The tables are set up, the ballots are there, and the voting booths are set up. Patrick Dupont, head of the general affairs and information reception department at Châteauroux town hall, checks that everything is in place in the 32 polling stations before the first round of early legislative elections, scheduled for this Sunday, June 30. It is he who orchestrates the administrative and logistical aspect of these elections. He must have done it particularly quickly: “The time constraint was still important for us because we had to start again with a complete election in three weeks, whereas we usually prepare it over at least two months..” explains Patrick Dupont.
“It was really done in record time”
“The days were long because the candidates had to declare themselves very quickly, [il a fallu] put an envelope in place, re-reserve all the rooms for the polling stations, recruit staff to be secretary, so it’s really done in record time” relates the head of the general affairs and information reception department. Note that, unlike other cities, there was no need to cancel a wedding due to the elections which occupy buildings sometimes used for the ceremonies. Solutions were found each time.
Proxy requests on the rise
Until the last moment, municipal employees receive and record proxy requests, and as in the rest of France, they are on the rise for these early legislative elections: this Saturday at the beginning of the afternoon, there were 1,135 proxies in Châteauroux, where there are usually between 300 and 400, according to Patrick Dupont. “It’s multiplied by three practically” calculates the one who orchestrates the administrative aspect of these elections in the municipality.
Manon Klein
32 polling stations, and 88 prisoners registered
Patrick Dupont checked the conformity of the 32 polling stations in Châteauroux. The 32nd is dedicated to prisoners from the Saint-Maur central prison and those from the Craquelin penitentiary. In total, 88 are registered on the electoral lists. “These are the representatives of the establishments who come with a postal vote from the prisoners” explains Patrick Dupont. Among the regulatory elements to check: order of ballot papers. They are not randomly placed on the table. They must be aligned according to the draw that took place in the prefecture (each candidate is assigned a number.
No problems with assessors according to the deputy mayor
According to the deputy mayor in charge of elections, Florence Petipez, there were no difficulties finding assessors in Châteauroux: “We still had a question mark, because first of all it was unexpected, so we said to ourselves: there are lots of people who are not going to be there, but no, people are mobilizing“. The deputy mayor can count in particular on a few faithfulwho respond every time.
If the town of Châteauroux was able to set up the polling stations, find the assessors, and manage the proxy requests in time, Patrick Dupont nevertheless hopes not to relive this situation any time soon: “We succeeded in the bet but I hope that it will not happen again too often.“.
Manon Klein
