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Judges fatigued after long tabulation shifts; county to recruit split shifts and more volunteers
Summary
Chief judge and staff described long hours and volunteer fatigue during post‑election tabulation; officials said they recruited new judges, ran special trainings and are considering mandatory split shifts to reduce error risk in future elections.
Commissioners heard that long tabulation shifts contributed to judge fatigue and volunteer attrition. Chris Christians, the chief judge, said many judges left in the small hours of the morning and that long shifts raise the risk of mistakes: "I probably lost 18 judges by 03:00 in the morning," he said, urging the county to consider split shifts or other staffing approaches.
Election Administrator Terry Talps said the office ran ten training classes, special trainings for polling-place managers and provisional teams, and recruited several new judges and couple-pairs to help cover long shifts. A staff member who was new to the process recommended split shifts and additional training to maintain accuracy and volunteer well‑being.
