Campaign Diaries: Directing the Durham Vote
County Elections Chief Shares Insights on Running a Fair Contest
James Todd for NPR
Mike Ashe, director of the County Board of Elections in Durham, N.C.
About Campaign Diaries
Throughout the 2004 election season, NPR will present an intimate first-person look at the campaign.In a series called Campaign Diaries, we'll hear accounts from passionate volunteers, professional campaign workers, typical voters and election bystanders, people who organize campaign events or drive voters to the polls.
Mike Ashe says most people think you just set up an election and count the votes. But as director of the County Board of Elections in Durham, N.C., Ashe knows there's much more to pulling off a successful contest. There are voting machines to test and maintain, ballots to edit and review, polling station volunteers to recruit.
Ashe says his job isn't about getting people to vote -- he's there to provide a fair and efficient election and certify the results. As part of NPR's Campaign Diaries series, Ashe shares his insights on the ins and outs of directing an election with independent producer James Todd.
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