Defending Democracy by Ethan Weston

Bursts of activity are followed...exceptionally nerdy.”

Bursts of activity are followed by periods of mostly silent waiting in the counting room of the Boone County Clerk’s Office as each polling station’s vote totals are read by the computer. “I just really enjoy the process of election administration and being a part of the core activity that keeps democracy working,” Brianna Lennon, Boone County Clerk said. “I’m exceptionally nerdy.”

The nearly full moon worked with the street lamps to light downtown Columbia early Tuesday morning. It was just before 4 a.m., and the parking lot of First Christian Church was nearly empty, except for one car. Brianna Lennon collected her things and got out — it was time for work.

It was not an average day, though. It was Election Day, and because Lennon is the Boone County Clerk, she’s responsible for the whole county’s election process.

“I just really enjoy the process of election administration and being a part of the core activity that keeps democracy working,” Lennon said.

From Boone County Clerk Brianna... quarantining could go to vote.

From Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon’s office window she can see the line forming to vote at one of the county’s two central polling stations at the Boone County Government Center. The location also had a drive-thru in the back of the center where people who were quarantining could go to vote.

Brianna Lennon addresses staffe...ly smooth sailing from then on.

Brianna Lennon addresses staffers and volunteers as the sounds of ringing phones filled the the Boone County Clerk’s office. The day of the 2020 election started off with a server issue affecting polling places. There was a nationwide complication with the vendor the office uses that was quickly fixed and it was relatively smooth sailing from then on.

Boone County Clerk Brianna Lenn...s were confirmed in the system.

Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon, left, and her Director of Elections, Art Auer, discuss processing absentee ballots and confirming absentee totals. The ballots were all processed on Election Day, Nov. 3. Any ballots which the machine deemed worth double checking were inspected by hand and the voters were confirmed in the system.

Absentee ballots fly through a ... gets underway in Boone County.

Absentee ballots fly through a vote counting machine as voting for the 2020 election gets underway in Boone County.

Brianna Lennon is responsible f... a more local level.”

Brianna Lennon is responsible for one of the biggest parts of American democracy: elections. As the Boone County Clerk, she runs the office in charge of reporting votes. Her Election Day on Nov. 3, 2020, started around 3:30 AM and ended just past midnight. “I have always really loved elections,” Lennon said. “I did a few internships related to elections. I joined the Secretary of State’s office in 2013 … I mean I basically fell in love with elections and wanted to work with them at a more local level.”

Her office worked toward Tuesday’s election all year, refining its game plan with each round of elections — beginning in March before COVID-19 even reached Boone County, adding coronavirus protections for the June municipal elections and further improving things after the primaries in June.

“Really, this is something that, throughout the course of the year, all the decisions made along the way were made with the thought that this would culminate in a presidential election,” Lennon said.

Jessica Owens and Ragini Algole...g places all over Boone County.

Jessica Owens and Ragini Algole work on a poll pad before polls open on Election Day 2020 at the Boone County Clerk’s Office. The two spent most of the day answering phones and trouble shooting different issues voters and workers ran into at different polling places all over Boone County.

Director of Elections Art Auer ...’s 77 polling places.

Director of Elections Art Auer and Polling Place Operations Manager Gary Roberts coordinate before Roberts has to go take equipment to one of Boone County’s 77 polling places.

Brianna Lennon speaks with a po...nt Center in downtown Columbia.

Brianna Lennon speaks with a poll work at Mizzou Arena during the 2020 election. The Arena was one of two central polling places in Boone County; the other was at the Boone County Government Center in downtown Columbia.

Alyssa Patzivs and other Electi...e to vote in the next election.

Alyssa Patzivs and other Election Day volunteers and staff took phone calls from polling places and voters for most of the day. They made sure eligible voters who were having trouble with the polling process were able to get in to vote and explained to those who weren’t eligible to vote what they needed to do to be able to vote in the next election.

Art Auer laughs at a joke made ...o;s Office for almost 35 years.

Art Auer laughs at a joke made by a coworker in the early morning of Election Day 2020. Auer has been the director of elections at the Boone County Clerk’s Office for almost 35 years.

Boone County Clerk Brianna Lenn...ection,” Lennon said.

Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon takes a minute to eat lunch while continuing her work. As an Election Day tradition, Booches brought a bag of burgers down to the county clerk’s office. “This year we’ve had Booches for the office for every election,” Lennon said.

This sort of work is one of the things Lennon enjoys most about the job.

“I really like problem-solving,” she said. “I have always really loved elections. I did a few internships related to elections. I joined the Secretary of State’s Office in 2013. … I mean, I basically fell in love with elections and wanted to work with them at a more local level."

On a back wall in the Boone Cou...ing places located in Columbia.

On a back wall in the Boone County Clerk’s Office hangs a map showing most, but not all, of the polling places located in Columbia.

A row of USB sticks sit on a de... There were over 80 usb sticks.

A row of USB sticks sit on a desk in the counting room of the Boone County Clerk’s office on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. Each of the sticks contained the voting data from one polling machine. There were over 80 usb sticks.

Beverly Braun takes a box of el...ice where votes were tabulated.

Beverly Braun takes a box of election material from Rebecca Jennings and Kristen Ross near the end of election night. Jennings and Ross ran packages containing USB sticks with voting information on them from the ground floor of the Boone County Government Building — where they were gathered by returning election judges — up to the County Clerk’s Office where votes were tabulated.

As the night winds down Megan H... any discrepancies within them.

As the night winds down Megan Harney crosses out precincts that have delivered their voting data back to the Boone County Clerk’s Office. Harney was one of the members of a team of two bipartisan election judges who counted absentee ballots and rectified any discrepancies within them.

Jason Russell, left, and Linda ...ion after polls closed at 7 pm.

Jason Russell, left, and Linda Brown cheer as they leave the Boone County Government Building. The two were the first election judges back with all their gear and polling information after polls closed at 7 pm.

Ethan Weston

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