Kelly Jensen

CODY -- Park County Clerk Kelly Jensen is looking for a few good men -- preferably gentlemen in their 30s who are registered Democrats.

County Clerk Kelly Jensen voiced some qualms.

"Maybe it was a learning experience, and there are other groups out there that don't cross lines," Jensen said.

CODY -- Park County Clerk Kelly Jensen is looking for a few good men -- preferably gentlemen in their 30s who are registered Democrats.

"In Park County, we use between 200 and 230 different people in each election, in addition to the staff we have," Jensen said of election judges, volunteers who are paid a small stipend to monitor elections and help check in and process voters.

"And it's hard to find Democrats to be election officials in Park County," she told a group of business owners Monday.

The Help America Vote Act, a federal law enacted after the disputed 2000 presidential election, requires county clerks to recruit a pool of election judges who reflect the demographic make-up of the community, Jensen said.
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Though there is no election scheduled in Park County this November, Jensen and Livingston are speaking to business owners and civic groups in an effort to recruit more judges, particularly young men who are registered Democrats.
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"We have a fabulous group of judges who have been doing this for very many years, and they?ve been doing a great job, but there is no one coming up behind them," said Jensen, elected in 2006 as an independent.
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Judges serve because they are passionate about the democratic process, and because many of them enjoy the social function of reconnecting with old friends on Election Day, Jensen said.

But some judges who have served for many years have said they may not return for the next election, as the process has become more complicated and demanding with election-day registration, heavy absentee voting and other factors, she said.

Jensen is looking for help from business owners who can spare employees, particularly younger voters who might not otherwise have the day off.

A new state law allowing judges to serve in shifts, rather than requiring a commitment for the full 12 hours, may also attract younger judges, she said.

Present were Chairman Bill Brewer, Commissioners Tim French, Dave Burke, Jill Shockley Siggins and Bucky Hall, and County Clerk Kelly Jensen.
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(s) KELLY JENSEN, County Clerk Publish: April 6, 2009 only

"We definitely are expecting an incredible turnout," said Park County Clerk Kelly Jensen.
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However, Jensen said the '06 numbers may have been inflated with voters that have since moved on. She said a new, more accurate voter database software has been installed since then.
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Jensen describes voting as an "absolute right and privilege."

"Somehow not taking the time or the energy to vote is disrespectful ... to what people have done in the whole history of this nation to ensure that we get to vote," she said.

Jensen doesn't buy the excuse that a vote isn't going to make a difference.

"If you live by the idea that your vote doesn't count, you're guaranteeing that it never will," she said.

County Clerk Kelly Jensen said the Park County numbers may be slightly inflated by some innacuracies in the number of new voters.

"There's a lot of voter maintenance we have to do right now," she said.

However, she doesn't expect much of a dip in the numbers when all is said and done.

"I am really confident we'll have high 90s turnout," she said.

No major problems were reported from Election Day, Jensen said, though there were a few minor glitches in election judge procedure.

A report Tuesday night that about a dozen absentee ballots in Park County had gone uncounted proved unfounded Wednesday morning, said Kelly Jensen, county clerk.

Kelly JensenPark County Clerk

Kelly Jensen , Park County Clerk, Chief Election Official