Pocono News Section

Monroe Elections Run Smoothly

Monroe Elections Run Smoothly - Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 6:15PM EST

Reported by: Laurie Monteforte
Tuesday, Apr 22, 2008 @ 06:15pm EST
STROUDSBURG, MONROE COUNTY- The phones started ringing even before workers showed up at the Monroe County Voter Registration Office and they didn't stop all day.

With the tight democratic race, this is one of the busiest primary elections ever in Monroe County. Manager Sara May-Silfee started her 22 hour shift just after five Tuesday morning. She said many callers wanted to know whey they couldn't vote as democrats.

She explained, "They think they're registered as a democrat or republican but they're registered non-partisan, no party."

Otherwise things seemed to run as planned. WBRE stopped by the polling place in Jackson Township. It had a steady stream of voters - but no line.

"It was a breeze. You just walked in. It wasn't crowded," said MaryAnn Kelliher.

That's a big difference from the last major election there. Some people waited hours to vote in the last Presidential contest. Since then, May-Silfee made some changes.

She brought in seven more office employees - added more poll workers, and split a few large sign in books into several smaller ones so more people could get in at once. "That seems to always be the hangup, where you get stuck, at the sign in table," she said.

Once all of the votes are counted Tuesday night, it's not over in Monroe County. Because so many people who live there commute, there will be a pile of absentee ballots. There are about 1600 hundred of them, and with such tight races they could make difference.