Today I spent 4 hours and 15 minutes in training for the election in November. This will be my third time as a poll worker, but my first Presidential election. Each election there are rule changes and different equipment, so every time you must spend another 4 hours learning everything again, although they could train us with just the changes in about an hour. Sigh.
My recommendation for November? Vote Absentee if you can. In my county, which is always rife with problems, we will be using paper ballots again. Paper and pen! Your ballots must be counted at the end of the night (not the votes, just the ballot) by poll workers (me) and if that sounds simple read my entry from the primaries in March. Some people can’t or don’t like to vote absentee and that’s okay, just be patient. If you think it should take 15 minutes to vote, allow an hour. Hopefully it won’t take an hour, but prepare yourself for it anyway. If you think poll workers aren’t very nice, please remember that we get there at 5:30 am and don’t get to leave until well after the polls close at 7:30. We try to put on a happy face, but we get tired and frustrated too.
Craig Ferguson is on CBS at 12:30 am and last night I really liked his take on the election, so I’m including the youtube video. Craig became a US citizen this year just so he could take part in the election process. He did a series of shows on citizenship that I’m sure you can also find on youtube. Enjoy and, please, VOTE.
Stacy's Books 
Holy cow! I didn’t know paper ballots were used at all these days.
Crazy isn’t it? Last November we used the machines, but they had so many problems they decided to forgo them in the primaries and now this election. I think it’s pretty insane, but in the end as long as every vote counts it’s all good. I’m also not speaking out of turn when I say that if you go to the polls and have to fill out a Provisional ballot for any reason, please check, double check, and make sure two poll workers have verified everything was done right before you leave. In the primaries in my county alone 3,000 provisional votes were thrown out because of errors in the process, and this was the poll worker’s responsibility, the voter did nothing wrong. It made me sick to void someone’s vote because of a poll worker’s mistake.
Be happy you are not voting on paper!
I completely understand your reasons for voting absentee. I can’t argue with you at all.
The only thing I can say is, I remember wanting to cry with pride the first time I went to the polls and voted, just that we were all out there together, exercising our rights and making the machine of democracy hum along. It was powerful.
Then I moved to Oregon where you HAVE to vote by mail (well, at least in Lane County) and I really missed that togetherness. It felt really cold to just slap it in an envelope.
I know I am being silly and sentimental, but I thought I would just share that.
That’s not silly at all. I agree with you that he feeling of community and I think it makes you feel like you are participating in the process. The only problem is when people go in to vote and it takes a long time (like it will with the long paper ballots in our county for sure) it adds to stress for everyone. If everyone does their homework and knows how they are voting on a long ballot it really helps keep thinks moving. As long as people vote I don’t really care how they choose to do it. Thanks for being sentimental. I like it 🙂
We just got back from the Virginia Tech game (Go Hokies!) and now we’re watching and rooting for your Buckeyes.
I’m glad that one of us had a good football Saturday. More to come in my next post.