Battling cancer and pandemic, election chief Lehman seeks help recruiting poll workers
Battling cancer, Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman has put out a personal plea on social media asking county residents to help her staff polling places for the Aug. 4 election amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I have been diagnosed with an aggressive form of Lymphoma,” Lehman wrote in a Facebook post Thursday. “While my prognosis is good, my treatment is also aggressive.
“Many of you have asked me how you can help. I am genuinely serious when I say the best tangible thing you can do for me right now is sign up to be or recruit election workers.”
With less than a month to go before the primary, Lehman said the election office needs about 170 more poll workers.
The COVID pandemic has sidelined 75 percent of the regular pool of election-day workers, who are senior citizens at particularly high risk of serious illness if they catch the novel coronavirus.
“A lot of our people that have worked for years need to sit this out,” Lehman said. “And I don’t begrudge them that. They should. They need to be careful with their own health.”
Lehman said her own health and the widespread cancellations of community events have limited her ability to recruit new poll workers.
“I would normally be spending this time out in the community recruiting workers, conducting media interviews and seeking to fill these positions,” Lehman said in her post. “Between chemo and Covid-19, I can’t do that.”
Several states are considering all-mail elections and/or have loosened their requirements to vote by mail during the pandemic. President Trump and others have vigorously opposed such changes, saying universal mail balloting could be more susceptible to fraud.
Lehman said she hopes her plea for poll workers will reach those who have been advocating for in-person voting online.
“I am specifically calling out each of you who I have seen posting about the need for in person voting,” Lehman wrote on Facebook. “If you want it, you better be willing to step up and help, as long as you are not high risk yourself.”
Amid the pandemic, mail voting is rapidly becoming a preferred alternative to traditional in-person voting at polling places.
So far, the election office has received 48,000 mail-ballot applications.
That’s about equal to the total number of mail and in-person votes combined that were cast in the primary elections four years ago, Lehman said.
Lehman said polling places will have mandatory safety protocols in place to protect voters and poll workers from COVID-19 transmission, including:
▪ Poll workers will be required to wear protective facemasks throughout their shifts.
▪ To avoid touching of the equipment, voters will be issued a combination stylus and pen that they can use to sign in and to make their selections on the touch screens of the voting machines. The stylus/pens will only be used once and the voters can take them home if they want to.
▪ Extra work crews will be hired to sweep through each polling place several times on Election Day to clean and disinfect surfaces.
Persons willing to serve as poll workers can obtain more information and fill out an application at the election commissioner’s website, or call the election office at 316-660-7100.
Election-day workers get paid $7.50 to $10 an hour for up to a 15-hour shift on Election Day, plus required pre-election training.
Last chance to register to vote
Tuesday is the last day to register to vote in the Aug. 4 primary. Here’s what you need to know:
Q: If I want to vote in the primary, do I need to declare a party affiliation?
A: Yes, if you want to vote for Republican or Democratic candidates, you will need to affiliate with a party.
Q: I’m an unaffiliated registered voter. Can I still declare for a party and vote in the primary?
A: Yes, you can. You can do it now, or when you go to the polls on election day.
Q: I’m not registered to vote yet, can I still do that in time to vote Aug. 4?
A: Yes, you can, before Tuesday’s deadline.
Q: I’m registered with a party. Can I switch parties between now and the primary.
A: No. That deadline has already passed for this election cycle.
Q: Where do I get the form to register?
A: Various places. You can register online at the Kansas Secretary of State office, www.kdor.ks.gov/Apps/VoterReg/Default.aspx, or at the private nonprofit site www.ksvotes.org. For more information or instructions on registering by mail or in person, call the election office at 316-660-7100.
Q: Do I need proof-of-citizenship documentation to register?
A: Not any more. For several years Kansas law required a birth certificate, passport or other citizenship proof to register to vote, but courts struck down that requirement as being in conflict with federal voting law.
Q: Do I need photo ID?
A: You don’t need it to register, but you will need some form of government-issued picture ID to actually cast a vote.
Q: What if I am not sure if I’m still registered to vote?
A: You can check your status and voting history at the Secretary of State’s Voterview website - https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org/voterview You can also find out if your advance ballot has been mailed and see a sample ballot at that website.
This story was originally published July 13, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
