They are an indispensable cog in every election. Without them, the democratic machine seizes up, coughs, slips and ends up malfunctioning. Who are we talking about ? Assessors. This Sunday, these volunteers were put to the test and forced district town halls to improvise. This is the main explanation for the long queues spotted everywhere in Paris, especially between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. In some offices, voters had to wait two hours before slipping their ballot into the ballot box for this first round of the presidential election. Some, like Colette, have even decided to turn back in the 11th arrondissement. A few meters away, in a neighboring office, less than ten minutes was enough to accomplish his civic duty.
“This is the first time that I have seen such expectations in the XI. The explanation is simple: we lack volunteers to man the polling stations. Some parties, such as the Insoumis or that of Éric Zemmour, have hardly sent anyone to my district, attacks François Vauglin, the PS mayor of the 11th, the district where the Socialist Party candidate Anne Hidalgo is elected. Each office should in principle have 1 president and 2 assessors, as well as ideally a substitute for each. Except that in some offices, we find ourselves with a president and an assessor, who have to take breaks during the day, which still lasts from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. As a result, voters must wait. Most are understanding. The others, I tell them that they just have to come and help run the office. We will have to change things in the future. »
“We had a big problem with assessors, also immediately recognizes Philippe Goujon mayor LR. They are volunteers. There are two incumbents and two alternates. When one or two don’t come, it creates problems. I even have an office in which only one came. It was therefore necessary to mobilize agents of the town hall. We must not forget that these are people who come free of charge from 7 am to 11 pm or midnight. An analysis confirmed by his alter ego from the 17th arrondissement, Geoffroy Boulard. “In the new Martin Luther-King district, in an office in Pereire, or even in Carnot, there were impressive expectations. I had to go there. It is essentially a human resources problem. When there was a problem in an office with a line all the way to the street, it was because an assessor was missing or those present were not experienced in this exercise. “And the elected LR to recall:” of the twelve candidates, only five provided us with assessors. This voluntary management is a limit of the system, especially since citizen engagement is more complicated today. »