Poll watchers outnumber voters
As of late Tuesday afternoon, the number of poll watchers in the Rhinebeck Town Hall was larger than the number of people who had voted. By a 4-to-1 margin. There were 12 poll watchers for the day’s voting, which was to fill six seats on the Dutchess County Conservative Committee, and each was being paid $150 for the day. Three people had cast ballots as of 5:15 p.m.
And there were no candidates’ names on the ballot, because no one came forward to seek a committee seat. That meant the day’s voting was strictly a write-in affair, formally known as an “opportunity to ballot.”
The Rhinebeck election, held on the statewide Primary Day, was only for registered Conservative Party voters — all 30 of them — across the town’s election districts 2, 5 and 6. By rule, there have to be two Democratic and two Republican poll watchers on duty for each district, so 12 people were working the tables.
“In a local [election] year, these things happen,” said Dutchess County Republican Elections Commissioner Erik Haight.
Democratic poll watcher Gina Fox, who has served on both the Town Board and Village Board in Rhinebeck, said there should be a more economical way to conduct elections in which there are no declared candidates.
“There’s no reason why our clerks, who are notaries, cannot take ballots and put them in the safe,” she said. “They could be paid per diem, just like we are . ... There’s no reason we couldn’t do it.”
The poll watchers said they broke out in applause when the first person showed up to vote — only to find out that person wasn’t registered.
Of the ballot being blank, Haight said the county Conservative Party has a history of not being able to find people to serve on its committee.
“If the Conservative county committee knew what they were doing, they would have submitted petitions for those districts and there would be no primary,” he said. “They would have submitted petitions, and the two people that should be representing [each] election district ... would automatically be on the county committee.”
County Conservative Party Chairwoman Maureen Natrella was not immediately available for comment Tuesday.