Jefferson County readies 1,800 poll workers ahead of Nov. 3 midterms

Jefferson County's Board of Registrars has spent two weeks training about 1,800 poll workers to run voting machines, electronic poll books, and the checks that make sure ballots count. The midterms are a week away, on Nov. 3. Barry Stephenson, who chairs the board, said workers are going over every practical implication of what may happen on election day.

The county expects as many as 200,000 voters at the polls. Equipment, supplies, and paperwork started moving out to polling places across Jefferson County on Tuesday. Stephenson said the effort involves a lot of logistics and moving parts.

Voters should bring a valid photo ID. A U.S. passport, military ID, or student ID from any Alabama college or university also works. A voter who forgets ID may still cast a regular ballot if two poll workers can personally vouch for who they are.

On security, Stephenson said tabulation machines are not online and results are locked down. "They aren't connected to a network," he said. Thumb drives collect results through the day and are encrypted with special encryption, then fed into an encrypted laptop. "So our thumb drives aren't coming from Walmart or Office Depot," Stephenson said. "These are special thumb drives .. they're specially encrypted and only read by a certain computer."

Voters unsure where to vote can check registration on the Secretary of State's website.