for being kind to your poll workers yesterday; it was a long day for a lot of us. Poll workers start an hour before the polls open (at least here) to make sure everything is ready for voters, and stay until everything is counted and cleaned up. For me, that meant being at the polling station from 6 AM until 11:30 PM. It also meant I was up at 5 AM and not even home until after midnight. The head judges probably were still on the clock delivering stuff until after midnight.
Some of the high points of the day? Helping a lady register to vote for the very first time after finalizing her citizenship within the last six months (and seeing how proud she was to show me her certificate!); having a brand-new mom come in to vote, even though it meant a temporary discharge from the hospital and leaving her baby there; lots of people that care, one way or another, about their country and the process of having a voice; being able to give one of my best friends a hug when she came to vote (and finding out they closed their small business a bit early yesterday so they would have enough time).
If you have never been a poll worker, think about it. It is an interesting and informative process and has good training. You don't have to work all day, half days are an option, some of us are just gluttons. Of course, it also meant we missed out on watching stuff on TV that the rest of the country may have been tuning into. But I think it was worth it.
Have a great day (and I will be back later with your weekly Oribel update)!
How does one volunteer for that? I've never seen any information on volunteering. I'd love to do it, even if for part of the day.
ReplyDeleteI've always encountered such nice poll workers. Usually the same ladies every year, too. We live in a really small town. :-)
ReplyDeleteI second the recommendation - it is exciting to be part of the process. I don't have the option of half days, but got home by nine. I got to help young first time voters, a naturalized lady whose son helped her with language, a family (parents and 3 "kids") who came in together to vote together, elderly folks who could vote by mail, but want to come in in person and have been voting for a long time. Most of our workers are not young, but our manager was a young man of 20!
ReplyDeleteCall your county - someone there should be able to direct you. It's worth the time and lack of sleep.