Joan Wells will be honored today by the Ohio Secretary of State. Wells has worked for the Board of Elections for many years. Above, Wells, right, helps voter Robert Kissinger sign-in to vote today at the Richwood polling location in the Richwood Greene Apartments, while poll worker Lynne Ledley looks on.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Sherryl Sheets)
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Joan Wells is being honored today, though likely she doesn’t know it yet.
Representatives from the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office will be in Richwood today to present the long-time poll worker with a commendation.
“I don’t remember why I started,” Wells, 91, said in an interview. She added that she “was always very interested in politics.”
A 1944 graduate of Richwood High School and the class president and class valedictorian, Wells said a friend on the alumni board encouraged her to work at polling locations on Election Day. She said she doesn’t remember when that was, though she remembers the people she worked with. Officials from the Union County Board of Elections don’t know when she started either because her service predates the board’s records system.
“I really enjoy it,” Wells said. “I enjoy seeing the people.”
Tina LaRoche, director of the board of elections, said that comes through to the people she meets.
“She just has such a serving-type nature to her,” said LaRoche.
Wells said she worked out of town for many years and traveled extensively, so she always enjoyed being able to see people she hadn’t seen for a while.
She said she also likes being able to meet new people and the younger people in the village.
LaRoche said Wells’ nomination for commendation by the secretary of state is about not just her work on Election Day, but every day.
“I just think she has a great attitude,” LaRoche said. “She wants to serve people and help out in anyway she can.”
Wells said being around people is good for her and those who know her agree.
Wells volunteers each Monday at the desk in Memorial Hospital’s Morey Center. She works Tuesdays with the hospital’s meal program at the Richwood Civic Center.
“Then I play cards,” Wells said. “Pinochle is my game.”
She said her volunteer work “gives me a reason to get up every Monday morning and I look forward to it.”
Wells volunteered for years at The Ohio State University, but stopped when her daughter said she wasn’t comfortable with her driving in Columbus anymore.
Wells’ father died when she was 18, but she said her mother, Fern Wiley, was a great model of community service. She said her mother also enjoyed working the elections.
“She did it for years and years and years,” said Wells. “She was presiding judge quite a few times. She worked for probably 50 years.”
Wells said she doesn’t know she will get as many years as her mother, but will work “as God will permit me and the election board will have me, I guess.”
Wells, who started working at the polling location in Broadway before going to Richwood, said she has seen many changes in the voting process.
“I think it is wonderful the way it has changed. It is so much easier,” Wells said.
She said voting in Richwood “goes pretty quick.”
The process for poll workers has also changed, Wells said.
“It is wonderful the way they have it set up,” Wells said. “It is so much easier, so much less work.”
She said electronic sign-ins and balloting has eliminated many opportunities for mistakes. She said she remembers an election, she doesn’t remember the year, with a Tri-River’s Career Center option.
“Somehow we got mixed up,” Wells said.
She said some people did not get the option to vote on the issue.
“We had a pretty angry lady,” Wells said.
The process is much smoother now, with less opportunity for mix-ups.
“We very seldom see anyone say anything derogatory to us,” Wells said.
Wells said while names change, she still sees people who want to vote.
“I think people are always just as interested in who is on the ballot and what is on the ballot,” Wells said.
She said that is especially true in a community where everyone knows one another and feel their votes matter.
Wells said she is blessed.
“I have wonderful friends, and family,” she said. “I am just thankful for my life.”