Who Are These People? - First Time as a Poll Worker

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WARNING!

Shit's Gonna Get Political

If You Don't Want To Read It, Please Move Along to Another Post

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I grew up pretty non-political. I don't remember hearing much from my parents when I was a kid. Hell, I spent most of my adult life not even registered to vote! When I was younger, I was led to believe that my vote didn't really matter, it'd be cancelled out by someone else anyway, so why even bother? So, I didn't bother.

In 2008, I was not happy with either choice put up by either party. I wasn't in love with Cheney and I damn sure wasn't in love with Obama. But of the two, I would have much rather had Cheney as President. This was also really the first time I started paying attention to politics, and the machinations of elections and campaigns. Even back then, the media and Hollywood were using their powers to discredit Cheney/Palin as much as they possibly could (who can forget Tina Fey's portrayal of Palin, and the joke - LIE - that will live forever, that Palin said she could see Russia from her porch?). But I didn't vote. And Obama was elected.

Did I learn my lesson in 2012? Did I vote? Nope. I actually thought that the country had learned it's lesson from the horrible debacle that was Obama's (1st) term, and would handily elect Mitt Romney. We all know how that turned out.

So in 2015, I made sure that all of us (me, Hubby, and the Kiddo) were all registered voters. I watched news and social media like a hawk, trying to learn as much as I could throughout the year, about all seventeen Republican nominees, while also learning everything I could about Hillary's dirty past. And day in and day out, it blew me away how the television news, newspapers, Twitter, Facebook, and all manner of elites pushed and pushed and pushed their Democrat nominee. They lied about any Republican they could. They hid detrimental information about Democratic candidates. It was more of the dirty pool from 2012, but ramped up to the 10th power.

This household voted Republican in the Primary (we voted for Ted Cruz), and we voted Republican in the General, three little votes helping to usher in Donald Trump to the White House. And since the day he came down his silly golden escalator, this man has had to put up with some serious bullshit on a daily basis, 99% of which he doesn't deserve. But even worse than this torment and bullying was the outright lies and half-truths told about him and his people.

Gratuitous Use of Deadpool on the Escalator GIF

So, in the past year or so, I've gotten a lot more interested in politics, both nationally and locally. Locally, because though Florida voted for Trump, the county I live in is so blue, it's practically navy, especially in local elections.

A few months ago, at work, we got an email from HR stating that the local Supervisor of Elections was requesting County staff (of which I am one) to train to become Poll Workers. HR liked the suggestion, and even offered paid leave for us (on top of whatever we're paid if we work as a Poll Worker). Well, I've lived in this county long enough, and I've worked for this government long enough, and they never do things like this... All I could see was that the Democrats wanted to have more Democrats working polling places, possibly to commit types of voter fraud (especially after 2016, with Broward and Palm Beach County). So,I signed up to be a Poll Worker, mostly so that I could see for myself what goes on behind the scenes, and document it, if I saw anything untoward.

I'm happy to say that I didn't see anything. At least not at my precinct.

After a training a few months before, I was assigned to be a Ballot Distributor at a precinct that wasn't my precinct. I was told that each polling place, by law, is required to have both Democrat and Republican Poll Workers. (So, basically this told me I'd be in a room full of Democrats all day!) Also, it was heavily suggested that I accompany the Election Clerk that evening, when the ballots are returned to the Supervisor of Elections office (again, for the same reason of two parties). 

So, bright and early Tuesday morning, I packed a bag full of snacks, journals, soda, and other random stuff, and made my way to my precinct. It was a beautiful church, nestled back in the woods near a creek.

Exterior view of my Precinct

I ended up being the first one there, at 4:30, but C (the Election Clerk) came in right behind me, followed by BS (the Ballot Scanner), AC (the Assistant Clerk), D (the Deputy, not like a police deputy), and two EOs (EvID Operators, the ones who check IDs).

Interior view of the precinct (illegal to take photos of a polling place during an election)

Once inside the gorgeous sanctuary, we had to set up the room. Luckily, on Monday night, members of the Church had already set up tables and chairs for us. I went around and put up privacy screens on the tables, and spread them 6-feet apart (as apparently Chinese Coronavirus has infiltrated the United States and is getting bad).

Privacy screens similar to what we used

At 7am, the polls opened, though we only had one or two people that early. It was mostly Democrat for the first hour; I didn't give out my first Republican ballot until almost 8am!

In our county, the process is relatively simple; present your ID to the EvID Operator, who will give you a slip of paper, which tells me (the Ballot Distributor) what type of Ballot to give the voter. At the top of the ballot there is a number and a letter (such as 69R, with the number representing the precinct, and the letter representing the party affiliation). It was my job to show the voter that the slip matched the ballot, and then give them a blank ballot. Very simple process!

Around 9:30am, a lovely congregation member brought us all donuts! And then we were joined by Mrs. T, sitting in as a Poll Watcher. I wish I'd interacted with her more; I was curious what she was looking for, and if she felt vindicated or let down that she did or did not see what she was looking for.

There was a mid-morning rush at 10am, and coupled with a blind voter (I've met her before, she's a lovely woman) who has to use one of the ballot scanners to "read" the ballot to her, there was a tiny back up, but nothing major, and it calmed again by 11.

With the way the room was set up, it was kind of disjointed, in terms of team work; the EOs and the Deputy were huddled together, while the Clerk and Assistant Clerk sat together between me and the EOs. On my right was the BS, all by himself. So, on my side of the room, it was very quiet and peaceful; on the other side, the EOs and the Deputy spent all day talking about Covid.

At 11:30, I took my lunch, enjoying a delicious baked pasta prepared by another clergyman, and local chef (they said it was mac & cheese, but it was full of bechamel and Alfredo, so not quite). I was back at my table by noon.

I had my first real "sleepy" yawn at 2:45 and starting drinking cans of Pepsi I brought with me. Also at this time, we'd had 208 total voters (with 29 Republicans and 11 Independents). Also, at this time, we began to have voters who didn't understand how to vote.

Voter Story #1

Jim the College Kid was given a "No Party Affiliation" ballot because he's a registered Independent. Florida is a closed Primary state, so he couldn't vote in the Democratic primary. He had absolutely no idea why, and continually said, "But I voted for Obama, man!" Once the Clerk explained to him what the issue was (though the kid swore up and down that we were wrong), he had the kid fill out a Change of Party Form.

Voter Story #2

Instagram Susie with a very heavy accent took her "No Party Affiliation" ballot and then came back up, asking me "Who are these people?" pointing to the local elections for County Commissioner and such. I explained that they were the people running for commission, and she said, "How do I know who to vote for? Where are their letters?" Uh, what letters? Oh, letters! Holy crap, woman... she didn't know who to vote for because none of them had a letter (D) or (R) behind their name! Basically, this told me that this woman has no idea what she's doing, who any of these people are, what any of these people represent, and she would vote for them solely on the letter behind their name!

At one point, the Clerk came by and told each of us what we'd be paid for working as a Poll Worker (EvID gets $180, Deputy $160, Scanner $170, and Scanner $150). Wow! I got paid about 3 weeks later, and it went into a separate savings account for an epic adventure next summer; more on that in a future blog post.

At about 5pm, the evening rush showed up, and with no lines, we closed the polls at 7pm. I had to count all used and unused ballots for each ballot type. I had to count all the EvID slips. These two numbers should total the same (they did - we had 334 total voters in this precinct). After that, we had to break down the tables and chairs while the Assistant Clerk and the Ballot Scanner handled the technical aspect of uploading results. I also assisted the Clerk with running all of his numbers, ensuring everything added up, and we were finally done around 8:45 (we would have been done sooner but the Ballot Box had to be rebooted, which added 45 minutes worth of wait to our evening). Not to brag, but he said it was the first time he'd gotten all of the numbers and math to come out correct on the first try!

Everyone else was free to leave, but I had to travel with the Clerk back to the Supervisor of Elections office (15 minute trip, maybe) to turn in the paper ballots and all other paperwork. After a 10 minute wait in line, we went back to the precinct, dropped me off at my car, and I was home by 9:15pm.

I am sooooooo tired today; I am so glad I took today off! The Kiddo and I are going to have a bit of a Ladies' Day. After I take another nap, perhaps.

   

  

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Hi, folks! Lazy here... 

Coming back and editing some of my posts from this year...

 

On March 9th, Governor DeSantis declared a State of Emergency for all of Florida. At this time, shanghai Disneyland also resumed limited operations (they fully reopened in May). On March 11th, the WHO redefined the outbreak as a Pandemic. President Trump restricted travel from Europe (and later, UK and Ireland as well). On March 12th, Broadway goes dark and March Madness was cancelled. Locally, our county was urging the public to not participate in mass gatherings (this was mostly aimed at "rednecks going to GatorNationals," which was later postponed). On March 13th, President Trump officially declares a National Emergency. Many people scream finally! while others scream Oh no, Martial Law!

On March 13th, our local libraries suspend all programs, and all government schools close until at least March 30th (later extended to the end of the school year). 

In California, Disneyland temporarily closes on March 14 and will stay closed through the end of March (as of June 4th, it is still closed).  

On March 15th, the CDC warns against holding or attending gatherings with over 50 people, for at least eight weeks. With this news, the local library closes all branches throughout the end of March, Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris closes through the end of March, and Disney Cruise Lines suspends all travel through the end of March.The next day, on March 16, NYC closes all public schools through April 20th (and later, the remaining school year). On that same day, Trump urges groups of 10 or fewer, and restricts discretionary travel (but no national quarantines or curfews). Mayor Garcetti of Los Angeles orders bars, theaters, and gyms closed, and limits restaurants to takeout or delivery only. 

On March 17th, (while I was working as a poll worker, and away from any social media) my county issued its first Emergency Order 2020-02 limiting public assembly (50% for non-essential places; restaurants can only be open during specific times; 10 or fewer for all gatherings, etc), and County offices would be closed to the public (though essential services would still take place). Also, all Disney construction ceased at this point. 

On March 18th, Trump signed the second Covid-19 Relief Bill. China begins to report no new local infections (but since China's a huge lying liar who lies, are we really going to believe them?)