The five-member Hickman County Election Commission held a special meeting last week to discuss two key items – the process for filling the vacant election administrator position and the appointment of an interim administrator until that position can be filled.
After a brief discussion, the commission passed a motion to appoint Rep. Brittany Duke as interim election administrator by a vote of 3-2.
Duke has already served in various oversight roles since the unexpected resignation of Martie Davis and during November's early voting for the 7th District special congressional election to replace Congressman Mark Green.
In public meetings in November, Duke was praised for helping two ex-felons restore their voting rights through the legally mandated process after the process was long delayed under the former administrator.
Duke told the Times last week that early voting in Hickman County for the Dec. 2 special election went smoothly, with voter turnout up significantly compared to early voting in the October primary. She said a total of 1,336 people showed up to vote for the October primary, while the early voting figure rose to 2,148 for the Dec. 2 election alone.
“We had a high turnout compared to the primary,” Duke said. “Everything was going great; there was a lot going on – but it went smoothly.” Duke was busy conducting training for poll workers on Monday.
Employees noted that they had received many comments about how well organized the office was under Duke.
Permanent administrator
In discussing the appointment of a new returning officer, Electoral Commission member Steve Hethcote asked about the requirement that the next returning officer be a Republican because he represents the current majority party. Roy Crews said he followed up on this with the state and the response was that it was more of a tradition than a requirement.
Research and opinions published by the Bipartisan Policy Center show that the ratio of partisan to nonpartisan elected or appointed officials is 60% partisan and 40% nonpartisan.
The five-member Hickman County Commission, made up of three Republicans and two Democrats, discussed the process by which a permanent election official would be chosen.
According to public comment, Rodney Rochelle, a poll worker who shared interest in being considered for the interim and permanent positions, was the only other nominee to receive the other two votes for the interim position.
Brenda Burchard, Rebecca Coleman and Roy Crews all voted for Duke's nomination, while Chip Wilson, along with Steve Hethcote, nominated and voted for Rochelle.
Crews said he plans to post the basic job requirements on the county's website this week.
The commission voted to approve Monday, December 15, as the deadline to accept applications for the permanent position. While Crews expressed some doubts about the speed of the deadline, the motion to maintain the deadline would stand.