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Election season winding up
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Published: January 7, 2010
The election season never ends for Becky Galliher.
As the director of the Iredell County Board of Elections, Galliher's job is sort of like that of the people responsible for painting the Golden Gate Bridge. As soon as one coat is applied, it's already time to start over again.
Less than two months after the municipal elections were finalized, and just a few days into the new year, Galliher was at the Iredell County Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday night seeking permission to apply for a nearly $9,200 federal grant.
Commissioners gave her the green light to send in the application, and if approved for the One-Stop Help America Vote Act Disability Grant, Galliher will use most of the money to make the Board of Elections office in Statesville more wheelchair accessible.
"The exit is not really comfortable for someone in a wheelchair," Galliher said, and pointed out that the egress area lacked a curb cut and was too narrow. The facility's parking lot also does not have a marked walkway.
Galliher also hopes to install a video camera system on the outside of the building to allow election workers to see if a voter may need curbside assistance or help entering the building.
"The whole idea is to make one-stop voting more accessible for everyone who wants to vote," Galliher said, and added that funds from the grant will also be used at other one-stop voting locations, mostly on signage.
Aside from funds to make early voting more user-friendly, Galliher is scrambling for money to expand one-stop voting for May's primary elections.
Galliher said the Board of Elections was impacted by the county's budget pruning caused by the economic downturn.
"With all those budget cuts, the money had to come from somewhere," Galliher said.
She said if no additional funds are made available, early voting for the May elections will be restricted to the Board of Elections headquarters building only.
But there are more immediate election concerns.
On her computer Wednesday afternoon, Galliher was inputting software data related to the races that will unfold during the course of 2010.
"There is always something to do," Galliher said.
Those races run the gamut: from the U.S. Congress to the county commissioners board and from the North Carolina General Assembly to the Iredell-Statesville Board of Education.
"This is going to be a big and exciting election year," Galliher said.
It kicks off next month when the filing period begins Feb. 8.
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