"There is confusion in the law" governing handling of the ballots," said Commissioner Robert Burkhart. He said the actions taken by the commissioners Monday "were mostly little refinements that need to be done. I think we do a better job than most counties."
Jerry Mays, chairman of the county Republican Executive Committee, said the laws and confusion over procedures by poll workers and others contributed to the problem.
His Democrat counterpart Erica Epperson said training is the key to fixing the problem.
"It was errors that were made, people not having knowledge," she said. "I think the poll worker training is the key to most of it."
A number of changes have made since the election.
HEIGHT="6" ALT="* "> A supervisory team of eight people representing both parties will act as troubleshooters on election day. They will be dispatched to polling places where questions have been raised or potential problems might be budding, said Clerk John Small, whose office oversees elections.
HEIGHT="6" ALT="* "> Polls workers' pay has been raised from $75 to $115 a day and training from $20-$25 to encourage more poll workers to take part.
HEIGHT="6" ALT="* "> The amount of time for training for poll workers will be increased from 45 to 90 minutes.
HEIGHT="6" ALT="* "> Poll workers will be provided cell phones on which they can make calls if they have questions.
HEIGHT="6" ALT="* "> Voters will be reminded by signs at the polling places to have their ballots signed by two poll workers, a key issue in the challenge to the May 9 election.
HEIGHT="6" ALT="* "> Poll workers will keep better track of any out-of-the-ordinary events that occur at the polling place.
Even with the changes, Commissioner John Wright said, some problems are bound to arise.
"There's no such thing as a perfect day at the polls," he said.
