By Rosalie Wohlfromm
I have been a poll worker for many years. In the last four years, I have had the job of Judge, which means I arrive at 6 a.m. and stay until 9:30 p.m. I can hear some of you saying, “But the polls close at 8 p.m.” Yes, that’s true but we have more work to do after the closing. Most teams are happy that they are able to leave before 10.
This year may be my last one. I say this because it is just not any fun anymore. Gone are the days when little old ladies brought us cookies to thank us for volunteering. Practically no one thanks us for giving of our time these days. What we get are looks of suspicion.
This time a woman asked my team whether we had an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, because “it’s the law.” No, it is not the law and I advised her of that. What did I get in return for providing her the correct information? She called the Registrar’s Office to complain of our unprofessionalism.
Another guy wondered if his mail-in ballot which he deposited in the blue drop bag would be counted. I assured him it would when it was given over to the Registrar’s Office. I went on to say that he is more than welcome to witness how the office treats all ballots. He then stated, “Well, what about all those 6000 plus ballots that were thrown out. Trump would be our president if not for that!” That is when I stated we cannot discuss politics and asked him to kindly leave.
The worst thing that happened over and over were the voters who came in with their mail-in ballots and stated the same thing: “I want to surrender my ballot and get a real one.” Huh? Since when is a mail-in ballot not considered a real ballot? Nevertheless, we took their ballots and gave them one from the book, which I reiterate is exactly like the one they surrendered.
And did I mention we were at a school, which meant the air conditioning was only on during regular school hours? Being hot and sweaty did not make this trying day any better.
I always thought the lack of poll workers was because people didn’t want to give of their time. Maybe it’s really about the people who they have to deal with during their shift.
Oh well, I have until November to think about volunteering again. I just hope by then people will not be so suspicious and realize all ballots are counted, even mail-ins!
EDITOR’S NOTE: Rosie has now signed up to work the polls in November. Thanks Rosie, you are helping to make Democracy work!