COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Richland County Board of Elections met Thursday to start weekly in-person meetings ahead of the November election.
Up until now, the board explained they were struggling to find poll workers. Terry Graham, the Interim Director has said they need at least 1,200 workers to adequately staff the polls.
"They've already got 1,033 assigned poll workers," Graham said. "We're still looking at getting about another 167, and we're not going to stop there."
Graham explained that every 250 voters registered, determines how many poll workers are assigned to each location.
"Hopefully by the end of next week we'll have that magic number," Graham said.
The board also talked about money, saying that they are over budget for the upcoming election. The line item labeled "temporary agency" is in the red according to Chairwoman, Anjanette President. Graham says this is typical for a county election budget, and reassured everything would eventually be straightened out.
Poll worker training started last week in Richland County, and hosted another training session immediately after the Thursday night board meeting.
Workers were encouraged to read their training handbook and study before getting up bright and early to help out on election day.
"When you get out of your car to start your day at around 5:45- 6 o'clock, we encourage you to leave your personal views in your glove box," said Precinct Coordinator, Becky Brown.
The board and those working on election day now have less than a month to sort everything out. Richland County Election staff is encouraging everyone to vote early this year to lessen the crowds on November 8.
Early voting starts October 24 and goes until Saturday, November 5.