Finding a sufficient number of assessors is always a challenge. It is all the greater when, during the Covid-19 period, two two-round ballots which are organized on the same days. The health situation has led many municipalities to double the number of polling stations. This is particularly the case in Colmar and Strasbourg, but also in smaller municipalities such as Brunstatt-Didenheim (8,000 inhabitants and 5,900 registered voters). It will take 144 assessors to ensure a half-day of permanence in the 16 polling stations. “It’s always difficult, but here you have to anticipate to ensure that people are vaccinated. However, the inhabitants are not yet in the mood, ”notes the director general of services at Brunstatt-Didenheim.
768 registered in Strasbourg, 2,000 needed
The situation is very heterogeneous depending on the location. Strasbourg is struggling with only 768 voluntary assessors listed on Wednesday evening when the Alsatian capital would like 2,000. “At 1,700, we can run the 280 offices with half a day’s presence. For organizational reasons, we want the presence of five assessors when the electoral code requires a minimum of four, ”indicates Abdelkarim Ramdane, deputy mayor of Strasbourg. “Registrations are still open. All you have to do is download a form from the website and send it back by email. The vaccine is a plus, but there is no windfall effect. Being an assessor is above all a civic duty in order to discover the flip side of our democracy ”, underlines the Strasbourg elected official.
Colmar and Mulhouse ready
In Colmar and Mulhouse, the teams are almost complete. “We have a network of regulars. So, of course, the vaccine can spark vocations. Young people who will then go abroad have thus registered ”, notes the mayor of Colmar, Eric Staumann, whose services directly manage reservations for the vaccination of those of the 420 volunteer assessors who have not yet received a first. injection. The general rule is that assessors register by checking the dedicated priority box on Doctolib.
In Mulhouse, for the June elections, “the teams are formed”, indicates the town hall which “generally” is “still looking for volunteer assessors. We have spontaneous applications reaching us and they are welcome! It is an important civic moment and the involvement of citizens is appreciated… ”
Variable duration function
Importantly, in Mulhouse, the assessors perform the function during the whole day. Most of the time, it is half a day, or even only two hours, as in Guebwiller… The only intangible thing is that they must be registered on the electoral roll of the commune where they officiate. This is not the case with assessors appointed by political parties who must be voters in the department. And count a lot. But when is it still missing? The number is then ensured by the municipal agents, mobilized according to the needs. “They are also the essential transmission belt for the proper conduct of electoral operations,” recalls the mayor of Cernay, Michel Sordi.
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