Working the polls

One of the reasons that I had to hurry home from the funeral is that I had committed to being a poll worker at the local precinct for the Nov 3 General Election. I was given the job of “deputy” which is actually pretty responsible, despite the fact that I was a complete newbie. One of the duties of the deputy is to swear in all of the other workers. So I had to arrive by 5:30am and, as my first official duty, swear in the other 10 poll workers.

Then I participated in setting up the polling place – assembling the voting stations, running extension cords to the registration verification tables, putting down the 6-foot separation markers (to minimize the chance that voting in the pandemic would kill anyone). Then I had to go outside, measure a 150-foot perimeter, put up signs banning political activity within that perimeter, put up the “Vote Here” signs, put on my vest (see photo) and make sure no one entered the polling place before 7am.

After the polls opened I had to monitor the flow and keep the crowd from building up inside the polling place. In truth that was only an issue for the first 2 hours. The line of people waiting to vote may have reached about 30 people at the peak, but things flowed pretty well. The last 10 hours had only minor lines.

For 12 hours I was not allowed to leave the building. I brought food and drinks in a cooler that the Lee County Elections Commission thoughtfully provided. While the work was tiring, it was not overwhelming. But I was very happy when we could close and lock the doors at 7pm. I think the final tally of voters was somewhere between 500 and 600.

I then had to participate in the teardown of the polling place while the paperwork for the final tally was being prepared and the results uploaded. I had to sign off on the final numbers, along with 3 other workers, and had to verify that the ballot boxes – needed for a recount that won’t happen – were locked and secure.

All-in-all it was a positive experience. The team – a pretty balanced mix of Republicans and Democrats – worked together efficiently and congenially. I felt I made some friends. It was a great example in how people with different political views could work together toward a common goal. Congress: take note.

Thanks to my neighbor, Mark, for walking Rusty at noon. He (Rusty, not Mark) wasn’t happy to be left alone most of the day, but at least he didn’t have to hold his water.