Is there still time to be a POLLWORKER tomorrow? Call your BOE!

[demodonkey]

Lots of jusrisdictions still need pollworkers for tomorrow. Many are still desperately looking for people to fill in. If you can give a day tomorrow, this would be a great time to call your county Board of Elections or Voter Registration Office -- ask them if folks are needed and if you could help out tomorrow.

There may be training issues in some areas (you are supposed to be pre-trained in all areas) but in places where they are desperate -- and there are LOTS of places where they desperately need pollworkers -- the BOE may really appreciate your call!

Here is the article I wrote for VoteTrustUSA. Please read through it and consider becoming a POLLWORKER (if not for tomorrow, then for Primary 2006!)


Not Just a Bunch of Little Old Ladies: The Importance of Becoming a Pollworker
By Marybeth Kuznik, VotePA

If you ever voted at a polling place you probably met and talked to at least one pollworker when you signed in to vote. You may have wondered, who are these people? How do they get chosen for the job? What it is that these folks really do while sitting around the voting room? You may have even had a passing thought about what it would be like to become one of these officials.

Pollworkers are found everywhere. Even in Oregon, where they vote by mail, citizens still assist on election boards and help process ballots as they come in. Different states may call them Judge of Elections, Inspector of Elections, Clerk, Machine Operator, even Deputy in some areas, but all these workers are sworn officials who are in our polling places to operate and control our elections on the local level. Pollworkers have incredible access to the entire voting process, and they are an important component of our electoral system.

(snip)

Some people confuse pollworkers with pollwatchers (people who observe the electoral process in and around the poll, often representing a candidate or party), and sometimes even with pollsters (people who take polls, such as exit polls.) These are all important positions, and all contribute greatly to our voting process, but in most jurisdictions only the pollworker is a true public election official.

Pollworkers are gatekeepers. A pollworker is the last human being the voter encounters before he or she enters the voting booth to cast a vote. In many cases a pollworker is the only “official” human representative of the electoral system ever met by the average individual voter.

More.... READ THE ARTICLE:
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=235&Itemid=27

[Yellow Horse]

1. REALLY important and needed!

:kick:

[demodonkey]

2. OK "yunz' pollworkers, here are a few tips on things to bring to the poll

After all these years in the poll, here are some of the things I have learned to bring:

-any materials you got at training or were mailed by the BOE
-instructions for machine you will be using if you have them
-cell phone and charger (will need to call BOE, probably a million times)
-map of precincts in your area (voters often go to the wrong poll, helps to have map handy to send them to the right poll)
-things to read or work on when no voters are voting
-food and something to drink for lunch, dinner, and snacks (you aren't allowed to leave in most jurisdictions)
-extra pencils, pens, tape, safety pins, band aids, aspirin (general stuff you might need)
-scissors
-a tool such as a wire cutter or tin snips to cut voting machine seals (if your area uses metal seals)
-a good watch, cell phone with time on it, or clock (make sure you open and close on time; remember voters in line at closing time MUST get to vote in most jurisdictions)
-a US Flag (required in some jurisdictions, nice to have in others; can be a small one)
-SENSE OF PATRIOTISM, and SENSE OF HUMOR!