Poll workers and registrar describe busy Election Day, DOJ observers, language and ADA notes, and 9,000 same‑day registrations

STOCKTON, Calif. — Poll workers at the Kennedy Community Center told the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters Advisory Committee on Jan. 9 that Election Day was busy and uneven: staff described a broken ink cartridge, repeated scanner feed attempts, a high volume of new or provisional voters and an unexpected visit from two Department of Justice observers. County Registrar Olivia Hale presented countywide turnout numbers and operational findings and said the registrar’s office will make training and procedural changes before the next election.

Debbie Collins, an election officer at Kennedy Community Center, told the advisory committee she and other workers encountered a supply issue when an ink cartridge “exploded” while being installed and covered the machine and staff. “It went everywhere on the machine…my hands were completely ink,” Collins said. She described long lines after voters arrived from another site that had printing problems and said poll pads located many voters who said they thought they had never registered.

Collins also described a visit by two Department of Justice observers — one from California and one from Washington, D.C. — who questioned workers and, she said, spoke in Spanish with student workers who are minors. “They asked me a bunch of questions outside…then they moved forward to coming inside and then they did some questioning,” Collins said. Michael…