were 9,097 Democratic Party voters, 10,155 Republican Party voters, 120 Libertarian Party voters and 2,799 registered voters in other categories.

Inactive voters still hold the potential to make their votes count, Boileau said, and they number 2,661.

As of October, the total number of registered voters stands at it highest since the beginning of January.

Some 2,200 Clinton County voters made use of online registration.

There have been 1,773 new registrations in Clinton County in 2016, and 1,100 new applications have been submitted since September, along with 450 absentee ballot requests.

When these voters show up at the precincts, they’ll be asked to vote for candidates in eight contests and will be asked one question, Boileau said.

The local races feature newcomer and Republican candidate Stephanie Borowicz and incumbent State Rep. Mike Hanna for representative of the Pennsylvania 76th District; and incumbent Republican Glenn “GT” Thompson and Democratic challenger Kerith Strano Taylor who both want the elected position of U.S. representative for the 5th Congressional District

There’s also some interest locally in the race for the U.S. Senate, with Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey and Democratic candidate Katie McGinty both polling strong in a near tie for the position.

Voters are being asked whether they’d like to amend the state Constitution to require Pennsylvania judges to retire when they turn 75.

The current retirement age is 70.

Senior Judge J. Michael Williamson commented that he’s fed the horses in the morning, and before reaching retirement age, he’d drive five minutes to work, whereas as a retired judge, he’s had to drive two and a half hours to reach a distant courthouse, where he’d be pretty much doing the same job.

The cost of a single election in Clinton County ranges from $25,000 and $28,000, Boileau said, with that cost higher this year due to more staff being used.

She said there are many ways to insure the integrity of the system.

Machines are tested for accuracy, and are always stored in a secure area.

VAll election workers are subject to training sessions, and board members are required to take oaths.

Two numbered lists of voters are maintained, and each voter is required to sign the poll book.

Those signatures are compared to insure accuracy and prevent fraud.

Voting machines are never connected to the internet, she emphasized, and certified results are returned to the Pennsylvania Department of State, she said.

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