Faith Through the Journey

Yesterday I spent 14-1/2 hours helping Americans exercise their right to vote.  In Texas, we have Early Voting, which takes place during the two weeks prior to the actual election day. This is a huge convenience, for anyone can vote early at any polling location in their county of residence. Because of my recent surgery, I limited my involvement to a total of 36 hours of work during that time period as opposed to working all 120+ hours that the polls are open during that time. Having worked the entire time period in other elections, the schedule can become rather brutal. Yesterday I was the “judge”, responsible for opening and closing the polls, making sure all the technical electronic devices are working correctly, and taking care of all the irregular situations that can arise. Sometimes I get a little “tasky”, so I have to try extra hard not to snap at the other workers. We’re all volunteers (although we do get paid), and everyone is there giving up their time to do this important work.

All that being said, it can be an entertaining experience to be on the other side of the table from the voters. The ironic thing is that, although I’m an adamant Republican conservative, I have to check politics at the 100-foot distance marker from the polling place and express no opinions whatsoever. No matter what the voters say, the poll workers aren’t allowed by law to say ANYTHING. The comments made by voters about the way the process works can become irritating if not taken with a grain of salt. If they have to wait, they can become annoyed, even downright grumpy! It’s all I can do not to yell at them and ask where they were during early voting when they could have voted anywhere in the county instead of being in line on election day. Some voters are just happy to be there, thankful for the opportunity to vote for their leaders. They even thank us for giving up our time to be there. Those are the experiences that keep me coming back every election. I’ve been doing this for close to 15 years and I’ve worked under many different conditions with a variety of people. During the 2008 early voting cycle, I worked at a poll site where we voted 15,000 people in a 12-day period. The lines never stopped and I definitely saw EVERY situation imaginable, even the resignation of the election in the middle of the second week! 

The one constant is the last-minute voter. People wait until a few minutes before the polls close to show up to vote, and although they are perfectly within their rights to do so, it can be REALLY irritating to the workers who have been there for 13 hours and still have at least an hour to complete the paperwork and breakdown of the equipment after the polls close. They come with only a few minutes left to vote, and many times they are at the wrong polling location. On election day voters must vote in the precinct in which they are registered. If they have moved and not changed their registration, we have to send them to the precinct where they are still registered. Others have not checked with the elections office or website or even the newspaper to see what their voting location is for THIS election, and they get exasperated that they are in the wrong place and tell us they don’t have time to get to the correct site. I have to pray for a closed mouth and calm demeanor at those times, especially when I want to yell at them, “Where have you been for the past 2 weeks?? This is NOT our fault, so don’t get upset with us!!” But of course, I can’t express my opinion to them! Oh well…I have to adjust my attitude because they ARE within their rights. It makes me wonder how they live the rest of their lives, if they are constantly late or procrastinate in other areas as well. It’s truly a study in human behavior–guess that’s where the psychology degree kicks in!

With a runoff election scheduled for July (oh goody!), I will probably be back at it again, helping to give citizens the opportunity to let their voices be heard. And then comes the fall election…I’d better rest up now for that! It’s less than 6 months away!