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09:38 - 15.01.06
ouch
First thing yesterday morning, turned on the computer and found the server hadn't functioned properly yet again. The staff looking after registering voters couldn't open the software we use for that purpose either. Told them to have pen and paper to hand, since we had our second day of Advance Polls and it could get busy. Went back to my tech's office and checked to see if we had been the ones to mess up, before calling Ottawa. Nope, everything was where it should be. Called and spoke with one of the front line support staff. I mentioned the crash of the regsitration software that had occurred around the dinner hour the day before and offered to send my screenshot of the error messages I got as a result. No thanks. It couldn't possibly be connected to the current problem. Sure. I explained that we were locked out of all the software we need to function and that did slow down the "it's all in your head, baby" attitude. Referred him to the discussion I had had with the senior staff last midweek when the same thing had occurred. Well, if that person had given us their personal phone number, of course I had permission to talk with them directly. Gee thanks. He said he would call me back shortly, so I tried again to get into my email since my finance officer was still waiting to hear if our request for additional funds had been approved - payroll has to be transmitted today.

Still couldn't get in, so she went to call her contacts in Ottawa and I went back to my tech's office intending to reboot the suite locally just so we could get on with our work. Noticed the head guys remotely digging around in the server, so I decided that action likely wouldn't be well received. Went back to my office to find a rash of staff all wanting responses - now. Although I appreciate their dedication, I can't provide them with what I haven't got. If there is no access to certain data or services, I can't create them out of thin air nor can I waste time trying when I have a desk and floor covered with my own paperwork that is behind as a result. If my paperwork doesn't get caught up to a certain level then they can't proceed with theirs anyway. Give me the hour I need to finish. A series of "buts, and "I wants" means I close my door so I can do what I need to. This is peppered with constant phone calls from other sources - candidates, workers and other Returning Officers.

A visit then from one candidate. He needs some material that he is entitled to receive and then he asks about the progress made in cleaning up the database. We discuss some of the findings from the last couple of weeks and talk about some of the ramifications of the problems. He isn't blaming, but he wants some direction with respect to solutions. Go forward. My kind of politician - or human being for that matter. The upside is that four of the five candidates I have this time are like that - good news for the communities, although I don't think they realize how lucky that makes them.

He leaves and my finance officer returns, closing the door behind her. The last call she had was with the one power tripper at headquarters and he has been downright nasty with her. No way will anything be approved without an extensive report from us, worker by worker, detailing every task they undertook. We both know our spending is dead on with the last event and we both resent being made to feel as though we have done something wrong when we actually saved and didn't spend 2000 hours of staff time last event. We are being punished for being prudent and responsible with our resources, while the offices where waste was the norm are receiving even more time and resources. No wonder government spending is wonky. She does what she can do and then leaves for the day.

It is noon and time to open the Advance Polls. I head to the front of the office and realize that I am not going to be able to attend to my paperwork as planned when I see the line up to vote. For nearly the next two hours there are between 100 and 200 people crowded at the entry to our office. For six of the seven legislated polls the traffic is normal and steady - managable with the resources we have to hand. The one poll that is the problem accounts for the majority of the people in line. Obviously what one candidate had asked about how much of a flood of voters could we handle wasn't an idle threat. They obviously did a call out of all their supporters for that one area to test our abilities. Two of my young wizards, my assistant and I work on crowd control. The building operator has turned off the air control for the facility, because it is the weekend and there is no air flow. The heat starts to rise rapidly and so do some voters' tempers. Each of the four of us receives our share of verbal abuse. When one woman continues harrassing our receptionist when she responds to her endless circular questions about the laws and becomes abusive, I tell her to either stop the abuse of my staff (she had lashed out at the two young guys as well) or she will have to leave immediately. We have provided chairs for anyone in the line up who appears fragile, but we receive abuse for not moving fast enough for them to just come in and then out as soon as they arrive. One woman asks me to explain why the process has to be that way and I start to explain the legislation we are required to follow. Another woman keeps shouting and being abusive, interrupting that conversation until I tell her she is disrupting the conduct of the vote and will have to leave if she can't behave. She is older, but obviously able to wait. She yells about her right to be first because of her age. Funny I always thought being an adult meant setting a good example for proper behaviour to others. Guess not. When a couple of hours had passed and the crowd was calmer I grabbed one of my special ballot co-ordinators and we relieved the team who had the poll where 90% of the attendees were waiting to vote. They need a pressure and bio break so we deal with the next flood of people until they return refreshed.

My two young men are really feeling the stress as the few complainers ramp up and gang up on them. We send them off for a break. Just before that, one woman hands one of the guys a flyer produced out of one of the candidates' office that shows the source of our problems. In big bold letters "Elections Canada" then hours for voting - all wrong and misleading. Then in small letters at the bottom the candidates' office phone number if assistance is required. Oh yes. When it slows down enough and most of the trouble makers have been processed, I call that office knowing tht there are very experienced campaign workers behind that little flyer - the same ones that are part of the group involved in the municipal voter fraud scandal from the previous election. I guess they figure overwhelming the polls is the best way for their people to do their cheating. I call and the one is waiting, it seems, to hear from me. I tell her what I think of her abusing the electoral process and she laughs at the response. Not surprising, but it is my staff who are receiving the abuse for their manipulation of their supporters. As I am signing off that call, one of my staff lets me know one of the radio/tv stations is also advertising advance polls tomorrow even though there aren't any. Great. I call the media specialist then the local rep. I also talk with the local rep about the budget issue. She pauses and then says - "don't you know that approval was given yesterday?" No I don't. No phone call, no email, nothing has given me that information. Neither has either my finance officer nor I received the authorization code that will unlock our payroll system so we can finish entering the hours we need to pay. She forwards the email that she received that seems to be cc'd to everyone in Ottawa who might have the remotest influence on it, but it was never sent to us. How nice. The person who was abusive to my finance officer that morning also had that information, because he was part of the discussion that occurred as that memo was circulated. Uh huh.

Finally by about 3 pm the flow of voters is back to normal volumes and I retreat back to my office to try and get my day back on track. I find my tech, his wife and son talking with my young wizards about the events of the morning. When they are done, that family meets in my office with my assistant and me. I go over the discussion with Ottawa about the problems and show him the screen shots. We discuss steps forward and then they go off for their bowling date. My recruiter had come in to work with me early today, but has to leave - we never did get to work together and time is running very short. Oi. I try to eat something but I don't want to get sick.

I go back to my regular paperwork and try to keep everyone else focussed on the critical work instead of the peripheral responsibilities. That meant undoing some of the instructions my assistant had given to some of the staff, but there isn't any luxury of time left. The local rep arrives around 7 and leaves at 8 pm. Less free time and I send everyone home after she goes just there is enough time to do essentials before close down.

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