For many years now, I have gone to vote and wondered about those older women sitting behind the folding tables in the basement of my community center. Why were so many older? How and why did they do the job of managing the elections? Was there some kind of inside club outside of my awareness? How could or why would I ever consider joining the forces?
Then, the pandemic came. I no longer went to the polls and used the safer, easier, in the comfort of my own home, with the security of my own research mail-in ballot. Those women were totally out of sight and completely out of mind.
But then, the Former promoted the Big Lie along with the fear of fraudulent elections and suddenly, without too much thought or understanding, I became one of those older women sitting behind the folding table in the Sheraden Senior Center, taking an oath to administer fair and legal elections, followed by instructing the youth in the ways of casting a ballot.
Assigned to the 20th ward, 12th district, along with Steve as my Judge of Elections, I worked the polls yesterday from 6:00AM-setting up and organizing the whole process through to 9:40PM- dropping of the completed ballots and computer chips to the downtown county election office. Quite a long tiring day!
My main assignment was to make sure people got their paper ballots properly counted in the voting machine. This is part of a two-part back-up system of computer system tallies with paper ballot back-up. I also did trouble shooting for incorrectly registered voters, provisional ballots, and all kinds of other things you can’t even imagine, to make sure each person executed his/her right to vote.
Though out the day, I worked on a personal blind faith that those paper ballots would scan and record, but by the end of the day, reading the tape results and participating in the entire start to finish voting system, I cannot over emphasize how wonderfully safely, securely, efficiently and effectively the whole system runs!
Kudos to our election board and everyone who participated. Thank The Holy One that we live in the democratic United States of America. May she continue for many generations!
BubbeWisdom 