Voting Day- My Experience

Eight people formed a team yesterday, eight people with varying backgrounds and experience.
I was one of the eight, an Election Official, sworn in at 6AM, to uphold the US and State Constitution for a 15 hour day. Fueled on warm cups of coffee and packed snacks we assembled, inspected, locked, ran zero reports, booted up, sanitized, ensured clear access to voting stations.

People arrived alone, in groups, with healthcare providers, with small babies, kids looking for their stickers, in wheelchairs, walkers, and one straight from the hospital. At least 14 of them were young men and young women voting for the first time, and our group asked their permission to cheer after they cast their vote.
We did, and many of the other voters joined in. Because voting, using your voice, matters.
We see them and affirm. 

Some people arrived and were at the wrong precinct- we helped them find the right place and gave them directions.
Some people brought their absentee ballots and we made sure they could cast them.
Some people had opinions on not being able to vote for more than one party (split the ballot) and wanted a debate on why their party didn’t have a candidate , but that isn’t our call and the debate didn’t happen.
Some people explained that the vote was secure because if the ‘new laws’ but ID is always checked, and if an absentee ballot was mailed to a person we have a process to void it or for them to use it in person.

Until I worked the polls I had no idea how many places and times eligibility is checked and verified.
How many lines and forms verify seals, zero reports, and phone calls to the Clerk’s office on behalf of a voter.
A neighbor we’d never met.

On average this precinct has 200 voters for a midterm.
Yesterday over 400 people - OVER 400!- came to vote.
We explained the process, sanitized pens and surfaces, set aside lost water bottles, distributed stickers, and made sure that every person eligible voted. We never looked at a completed ballot because that's your private matter, that’s not our business.
Paper jams ( because machines and paper- you know?) were assisted at a 10 foot distance advising the voter on how to insert their ballot for counting.

Regardless on how we personally voted ( and we vote early either in person or by mail prior to voting day. You won’t see an election worker inserting a ballot on Election Day)
We didn’t ask about their party.
We didn’t talk about early results.
(We had little time to follow news, anyway)

We knew we were a mixture of parties, we workers. Some Dems, some Republicans . That is a requirement.
At the end of the night when the ballots were secured someone from each party secured and verified- that was when party became a part of the team. All voters are equally represented when your votes are handled.

We, the team, 8 exhausted people completed a book full of paperwork, entries into the laptop, ran reports on machines we may see only twice a year, buckled, secured, signed, bundles, strapped it all in place.
A worker in the party different from the chairperson (group leader) accompanied ballots and books, drives, laptops and such to the township office.

We posted the results on the front door of the building for all to see the results, a long paper tape that immediately started to curl in the humid night air.
The results for each precinct ( I don’t know if that is just our county or all of MI) aren’t secret.
We lost them outside for all to see.

It was 8 people that locked the door and hung that paper.
It was over 400 people that made their voice heard and cast those votes, achieved the results.

Of the 8, all but two are retired from full time jobs. Several volunteer within the community .
I’m writing this before heading to work this morning, and I can feel every minute of that 15 hour day.
At 65, I was one of, if not the, youngest person on the team.
I encourage those younger than I to look into working their polls.
I’m ashamed to have gotten involved within the past three years- I guess I assumed that someone else would do it.
That I wasn’t needed.
That it was being ‘too political ‘

I was wrong.

8 of us raised our hands and took an oath yesterday.
It wasn’t to a party.
We took an oath to uphold The Constitution of the United States of America, and that of Michigan.

To me that meant to our community, to our neighbors, to the future.
That’s not political. 

Patriotic? Sure.

The last thing was 8 did was to carefully ready the flag to be picked up today with the stanchions and stations, papers and supplies.
It was treated with respect and care.

Thank you to everyone that voted yesterday, that mailed in their ballot, that did early voting.

I’ll see you in November. 

This Vocal article was created by a post I made on Threads this morning.