Students at New River Community and Technical College and residents of the counties served by the four campuses in Beckley, Bluefield, Greenbrier Valley,. and Nicholas County have the opportunity to take one of eight poll worker training classes November.

Offered through the cooperation of the Secretary of State Betty Ireland and her staff and the Community and Technical College System of WV, the classes are an effort to enlist younger people and instruct them in the election day procedures.

Classes will be offered on the Bluefield Campus of NRCTC at Bluefield State College on Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.

On the Greenbrier Valley Campus, the classes will be offered Nov. 16 at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. On Nov. 18, the workshop will be offered on the Beckley Campus at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Nicholas County Campus are to hold two workshops on Nov. 3.

Members of the public including senior citizen groups are also invited to take part in the training sessions.

Following the initial session of providing the basic information on what is expected on election day at each polling place, most of the sessions will then instruct on the use of the Direct Recording Electronics voting machines--also known as “touch screen-- and learn new procedures.

Secretary of State Ireland, in encouraging as many people as possible to take advantage of this free educational program, notes that these classes held satisfy a section of the Help America Vote Act which encourages participation of college students in the election process,

New River Community and Technical College’s four campuses served Nicholas, Clay, Webster, Fayette, Raleigh, Summers, Greenbrier, Monroe, Pocahontas, and Raleigh Counties while also drawing students from neighboring counties such as Braxton, Wyoming, McDowell, and the nearby Virginia cities and counties.

November 2, 2005

Submitted by Mike Williams