I Witness
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There is nothing quite like seeing with your own eyes. That's what I decided when I signed-up to be a poll watcher for the midterm election. I had never done so before, and it was a true civics lesson in real time.
In order to become certified by the Supervisor of Elections in my county, I sat through a series of training tutorials. I also joined a live webinar to prepare myself with online tools to communicate live with the state's party headquarters for which I was to be "eyes and ears" on the ground during my selected shifts.
First and foremost, I learned my job was merely--and most importantly--to "observe". It reminded me of my days as a reporter when I sat through town meetings to record whatever I saw and heard. I thought, surely, I can do that. Much to my surprise when the day came, I felt trepidation about what I was about to do. Friends who are seasoned watchers reassured me all would be well.
Why was I doing this? I questioned myself on the drive over, knowing it was too late to back out.
The first person I encountered at the poll precinct aka my local library, said: "Oh, I did that before. Have you gone in there yet? In 2020, they wanted to murder me"! Great to hear with only minutes to spare. "I am sure it will be fine", I said to convince myself.
The clerk, the only person with whom a watcher is allowed to communicate in the polling room, said I was one of three at the moment, and she could not have me there because each party had one watcher at a time. I was nothing if not prompt, so I stepped out and waited for the top of the hour. A neighbor was seated as a watcher and when I offered to replace her, she told me she represented the other party! Oops! We sat side by side silently watching together.
For quite a while a steady stream of people made their way toward the poll workers with a photo ID, then signed their signatures to match that ID. Each of the poll workers held up the ID for the voter to copy that signature, exactly. "We want to be sure your vote is counted"; "Sign the way you signed this ten years ago". Each voter received a ballot with a one-on-one explanation of how to mark it correctly and where to "cast the vote" afterward by placing it into a ballot box by the door.
A woman being pushed in a wheelchair, shakily took out her ID; another came pushing her own walker; twin eighteen-year-old's came with their parents to vote for the first time. "We have first time voters here announced the poll worker to applause. Young children followed their parents into the booth to see what voting looked like, and each one left wearing that red, white and blue "I voted" sticker. A few Halloween-costumed voters stood out, most especially the young woman wearing a scarlet t-shirt with a gigantic, gold letter "A" on the front. Workers smiled. When the lull came, a poll worker circled around with a bowl of Hershey kisses.
I noticed nothing untoward, but wondered about two Hispanic women who came separately late in the day. One stepped up and offered two ID's, immediately. The worker took both, looking over to her colleague unsure of what she was to do. They offered the voter her choice and the second ID was returned while the other was scanned for her address. She signed her name without ever speaking, picked up her ballot and voted.
Another Hispanic woman approached with a request to change her party affiliation. She was guided to the clerk who came from around the table to explain she was free to do so on the spot by filling out a form, but it would not take effect until the next election. In a "closed primary" state like Florida, voters only vote when their party affiliation is on the ballot. I learned that fact the first time I showed up to vote as a resident and was turned away because my party did not have anyone on the ballot. (I could write a whole blog about that and how more recently I was turned away because my district had been gerrymandered out of my county, though the clerk gave me a different explanation instead of a ballot that day...but I digress).
Because I chose the late shift to observe, I was an eyewitness to the process of closing the poll for the day. At exactly 6 pm, the clerk with an eye on her phone announced: "The polls are closed". Nobody was waiting to vote, therefore, the few people who came later were not allowed to vote that day.
For the next 45 minutes, everyone in the room, except me, the remaining watcher, went to work tallying machine counts (969) with the number of ballots printed during the past ten hours. While the counters closed out their machines together, reading written instructions aloud, across the room at the ballot box, five workers under the watchful eye of the deputy opened the box. All ballots were removed and placed into a cardboard box. It was duly sealed closed. Two boxes were handed to the clerk who would deliver them directly to the election office that evening.
In many ways, I guess it was just another voting day in America. But, I didn't see it that way. What I saw were volunteers...neighbors...citizens at work for the common good. The voting system in place is tamper-proof if not fool-proof. The fools, are not the many honest hard-working people I witnessed with good intentions helping voters to exercise that precious right--the fools are the ones who think they will find a way to prevent us, deter us, or convince us that the votes don't count.
The world is watching us today. Let's show them we did our part. Here is a link to post on your social media feed to prove America still has free and fair elections. Seeing is believing.
Surprised at how different that process is. ( I am an election worker in Orleans) . I have been wondering about other states’ polling procedures . Here, we look down if a license is flashed at us - we were not told to look away but our eyes go to our electronic screen. We had no watchers this time around. Everyone is so upbeat and efficient, I am in awe of the process.
So glad there were no problems at your location either.
Makes me proud.