by Monica Chamness
Staff Writer
Supervisor of Elections John Stafford announced the addition of two key staff members Wednesday and reported on election reforms since the Nov. 5 election. Tracie Collier and Garrett Dennis, both members of Stafford’s education staff and former school teachers, were appointed to direct the recruitment of 200 new “partners in democracy.”
The partners program encourages residents to work at the polls each election. Large organizations such as the Urban League, fraternities/sororities, civic groups and major employers are contacted to participate. With the addition of Collier and Dennis, a new focus is being placed on recruiting minorities.
“We did some checking and 33 percent of poll workers are African-American,” said Stafford. “The [African-American] population in Duval County is like 24, 25 percent so we’re above the average, but we want to add more to the polling places so they have a comfort level there. I think it’s necessary to have diversity.”
Other changes include extending poll worker training from one to two months, reducing class sizes from 50 to 30 individuals and providing management training to the clerks and assistant clerks.
“Obviously, the minority community felt disenfranchised in the 2000 election,” said Richard Danford, Jacksonville Urban League president. “To get them more involved in the front-end rather than after it happens, we want to build some trust in the community towards the election process.”