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California Election Workers on Overtime

Aired September 19, 2003 - 15:21   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CANDY CROWLEY, CNN ANCHOR: While the lawyers battle and the appeals court deliberates, the people who actually have to run this election are on overtime.
A look at the hard work going on behind the scenes from CNN's Thelma Gutierrez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So what does it take to put off a recall election at the very last minute? Just ask the election employees who work in this 44,000-square-foot warehouse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been very hectic. It's very, very hectic,

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been having to work 10 hours a day sorting thousands of these.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm here from 7:30 to 8:00 to get this done. And if it's not done, I don't know to what time we're going to have to be here.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): The warehouse belongs to the Los Angeles County Registrar's Office. Inside, 400 people are working 12-hour days to put together the supplies needed for voters to go to their polling places on Election Day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are full speed ahead.

GUTIERREZ (on camera): For?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For October 7.

GUTIERREZ: This is called a supply tub. It will be sent to all 1,786 precincts in Los Angeles County. Inside, lots of different supplies, like this polling place sign in seven different languages, these gray voting sleeves for the ballots, an American flag, and, of course, the controversial punch-card voting system.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Suddenly, we have our full four million voters coming in for an October election that we had no money for. We had to bring in our old voting system.

GUTIERREZ: This is the vote recorder assembly room. The workers that you see here are dropping pages with all the names of 135 candidates into the vote recording machines.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Certainly, we didn't have the workers to sustain this, and we didn't have the schedule. So we had to do in what usually takes about six months in about six weeks.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): And now these unsung heroes of the election have been thrown a curveball. They're not sure when the election is taking place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These materials are for a specific date, you know, and then you just can't just get everything and throw it away.

GUTIERREZ: There are other things voters shouldn't throw away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't throw away your absentee ballots, because there may be an election. We're telling our poll workers, stay tuned, don't go on vacation.

GUTIERREZ: Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired September 19, 2003 - 15:21   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN ANCHOR: While the lawyers battle and the appeals court deliberates, the people who actually have to run this election are on overtime.
A look at the hard work going on behind the scenes from CNN's Thelma Gutierrez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So what does it take to put off a recall election at the very last minute? Just ask the election employees who work in this 44,000-square-foot warehouse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been very hectic. It's very, very hectic,

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been having to work 10 hours a day sorting thousands of these.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm here from 7:30 to 8:00 to get this done. And if it's not done, I don't know to what time we're going to have to be here.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): The warehouse belongs to the Los Angeles County Registrar's Office. Inside, 400 people are working 12-hour days to put together the supplies needed for voters to go to their polling places on Election Day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are full speed ahead.

GUTIERREZ (on camera): For?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For October 7.

GUTIERREZ: This is called a supply tub. It will be sent to all 1,786 precincts in Los Angeles County. Inside, lots of different supplies, like this polling place sign in seven different languages, these gray voting sleeves for the ballots, an American flag, and, of course, the controversial punch-card voting system.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Suddenly, we have our full four million voters coming in for an October election that we had no money for. We had to bring in our old voting system.

GUTIERREZ: This is the vote recorder assembly room. The workers that you see here are dropping pages with all the names of 135 candidates into the vote recording machines.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Certainly, we didn't have the workers to sustain this, and we didn't have the schedule. So we had to do in what usually takes about six months in about six weeks.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): And now these unsung heroes of the election have been thrown a curveball. They're not sure when the election is taking place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These materials are for a specific date, you know, and then you just can't just get everything and throw it away.

GUTIERREZ: There are other things voters shouldn't throw away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't throw away your absentee ballots, because there may be an election. We're telling our poll workers, stay tuned, don't go on vacation.

GUTIERREZ: Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com