I’ve volunteered to work elections with my local township going back a number of years. It’s a rural township, so the traffic while steady is never daunting to voters. THis year still expecting a big turn out.
WHo will be serving up ballots this year?
Do I count? I’m a paid employee of the County (San Diego, CA) Registrar of Voters. I’m opening mail-in ballots and checking them for errors.
(I actually got a “Mickey Mouse” ballot!)
Cameras are watching us every second. Observers from the campaigns, and from organizations like the League of Women Voters, are watching us. There are audits. Everything is counted twice.
No “rigging” is happening here!
I’m a first time Los Angeles County poll worker. I’ve been given the job of “Inspector” rather than “Clerk” which means I am responsible for the whole shebang. My living room is full of election day supplies - my cats are going to be mad on Monday 11/7 when I go to do the pre-set up of the polling booths, they’ve been lounging on the pile of folded up cardboard booths for several days now.
I’m an election judge in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I’m going to be working in my own precinct, about 2 blocks from my house.
We expect to be fairly busy: we have about 66% turnout in off years, but it jumps up to around 83% in Presidential years like this one. So something like a voter every 25 seconds. (Except they don’t come in steadily like that – there are definite rush times.)
We have same-day registration in Minnesota, but compared to most, our precinct isn’t very affected by this – only 10% of voters registered that day in 2014 But it might be higher this election.
Inspector ASGuy from Humbolt County, CA checking in. I’ve been at this for 12 years now. My crew is ready and I pick up the necessary equipment on Thursday. Unlike Hey Hey Paula I don’t have any materials at home; it is provided to the polling place the day before the election. We go in Monday afternoon to set up.
Our turnout will be steady but not extreme. Yes, we expect a larger-than-normal turnout, probably about the same as it was back in 2008 in the Obama/McCain matchup.
It will be a long day: 6 a.m. to about 9:30 p.m. The only reward, other than doing something I think is worthwhile, will be a few beers at Eel River Brewery when we leave. Bonus: ERB gives us 50% off as precinct workers! (Election day after 8 p.m. only.)
I’m with Trinopus here. There will be no rigging of our results. I’ve thought about how my crew could change the results. There are so many checks in place we’d be in jail by Wednesday evening for tampering. No thanks.
For you not-a-precinct-worker readers out there, you might give it a shot. Sure, you will probably have to take a day off from work. But it’s something really different in your life. I wish I had started doing this when I was 30. You meet a lot of people, if you get my drift.
I’m not working this year, because I’m going to visit my mother, and I’m coming back the day before, and won’t get back until about 11pm (for those of you who don’t know, being a poll worker involves getting up around 4am, with prep the night before).
But I have worked more years than I have not worked. My uncle and father were both heavily involved in local politics. I started working as a poll-book holder when I was 10. I was a poll worker the first election I was eligible-- when I was 19, because there was no election the year I was 18, but I still registered to vote on my 18th birthday.
Here in Minneapolis, the equipment is delivered to the polling sites the day beforehand. Except the actual ballots, the Head Election Judge for each location picks them up personally, keeps them overnight (NOT left in their car), & brings them to the polling place. Tjhe early shift has to be there by 6am to get everything set up.
I’m working a half-day, stating at 2pm and going till about 10 or 11pm.
And we do get paid: $13.50/hour, including a 3 hour training/refresher course.
I should clarify, I am a paid volunteer too! Not sure what the wage is maybe $11/hr. The township pays so of course we want to put on our professional faces and try and look busy and productive to the townsfolk who shuffle through. We also get two meals as well and mileage reimbursement for going to the free training. Though I never claim the mileage, but most do.
I’ve worked at the computer / laptop scanning people in and passing out ballots. This year they have me at the application table for crowd control at the entrance. Fine with me - It’s a long day 6am - 9ish. so I bring a book to pass time. We are also our own receiving board and that can extend our stay. And woe unto you if your counts are off and voter and ballot numbers don’t match. No one is going home until the discrepancy is figured out.
I usually get picked for duty as I am a minority Dem and they need bipartisan participation.
Pittsburgh for a couple candidates; volunteer. I may get a bag lunch out of it but that’s about it. The wards that vote where I do are so heavily Democrat (Republicans are often in the single digits to just a bit more) that its pretty much a cake-walk.
First off, my thanks to those working as poll workers and inspectors! I’m sure you will all do your best to ensure everything is above board.
Second, a question: how do you feel about the Trump campaign’s call for unofficial poll watchers, and do you have an idea of how to deal with them if any are hanging about?
For PA anyone promoting a candidate has to be outside of where the votes are actually taken; where the machines are. And since there are often people representing the other Party (which Party that is depends on the county you are in) there really isn’t any intimidation factor at all. In a manner of speaking, its all Old Hat to us.
There may be places/particular sites where people can just hang out inside but I haven’t seen anything like that in 40 years or more;and if they did they couldn’t see much. Try standing by the registration area or machines themselves and I have a feeling you would meet a member of Pittsburgh’s Finest in very short order. Each site has both Majority and Minority Inspectors on hand and I doubt either would tolerate a self-appointed person stepping into their domain.
I’m a temporary election worker. I’ll be opening mailed-in ballots and preparing them for scanning. I just had a training session today about it.
I live in Oregon where there’s 100% vote-by-mail, so we don’t have precinct workers. I’ll have about 4 days work doing this. On Election Day, it starts at 2pm and goes far into the night. Possibly having to come back in the next day to finish. I didn’t ask what the pay was, but I expect minimum wage ($9.50/hr).