Nine Bainbridge High School students worked the polls in Decatur County on Election Day last Tuesday, lending a hand to the Board of Elections while also getting an inside look at the electoral process.

Julia Mendoza, Sarah Michael Farrington, Travis Hodnett, Ryan Whitaker, Diana Ambrocio, Edward Lewis, Celeste Gordon, Camron Jones and Shannon Jones worked across the local precincts for up to 13 hours on the busy Tuesday.

“I was really excited to get into the scene and see how elections were conducted, because I’m the one that is going to have to vote in the future,” Hodnett said, who worked at the Elections Office throughout the day. “I learned a lot, (like) the way they counted the votes and how all the tickets that came out. It’s pretty cool.”

Chief Elections Official Carol Heard said she jumped at Board of Elections Member Gina Burke’s offer of having some Bainbridge High School students’ help on Election Day.

“For several elections now, we had Julia Mendoza as a poll worker at the Coliseum and she has done a terrific job for us. And when the others joined our ranks on this election, they were equally impressive,” Heard said. “Travis Allan Hodnett and Sarah Michael Farrington were excellent in assisting us in the Elections Office. The students had to undergo some training and were asked to read the Poll Worker Manual, which Hodnett said he read cover to cover. I thought that in itself showed the level of professionalism and dedication he and the others exhibited in wanting to do a good job.”

Heard said some of the poll managers commented on the students’ professionalism in answering the phones, assisting them and our voters. The day sure went a lot smoother having their assistance in the office. The poll managers who had BHS students assigned to their precincts commented on how impressive the students were with checking-in voters, working the ExpressPolls and just assisting as much as they could, Heard said.

Clerk of Voter Registration Linda Walton said she looks forward to working with the BHS students during future elections.

“The BHS students worked long and hard just as all our poll workers did on Election Day. We really had a terrific group of poll workers this election and the BHS students certainly added to the wonderful job they all did,” Heard said.

The students were paid for their work.

Julia Mendoza was assigned to the Coliseum precinct.

Travis Allan Hodnett and Sarah Michael Farrington worked in the office on Election Day.

Ryan Whitaker was assigned to the Mount Pleasant precinct

Diana Ambrocio was assigned to the Coliseum precinct.

Edward Lewis was assigned to the Attapulgus precinct.

Celeste Gordon was assigned to the Fairgrounds precinct

Camron Jones was assigned to the West Bainbridge precinct.

Shannon Jones was assigned to the Climax precinct.