Poll workers attended training at the Lauderdale County Government Center on Wednesday to learn about the processes and regulations they will need to follow come Election Day on Nov. 5.

Election Commissioner Gloria Dancy, who serves as chairperson of the commission, said Wednesday’s class consisted of veteran poll workers who are taking on more responsibility and brand new people. By combining the two, she said, the commission hopes some of the more experienced workers will help the new people learn.

“We’re teaching them how to open the polls and what time it opens. We’re teaching them how to close the poll and everything that goes between that time,” she said.

Election commissioners and Circuit Clerk Donna Jill Johnson opened the training discussing some of the more common issues that crop up on Election Day. Commissioner Chuck Overby explained how to open the polls in the morning, while Johnson walked workers through what to do if someone is not on the voter rolls, doesn’t have proper identification and other scenarios.

Dancy said the experienced workers in Wednesday’s class are serving as Returning and Receiving managers. In addition to being poll workers, R and R managers and assistant managers take on extra duties transporting precinct supplies to and from the courthouse.

“They will pick up the transfer case the day before the election, and they will return it back to central,” she said.

Although many county offices have relocated to the new Lauderdale County Government Center on 22nd Avenue, the election commission is still based in the old courthouse at 500 Constitution Avenue. R and R managers will pick up their precinct’s supplies from the Raymond P. Davis Annex and will return them to the old courthouse location.

Election officials expect this year’s presidential race to be closely scrutinized, Dancy said, and Lauderdale County’s election commissioners are making sure poll workers understand their duties to ensure the vote is free of outside influence. Training includes information about laws and regulations, how to use different seals and record different types of ballots and the need to account for every ballot.

“You’ve got to account for every ballot that we give them. They come, they pick up those ballots the day before Election Day, they sign, ‘I received this many ballots,’” she said. “We have a precinct form that they’re going to fill out, and every ballot the next day, we want to know if there is any ballots missing. If there’s a missing ballot, we need a reason.”

Poll workers are the backbone of Lauderdale County’s elections, Dancy said, and the commission could not fulfill its duty to conduct a free and fair election without them. While election organizers in other parts of the country have struggled to recruit poll workers, she said, Lauderdale County residents have always been willing to step up and do their part.

“We let them know, we cannot do this election without them,” she said. “They are the ones that help us maintain the integrity of the election.“