OK, you get to hear my story ... my department started receiving mail ballots this week for a January 2nd special election. We don't normally run our own elections out of this department because we coordinate November elections with the county. But this special election came about because of a petition, and election law requires certain time tables be met so that's how we ended up with such wonderful timing!.  Yesterday morning we received nearly 7000 pieces of mail just as the snow hit.  I won't bore you with the details, but we just finished up processing those ballots (meaning getting them ready to count) about an hour ago.  Seven of us spent the night here in the office because we couldn't safely get home and back. I haven't slept on the floor since I was about 25 and generally I get more than 3 hours of sleep at night! Because the P.O. was closed, we didn't get any new mail today so tomorrow should be awful, and Saturday even worse in terms of volume.  Ho Ho Ho - yes everyone will be working Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas and the day after that and the day after that, etc. I actually get to leave for a few days because I had plane tickets before this election was set, so I'm going with joy to visit my 89-year-old Dad in Madison WI, but feel terribly guilty at the same time.  I'll be back on January 1st (with everyone else) to continue the process. Election law has changed significantly since 2000 and the challenges are enormous.  Count everything, balance everything, account for everything. We are blind with fatigue. So my parting shot is ... never sign a petition you don't feel strongly about -- you are paying a high price for that privilege as a taxpayer. Fear not, however, your right to vote is protected by people who really care about doing it right.  Cheers, y'all!

Sharon G. Blackstock, CRM
Central Records Administrator
Lakewood City Clerk's Office
480 S. Allison Pkwy, Lakewood CO 80226-3127
Direct: 303-987-7091  Fax: 303-987-7088
Email: [log in to unmask]
Website: www.lakewood.org
Lakewood's records management objectives: 1) Information is available when needed; 2) Records of permanent value are preserved; 3) Non-permanent records are destroyed per approved retention schedules; 4) Discarded paper is recycled.

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