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Spartanburg County to open Election Day call center, set up separate 'fail‑safe' voting room
Summary
County elections staff said they will activate a voter call center starting Oct. 28, staff it with six trained temps, and route ‘fail‑safe’ voters to laptops in conference room 6 so clerks at the front counter can focus on DMV checks and other complex tasks.
Spartanburg County elections staff told the board they are opening a voter call center on Oct. 28 that will operate through Election Day and a separate fail‑safe voting area in conference room 6 to reduce front‑office congestion. The measures are intended to speed voter assistance, cut provisional ballots and keep clerks available for on‑site technical and DMV checks.
The director said the office has a phone‑tree system tied to the county’s main number that will route ordinary voter inquiries to the call center and give poll workers a menu option that diverts them to front‑office staff for technical or credential issues. "The call center will be active from October 28th the second week of early voting through election day," the director said; staff plan to staff it with six budgeted temps, three of whom already have front‑office experience.
The office also will place laptops in conference room 6 on Election Day and staff them to handle so‑called fail‑safe voters who arrive to change their address and vote. "Those fail‑safe voters don't come through the front office; they go straight down the hall to conference room 6," the director said, describing a workflow in which voters update their address, vote the appropriate ballot, and leave without creating long lines at the main counter.
Staff said the phone tree will include submenus for absentee and UOCAVA (overseas/military) voters and will use SCvotes.gov lookups so call‑center staff can check registration details, sample ballots and polling‑place addresses. Complex calls that exceed the call center's authority will be transferred to front‑office personnel.
The director briefed board members on training for the temps and said a mix of current employees and experienced temporary staff will fill the call‑center roles. Board members also discussed the need for clear signage and outreach so voters understand what "fail‑safe" means and where to go on Election Day.
Votes at a glance: the board approved the minutes of the Aug. 22 regular meeting and certification hearing by voice vote.
The director said additional deputies will be requested to handle parking and crowd control at peak times, and a backup generator will be installed to protect early‑voting operations against outages. The call center, fail‑safe setup and staffing plan are intended to keep the front counter free for tasks that require skilled staff and to improve service at precincts across the county.
