If they don’t give out a Nobel Prize for patience, they should.

And the winner would have to be an election manager — someone like Kootenai County’s Carrie Phillips.

Seriously, you have to earn a Ph.D. in “Nice” to handle this job, especially when voters who are about to make nation- and state-changing decisions continue to dawdle around until the final moments, and then complain about running into a bit of chaos.

Consider: The regular registration period for county voters ended last Friday.

“We were hoping to get as many people in under the wire as possible,” Phillips said, “but Idaho has very voter-friendly laws. They give you plenty of chances to go past the regular registration period.”

Of course, what Phillips hopes desperately is that not too many residents will decide to register and vote all at once on Nov. 8 — an option that’s only available in eight states.

“We can handle it, and we want people to vote,” she said, “but anyone who waits until Election Day should be prepared for long lines ... really long lines.”

Phillips has a normal full-time staff of four (although she’s down to three through this election cycle), along with 17 temporary workers and about 450 helpers who will man the county’s 70 polling stations on Nov. 8.

Before she gets to E-Day, though, Phillips and her permanent staff will conduct 10 two-hour training sessions for the poll workers.

“Let’s just say it’s a little hectic,” Phillips said, in her always-pleasant voice. “It does feel crazy sometimes.”

Indeed, and since quite a few people who intend to vote did not register by last Friday’s deadline, Phillips has a message for you:

“Those people who want to register, PLEASE come to our office instead of waiting until Election Day. It will save time and trouble for everyone.”

The Kootenai County Election Office is located at 1808 North 3rd Street, and it will be open for registrations from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, until Nov. 4.

Phillips and her staff are not done once the voting is concluded on Nov. 8.

“We have 10 days to validate all the ballots,” she said, “so during that time, we’re running our tails off to make sure we’ve got everything.”

Who on Earth would take a job like this?

“Well, it does have its wild times,” she said. “The presidential election cycles are always the busiest — which might be considered strange since the off-year elections involve local legislators who have direct contact with our residents.”

Phillips said the 2012 election was on the slow side, considering the stakes involved.

“You had an incumbent running with President Obama,” she said, “and that tends to lower turnout. We had 69,842 registered and only 61,029 voted, which was 75.92 percent.

“In 2008, there was more excitement in the race. We had a turnout of 86.86 percent of registered voters — 63,034 out of 72,569.”

And what about after all the ballots are validated, the election is certified and things finally go quiet?

Hawaii, maybe? The Caribbean?

“You know, each time I’ve thought: I’ll take all of December off and just lie down,” Phillips said. “But when the time comes, I don’t do it.

“I will take some time off, but pretty soon it’s back to work and other things.”

Someone, please phone the Nobel Prize committee.