I returned home from working at the polls 30 minutes ago in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Because of early voting and absentee ballots turnout was fairly light. I see that they have just called Ohio for Barack Obama.
We did not have any problems today. Because of the light turnout things ran smoothly and s-l-o-w-l-y. I really needed a nap, but now I will drink my glass of wine and watch the rest of the returns.
I hope you all participated in this momentous election!
Both candidates represent some sort of change, although I happen to think that one represents more real change than the other. But, that is for you to decide. And you may not want change at all.
I’m very excited at the prospect of an overwhelming voter turnout. It will mean a busy day for me tomorrow, but a satisfying one. Please be nice to your poll workers 🙂
After your vote, go here and get a free book from me.
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.
This will be my first and only non-book blog, but so many of you have asked me about being a poll worker that I thought I’d share my experience today working at the Ohio primaries in the Cleveland area.
This was my second time being a poll worker, but our first time using paper ballots. My alarm went off at 4:30 am and I was at my polling station at 5:25 am. Those of you who know me might be chuckling at this improbable feat. By 6:30 when the polls opened we had a line of people waiting to vote. The Democrats outvoted the Republications at my precinct by a ratio of 5 to 1. I voted and I had a favorite, but it was so great to see so many first time voters and people voting for a candidate they never thought they’d see (be it a woman or an African-American). It was heartwarming really and I was glad to be a part of it.
Things were steady and smooth until about 7 pm when the lights went out. People were using their cell phones for light to complete their ballots. Everyone was so happy to be voting that there was good humor all around.
Now at 7:30 pm when the polls closed and we started adding up signatures and ballots we were all tired. We all had a one hour break in the middle of the day, but were were starting our 13th hour of work. It took us another 2 1/2 hours to reconcile our numbers, so it was 10 pm when we all went out to our cars to get the ice off our cars and go home.
I think that working at the polls is something everyone should do once. You will get to see how the democratic process really works and you get to make a little money too. I will do this again because I can and and so should you if you are able.
I’ve been home for an hour and see that they have called Ohio for Hillary. I know this may be short on details (my mind is a little fuzzy right now 🙂 If you have any questions just leave a comment and I’ll answer it here.
Thanks Marilyn for taking care of Max while I was gone today 🙂
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