EBR completes courses for new election commissioners

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – On Tuesday, October 8, approximately 1,600 election commissioners for East Baton Rouge will be selected to serve in the upcoming election. About 1,000 of these certified commissioners are turned away.

The last course to become a certified commissioner took place on October 1st. Brandon Abadie, the elections director for the East Baton Rouge clerk of courts, says they usually have enough commissioners for presidential elections, but this year they have more than they need.

“You know, Louisiana – we typically have about 70% turnout in a presidential election, whereas in other elections we only have about 20 to 30% turnout. “I think they understand that we need them for this election and they want to show their civic engagement duty,” says Abadie.

Abadie says today’s class is just the first step in a long process for these commissioners. He says it’s neither an easy nor glamorous task, especially given the current climate regarding election integrity across the country.

“I don’t think they realize that once we get here in October, it’s a month of nothing but making sure that all the processes are in place, that everyone is ready to go, all the commissioners are going to be there , everything will happen “We need to be staffed on election day and that our staff is ready to solve any issues that arise,” Abadie said.

A new commissioner, Tanya Jones, says she won’t let skepticism about voting and elections stop her from helping where she’s needed.

“This political climate has been very uncertain so far and it’s really sad that we’re at this point right now, it’s really sad, but you know, I see that a lot of people are here – they’re not afraid to get involved.” Do our civic duty,” Jones said.

Commissioners are paid $200 for their work on Election Day but are required to remain on site for 14 hours. Additionally, if they are selected for a job, they have to go through a completely different training process before an election. Charlotte Guidroz, a new commissioner, says it’s reassuring to know all the procedures in place for any type of situation they might face while working on the election.

“I never imagined there would be so much going on behind the scenes, and it’s a long day, but it’s worth the time,” says Guidroz.

Abadie explains that the system works well because all information is triple checked.

“People don’t realize it, but things go in different directions on election night, ensuring that nothing has changed from election day until then when everything comes back together,” Abadie says.

The township board of elections commissioners will draw numbers on Oct. 8 related to specific commissioners to determine who will serve in the upcoming election.

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