Hunaid Qadir is a member of the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections, now serving the fourth and final year of his first term as a board member, where he witnesses all of the obstacles that can impact the voting process in Athens-Clarke County.

Q: How did you first get involved with your position on the Board of Elections?

In the 2004 election, I was working for the Board of Elections, programming the machines. It was so much fun. Just kept it in mind. And then, as I was going through semi-retirement, I said, “This would be an interesting thing to do,” because I had a good understanding of the whole process of programming the machines and looking at the results. At the end of 2020, I went to one of the town hall meetings, and there was a fight going on between a board member and the director. I said, “Well, I’m going to throw my hat in the ring, because it shouldn’t be like that, right?”

Q: Do you feel that voter turnout is more of a concern this year than it has been in the past?

Well, we are planning for maybe the most maximum turnout ever. We have almost 80,000 eligible voters. We’d love to have 75%. I think we reached about over 70% four years ago. By state law, we have to have that many ballot marking devices, there should be one per 500 people. So we are always prepared for the maximum. I think the only thing we are doing different this year, election workers are being threatened. This is a major issue, and I would put this issue right after the issues of the State Election Board. We are doing the kind of things that were never imagined until this year. Never before we have had to prepare for things like troublemakers or any kind of violence.

Q: As an Athens-Clarke County resident, what specific advice would you give to a voter of ACC about how to navigate the election?

I would advise them to look up both sides of an issue. Subscribe to The New York Times and to The Wall Street Journal so you can get both sides. Don’t go by what you hear or what you read on Twitter. Do your own research as to where the candidates stand, what have they done in the past, and then let your conscience allow you to vote. Regardless of who you vote for, please vote.

Comments trimmed for length and clarity.

Ashley Donley is a public relations major covering city and county government.