Who does what at the polls?

Registrars of Voters:

As Chief Election Officials, they are responsible for the proper conduct of all Federal, State and local elections and all Referenda; supervision and maintenance of all voter information and lists; overall responsibility for the conduct of the election, including the proper training (and certification where needed) of all election officials and workers; proper setup and operation of all voting machines; all elections supplies needed at the polling places; making proper determinations of the eligibility of residents to vote; preparing all official voting lists, the distribution of all official voting list, and the distribution of all official literature; overseeing absentee voting and the hiring and supervising of all election officials and workers.  They are responsible for assisting in the election administration including class training for poll workers, and determining eligibility to vote on Election Day. It is important to note that procedures, number of poll workers, number of voting machines, and hours of operation are all carefully specified by State statutes.

Assistant Registrars

They are two Assistant Registrars. The Assistant Registrars represent their respective registrars of voters in the polling place overseeing the voting operations on Election Day, and also reinstating voters whose names have been removed from the active voting list and placed on the inactive list who have not moved from that address. They assume the duties of Registrar of Voters in their absence.

Moderator:

The Moderator is responsible for the Election Day conduct of the election, including the oversight of the polling place to make sure certain statutes are adhered to both in the physical makeup of the polls and the voting procedures. The Moderator also supervises the voting count at the end of the election, monitors all tally sheets, and transports results to office of the Secretary of the State.

Absentee Ballot Moderator:

The Absentee Ballot Moderator is responsible for the proper conduct of the absentee ballot counting operation.

Checkers:

The Checkers check off the names of voters as they present themselves to vote. They also monitor the identification presented by voters prior to having their names checked off. All voters must be checked off before voting.

Ballot Clerks:

There are two ballot clerks appointed by different parties. One ballot clerk works as a team with at least one official checker to hand out the paper ballots to each person voting.

In addition to the above persons actually working in the polling places, there are the following elections officials:

Town Clerk:

The Town Clerk is responsible for originating and reproducing absentee ballots, responding to requests for absentee ballot applications, and issuing ballots upon their proper completion.