Duty

Please be kind to your polling place staff. They're working hard to ensure your right to vote. They're taking time away from regular day jobs, family, or retirement to perform what they see as a duty to their community and nation.

I should know. I'm an election judge this November.

Our county clerk sent out a call for staff in September. Their office was recruiting in expectation of a 90% turnout for this election. I volunteered, then learned it's a paid position. Civic duty plus a paycheck.

Even with mail-in voting being the norm in my state, plenty of people prefer to vote in person. Or didn't receive their ballot, moved, need to register, etc. etc. Issues that can be addressed at the neighborhood polling station.

I applied, passed a security check, was accepted, and attended training. Behind the scenes of any election, there are a lot of moving parts. The election staff is divided into different tasks. In my county, each polling site, or Voter Service and Polling Center, has a site coordinator and assistant coordinator.

On the busiest two days, greeters assist voters as the first point of contact, ensuring folks queue up in an organized manner. Registration judges are the people who check you in, verifying your registration status, assisting with change of address, registering new voters, and issuing approval for a ballot.

Then comes the Ballot on Demand Judge. This is my job, printing ballots after the registration judges determine the individual is eligible to vote. The position is "computer-based." My background as a corporate drone with attention to detail and data entry experience made me the ideal candidate for standing at a laptop and printer all day, pushing buttons and churning out ballots. 

Finally, the Ballot Judges maintain the voting area, steering people to registration, voting booths, and finally to dropping their ballots in a locked box. 

The county clerk's office requires both major political parties be equally represented, as well as non-affiliated and third-party voters. In my county and city, there seems to be a genuine effort by the powers-that-be to ensure a fair election. Voters requiring extra assistance were given the tools they needed to be able to complete a ballot. We saw it all, from first time voters to senior citizens, folks in canvas work clothes to formal suit and tie, young parents packing toddlers on their hips to college students with rainbow hair and book bags, young men with that distinctive military recruit haircut and stance to those sporting long hair and cargo shorts.  

Absolutely no guidance is given concerning how to vote. We all have an opinion, but we can't give it to voters, even when they ask for explanation of an issue. We have booklets issued by the state describing pros and cons that voters may use while they make their decisions.

My previous experience as an election judge was decades ago. No computers were involved. Just a thick dot-matrix printout - does anyone remember dot-matrix printers? At my site, all voting is on paper ballots. Registration is done on laptop computers connected to the county database. At the close of each day, computer counts, registration cards, and ballots must tally correctly.

Our first day of early in-person voting was hectic. Despite the training, most of us had a learning curve. By day two, we all had a handle on our duties. We learned the hard way that the ballot printer is temperamental. I named her Agnes. Leave her alone when she has a hiccup. Agnes will straighten out, and print off that precious ballot in her own time.

I voted early by mail, since I figured I'd be too busy working at the polling station to vote in person. My vote has been counted already. 

The comedian George Carlin was credited with saying, "If you don't vote, you lose the right to complain." But I don't think it's as simple as checking boxes based on a whim. John Kennedy said, "The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all." The important part is not the voting. It's making an informed decision.

I did research, seeking out original sources of information, not just biased blather from campaigns or opinions drifting around social media. Whatever the results of this election, I hope we can turn the passion of this cycle into working to improve our country.

​Let's not rely on politicians to make good on their promises. It's our civic duty to hold their feet to the fire, requiring their honesty, vision, intelligence, and hard work on our behalf.

We have roles to play, too, whether great or small. I'll be doing my small bit Monday and Tuesday. I pray it all goes smoothly, not just at my polling center, but all across our nation.

---