Recognizing Our Voting Workers

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Like many of you, on election day I go to my polling place to cast my vote for the candidates of my choice. I walk in, am greeted by friendly people, sign my name on the roster, take my ballot, fill it out and deposit it in the machine, get my little "I voted" sticker, and leave, satisfied that I've done my patriotic duty. I give little thought to the time and effort, and the people who made it possible for me to vote.

However, this time with all the hullabaloo over getting the vote count right, I thought it would be interesting to examine just how it's done.

The process hasn't changed a great deal in the last hundred years, except to maybe get more carefully managed for accuracy.

As you can see on the chart shown at the bottom of this window, in 1906 and 1917 there were 11 voting precincts in Bullitt County with four officials assigned to each one. By 1925 and then in 1940 there were 16 precincts as population grew. If your family has been in the county for that long, perhaps you will recognize a name or two of your own ancestors on this list.

Today there are still four main officers at each precinct: two judges, a clerk, and a sheriff. Each is a private citizen who has been trained to do his or her job. However, as the county's population had grown, so has the number of precincts, now a total of 48.

To be a precinct officer, you must be a registered voter. You cannot serve if you are a candidate for office, or a family member of a candidate for office in that precinct. You also cannot have changed your party affiliation within a year prior to your appointment as an officer.

Among other things, the clerk is responsible for determining that the voter is who he says he is, that he lives in that precinct, and that his name is on the signature roster. Like many folks, I use my driver's license to verify my identity, but identity can also be verified other ways. For example you might be known by a precinct officer, or you might produce another form of identification that contains both a picture and signature in order to cast a ballot.

The two judges, one a Democrat and the other a Republican, are responsible for setting up and operating the voting machine for voters. They also return the election supplies to the County Clerk's office after the polls close. They ensure that the voter gets the proper ballot, and are responsible for informing the precinct sheriff of any real or potential election law violations or irregularities.

The precinct sheriff is responsible for maintaining order at the polling place. He or she must ensure that unauthorized individuals are not creating check-off lists or recording the identity of any voter, and that only persons allowed by law are granted access to the voting room. He is also responsible for placing himself at the end of the voting line at 6:00 p.m. to see that all voters in line at that time are allowed to vote.

The precinct sheriff reports any potential election law offenses to the county clerk, county sheriff, or the State Police.

To maintain impartiality, the clerk and sheriff are from opposite political parties.

These officials arrive by 5:30 in the morning, and don't finish until after the voting is finished, the equipment and supplies are all ready, and the voting tally is complete.

But the whole process of ensuring an accurate election doesn't begin or end with these officials.

As noted on the County Clerk's web site, preparations for election day begin months in advance. All of the election officers needed to operate the 48 precincts on election day must be recruited and trained by the Board of Elections which includes the county clerk, the county sheriff or his representative, and two appointees, one from each major political party. These last two are nominated by their parties.

It is their job to administer election laws and supervise the registration of voters.

The Board of Elections also accepts the filing papers of candidates and their campaign finance reports, places legal advertisements in the newspaper, delivers voting equipment, prepares the ballot, selects polling sites and maps all precincts and legislative subdivisions.

The voting machines are inspected and then sealed before being delivered to the precincts prior to the election. These seals are removed by the precinct workers the morning of the election when they set them up for voting.

After the voting is complete, the precinct workers have a number of specific tasks to complete. They close the voting machines and tabulate the votes. Another task is to ensure that the number of votes processed equals the number of votes recorded on the voting machines which in turn equals the number of signatures in the roster.

After completing a number of summary forms, they seal the machines and return the results to the county clerk's office.

The machines remain locked for 30 days after the election and can only be opened by court order.

The laws and regulations that govern the voting process are much more extensive that I've had space to describe here. They are designed to help ensure an honest, fair election. Will anyone attempt to vote illegally? Almost certainly. Will anyone succeed? Maybe. But if the good folks who man our precincts have anything to say about it, we can all rest assured that the ballot boxes will be filled with honest votes.

So, when you go to cast your vote, be sure to thank these good people for their dedication and service.

PRECINCT	JUDGE	JUDGE	SHERIFF	CLERK
1906
Shepherdsville #1	James Miller	John R. Buckman	O. P. Means	Harrison Foster
Cupio #2	James Cundiff	Charles Applegate	J. T. Ferguson	J. A. Smith
Zoneton #3	Wilson Summes	William Jenkins	Charles Hackney	James Pope
Mt. Washington #4	E. F. Brookshire	J. D. Stansbury	Sim Owens	William Anderson
Leaches #5	Malcomb Harmon	Ed Ash	Charles Troll	Ben H. Crist
Clermont #6	Alonzo Hatfield	William Schaefer	John Conniff	Ed Perkins
Belmont #7	John R. Hill	James Stansbury	Henry Shelton	Sam McCubbins
Lebanon Junction #8	A. L. Roby	I. L. Dawson	John L. Hoagland	Joe Dobson
Pitts Point #9	John Chambers	W. J. Lee	William Foster	W. E. Ashby
Griffin #10	T. J. Barrall	R. B. Ridgway	W. F. Joyce	Frank Goldsmith
Shepherdsville #11	Leroy Daniel	S. A. Hornbeck	William Combs	Hardin Wise
1917
Shepherdsville #1	Herbert Lee	C. C. Daugherty	J. H. Miller	O. P. Means
Cupie #2	Ernest Funk	Owen Demarsh	John Marcum	Charles Applegate
Zoneton #3	Charles McKinzie	J. W. Pope	Gabe Bealmear	Josh Gore
Mt. Washington #4	R. E. McAfee	W. H. McFarland	John Clark	W. D. Ellaby
Leaches #5	Jonce Clark	Will Shaw	A. J. Roby	Charles Troll
Clermont #6	George Perkins	Dick Clark	Ed Vittitoe	J. M. Dawson
Lebanon Jct #7	Bev Brashear	Andy Mann	John Samuels	John Collings
Belmont #8	D. Bumgardner	T. L. Coakley	Harve McCubbins	Chester Hill
Pitts Point #9	Leslie Ice	S. P. Smith	Bob Armstrong	W. H. Cundiff
Griffin #10	Buck Close	Roy Masden	Charles Rodgers	Lee Beard
Shepherdsville #11	J. W. Thompson	S. C. Bridwell	Henry Hamilton	W. T. Morrow
1925
Shepherdsville #1	D. M. Kelley	Jack Newman	N. B. Trunnell	W. F. Joyce
Shepherdsville #2	W. S. Hall	Mc Jones	P. W. Cash	Willie Mae Ridgway
Brooks #3	Charles Sanders	Fred Hatzell	Frank Robards	Henry Breitenstein
Griffin #4	R. C. Hardesty	Willie Foster	Charles Rogers	T. J. Barrall
Cupio #5	W. B. Merker	Ada Samuels	R. A. Miller	Joe Able
Salt River #6	H. C. Hamilton	T. D. McAllister	W. M. Combs	Mary Green Hardaway
Mt. Washington #7	German Branham	Tom Lloyd	H. D. Bruch	John Walls
Mt. Washington #8	W. T. Close	Pete Bleemel	Thomas Owen	Mrs. Ruth Parrish
Zoneton #9	James Pope	Ed C. Tyler	Josh Gore	C. C. Hackney
Cedar Grove #10	Frank Ratcliff	S. A. Shelton	Walter Mann	Mrs. Henry Crenshaw
Leaches #11	James McClure	Hite Rouse	James Lavely	R. J. Clark
Clermont #12	Virgil Duvall	Ed Vittitoe	George Taylor	Ed Hess
Lebanon Junction #13	John Hoagland	J. L. Kelley	T. H. Richardson	Clarence Duvall
Lebanon Junction #14	L. L. Masden	A. L. Bowman	John Figg	Mrs. Lee Masden
Belmont #15	Pete Snellen	Levi Roby	Clarence Hill	Will Bradbury
Beech Grove #16	Alvin Viers	Pres Shelton	Beatrice Armstrong	Jess Dawson
1940
Shepherdsville #1	J. M. Larimore	Fronia Samuels	J. D. Buckman	Wanda Adams
Shepherdsville #2	E. G. Quick	Katherine Bealmear	George W. Taylor	Blanch Howlett
Brooks #3	Jasper Foster	B. F. Robards	James Beghtol	Mrs. Lee Hatzell
Knobs #4	W. P. Foster	T. J. Barrall	Robert Hardesty	Mrs. Essie Holsclaw
Cupio #5	John Marcum	Joe F. Samuels	Robert Nichols	Mrs. George Atkisson
Salt River #6	George I. Rennison	C. A. Masden	Mrs. Ben Cundiff	Mrs. Jesse Hardaway
Mt. Washington #7	German Branham	Mrs. Margaret Grigsby	Henry Lutes	Mrs. Tom Parrish
Mt. Washington #8	S. B. Owens	S. O. Armstrong	J. R. Proctor	Mrs. Mary Fisher
Zoneton #9	Sam Morehead	Russell Jenkins	J. H. Gilmore	Mrs. Ella Pope
Cedar Grove #10	Tom Close	K. F. Bolton	Elmer Cundiff	Mrs. Wathen Viers
Leaches #11	R. J. Clark	Ed R. Ashe	Edgar Crenshaw	Mrs. Hyte Rouse
Clermont #12	Henry Fearnback	John Morris	Charles Stephan	Mrs. Chester Hill
Lebanon Junction #13	Roy Wise	Mrs. Elmer Bryant	Mrs. H. W. Fisel	Mrs. Christine Boone
Lebanon Junction #14	Andy Mann	Mrs. Vina Roby	A. D. Miller	Mrs Ethie Yeager
Belmont #15	George Bradbury	Rice Dawson	Fred Goodrich	Mrs. Alma Mudd
Beech Grove #16	Otho Cundiff	Frank Cundiff	Stanley Dawson	Mrs. Arthur Cundiff

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The two videos available below demonstrate how to use the two voting machines used in Bullitt County.

eScan

eSlate

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Copyright 2016 by Charles Hartley, Shepherdsville KY. All rights are reserved. No part of the content of this page may be included in any format in any place without the written permission of the copyright holder.

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