By Marty Gordon
Elections are the central institution of a democratic representative government and, in Virginia, about 130 voter registrars make up the small army of ordinary people who prepare for, conduct and certify the results of elections. It’s a big job: translating the consent of the governed into the authority of government, enacting democracy itself, but most residents do not know the duties of those overseeing how elections are conducted.
Longtime Montgomery County voter registrar Randy Wertz has written a new about his 13-year tenure.
To remedy that, retired Montgomery County registrar Randy Wertz has written “Overworked and Under Paid, the life of an election official,” detailing the ups and downs of the job.
According to Wertz, voters stand in line for a minutes, sign in at the registration desk, go to the next station to get their ballot and finally take their ballot and insert it in the voting machine, then receive a “I voted!,” sticker.
“Members of the public have never thought about what goes on behind the scenes,” he said.
His new book provides a look into his life as a voter registrar, the person appointed to educate the general public about voter registration and encourage the general public to register.
Wertz spent 13 years behind the desk and through the election cycle of the late 90s and early 2000s.
Before coming to the voter registrar’s office, Wertz spent 25 years in the hospital business. He became the Montgomery County voter registrar in 2004 and retired in 2017. Wertz has described his time in office as “a good ride.”
He took a year to write the book, something he promised other registrars in Virginia in order to let the public know exactly what they do every day.
Sometimes the work week stretched to 80-plus hours especially when dealing with presidential elections.
“Registrars oversee all aspects of the election business. They must wear many hats while doing so, and do so while following specific state and federal laws,” Wertz said.
He calls the state’s group of registrars some of the most dedicated and hardworking professionals you will ever find in any business.
“But they are never recognized for what they do and how they do it until something goes wrong,” he said.
The book includes some funny stories with one chapter called the “Secretary from Hell” in addressing a state official who censured him and three members of the county’s electoral board for a delay in reporting local results during one election cycle and returns that included “un-verified voters.”
At the heart of that problem was the major influx of university student voters in 2008. Wertz called it a major headache.
“Yes, in 2008, things changed drastically. We were overwhelmed with 20,000 new voters from Tech. We created a new E-1 voting district, but there were too many people to be put into it. Thus, we couldn’t handle the large numbers of those voting that day,” he said.
Mistakes occurred at six polling places as workers had problems using new laptop poll books to verify registrations. An estimated 700 people voted without the verification. In addition, there were no printed poll books that could have been used as a backup.
In the end, they were all registered voters of Montgomery County, Wertz writes. He said provisional ballots should have been used in each of those cases. No votes were thrown out, but 13 individuals were found to have voted in the wrong precinct.
The problem turned into a computing problem that caused numbers to be late in being placed into the computer.
“We were censured over that,” Wertz said.
The matter is just one of dozens Wertz had to deal with during his tenure he mentions in the new book.
“We, in Montgomery County, were one of only a few offices with a university population. It wasn’t anything we couldn’t have handled with the proper equipment and adequate personnel. Things happen,” he said.
The bottom line comes down to funding – something he emphasizes in the book. “When I left [Montgomery County], I left them in good shape with electronic machines and poll books, but there probably will never be enough funding for voter registrars’ offices especially for equipment and staff,” he said.
Here in Montgomery County with a growing population, Wertz said the local office will need more.
“Every registrar in the state faces a funding line in the sand that they have to deal with,” Wertz.
He admits there are parts of his book that will cause readers to yawn as the duties of a voter registrar are extensive and detailed.
“So please bear with me, and I think you might enjoy some of the stories my colleagues and I have to share,” Wertz said. “Hopefully, when I finish, you will have a new appreciation for these hardworking and underpaid professionals.”
In 13 years, Wertz and his team went through three different types of election machines and several sets of redistricting and the title of the book explains itself. “The public doesn’t realize what we did and still do, and it definitely comes down to a lot of long hours.”
He does not know what’s next personally for him, but there might be another book in the works.
“There is still more to tell especially in the stories from other voter registrars.”
“Overworked and Underpaid” available at the Christiansburg Barnes and Noble and can be found at other locations across the state and available online.
