The City of Hartford website boasts that 311 received three times the regular number of phone calls yesterday, most related to the election.
(November 5, 2008)— Mayor Eddie A. Perez announced today that Hartford’s 3-1-1 Call Center handled more than 1500 inquiries from voters on Election Day, November 4th—that’s triple the volume of a normal day. Most of the calls were from residents inquiring about their registration status or polling location.
“I am proud that we were able to help people exercise one of their fundamental rights as citizens – the right to vote. Having voter information available by dialing one simple number – 311 – is a major step forward in making government information more accessible,” Mayor Perez said.
The 3-1-1 Call Center opened in September of 2006 in order to provide a centralized location for requesting non-emergency city services or information. Normal daily call volumes range from 300 to 500 calls per day. On Election Day, the center’s regular staff worked extra hours and was supplemented by staff from the Mayor’s office. The center was open from 6AM to 8PM to match the hours for voting.
Susan McMullen, Director of Constituent Services, manages the call center. “Our staff was excited to be part of the Election Day process,” she said. “We anticipated high call volumes because of the historic and exciting nature of this race, and we were not disappointed. Hartford voters were engaged and we were happy to help them exercise their voting rights.”
Any callers requiring more specific assistance or information were transferred to the Registrars of Voters office. “We enjoy our partnership with the Hartford Registrars on voting day,” McMullen added. “We look forward to supporting them for many elections to come.”
The 3-1-1 Call Center is open Monday through Friday from 8AM to 6PM. After hours callers may leave a message or access the 3-1-1 self-service portal at www.hartford.gov. Those unable to connect by dialing 3-1-1 can reach the Call Center by calling (860) 757-9311.
Are we supposed to interpret this as a positive thing? Seriously? If there was not so much misinformation on the City of Hartford website and the Connecticut Secretary of State website regarding polling places, then perhaps such phone calls would not have been necessary. To find out where I needed to vote (the information given on my registration card was correct, but what was posted on the websites was not), I made a phone call to the Registrar of Voters and waited a few minutes on the line before someone qualified gave me accurate information.
How to make government more accessible? Create a user-friendly website. Hire people for 311 who have customer service skills, or at the least, train the current staff.
