submitted by Donna Digennaro, Clermont Historical Society
Alan Hays, Lake County Supervisor of Elections, was the speaker at the June meeting of the Clermont Historical Society. In an informative yet very friendly presentation, he laid out the Four Points that have been the cornerstone of his administration from day one. They are: Voter Confidence; Excellent Customer Service; Accurate, Efficient Elections; and Fiscal Responsibility.
He strongly believes that an electorate armed with the truth will have the ability to know fact from fiction when they hear it. To that end, he and his staff give presentations at a wide variety of civic organizations. Two of the facts he shared with the Historical Society include: everything about the election process in Florida is regulated by state statute as well as some rules & regulations and federal laws and polling places are determined by rules or statutes. The county does have some latitude when it comes to early voting. It must have between 8 & 14 days allotted and it can determine its own hours of operation.
When the current location for vote tabulation and scrutiny was being designed, Mr. Hays had large windows installed overlooking the rooms. Any interested party can come and sit outside the room and watch what is being done. In addition, the security measures taken in transporting ballots always involve locked boxes and multiple witnesses. One thing emphasized was the fact that none of the voting machines is ever connected to the internet. All of this is designed to ensure the integrity of the election process in Lake County and voter confidence in the process.
In an election year, when there are many claims and counterclaims about voter security, hearing a talk like the one given by Mr. Hays can only serve to calm one’s concerns. He takes pride in what he and his highly trained staff have accomplished and in what they have put in place to safeguard our elections.
The Historical Society is proud to present speakers like Mr. Hays who are so important to our democratic processes as well as to preserving the history of our community. If you are interested in the history of Clermont or history in general, why not consider joining the Historical Society. Dues are only $25.00 for an individual or $35.00 for a couple. The Historical Society meets the second Monday of every month in the Railroad Depot at the Village. The board meetings start at 6:00 PM and are open to the public.
