Poll Watching 2024
- 7 minutes read - 1316 wordsPoll Watching in Rural Minnesota 2024
I’m writing about my experiences and observations as a volunteer, not about my personal views on how the election turned out or why. That’s something that I will do in a future post.
What Does a Poll Watcher Do?
I volunteered to be a poll watcher (it’s officially called appointed poll challenger in Minnestota) for the DFL (Democratic) party in Minnesota. This was a record year for Democratic campaign volunteering, and the number of volunteers for poll challengers more than doubled any previous year.
I attended an in person training session on what our role as a poll challenger is, and how we would communicate with the party on election day. Basically, our role is to watch how things are going at the polling place and report on anything that impacts the public’s ability to vote. It could be something like long lines, running out of ballots, power outages, or bad application of election rules.
Election Day - Getting Ready
I arranged to have election day and the following day off from work because election day was going to be a 16 hour day for me. I also had to rent a car the day before because we found out that our car needed a critical repair and shouldn’t be driven.
On election day, I get up at o’dark thirty, have some breakfast, pack my snack bag and water bottle, and head out to my assigned polling place in a rural town 50 minutes away. I arrived in the dark, but beat the rain. There was already a line of about 50 people waiting for the polls to open.
I go inside and ask for the head election judge to give them my paper authorizing me to be there. The other election volunteers are getting ready, but the judge gets me a chair and stations me at table in the corner of the gymnasium that serves as the polling place for two counties. I’m seated under the American flag.
I sign in to the party communications tool, and let them know that I’m onsite and have verified that the ballot box is empty and the counter is set to zero. The election volunteers meet up in a circle and take their oath to administer a fair election, and I’m starting to get excited.
The Beauty of the American Election System
Regular citizens volunteer to run the most important single day event in our government system - a day with terrific consequences. Regular people take time out of their busy lives to learn the rules and processes to run the election fairly. They do it for their neighbors and for their country.
I watch all day as the line grows and shrinks, but is almost never empty, even though the weather just turned cold and it rains all day. I watch voters greet each other and catch up on vacation plans or important life events. These folks are neighbors. families, friends, coworkers, former teachers, and fellow parishioners.
This is America. Precinct by precinct across the country you see the same scene. Some places are bigger and people may not know their neighbors as well, but the system is the same: citizen volunteers manage the election for the benefit of their fellow citizens.
Election Day - High Turnout and Lots of Young Men
I chat with the election volunteers as they take short breaks (I’m not allowed to talk to voters). They ask me about what I’m doing as a poll challenger. I give them a brief summary of what I’m doing there. I tell them how much I love voting and our election system and thank them for volunteering. Many of them have volunteered for 20 years or more. They are a well run team and keep the sometimes long lines moving smoothly.
I ask questions about the process when I see something like when they opened the ballot box and removed the ballots. I ask with curiosity and they answer my question the way a teacher might. They explained that they are putting the ballots in the transfer boxes because the ballot box is getting full and this will speed up the end of night duties. The boxes are sealed and put in the corner behind my seat.
I remain upbeat most of the day even though I know most of the people here are not voting for the candidates that I support. I’m enjoying watching the people and their interactions. I take notes throughout the day so I can remember and write about my experience later.
Most of these folks appear to be farmers or otherwise earn their living from physical labor - just like my family. Many are dressed in work clothes, wearing work boots and high visibility vests. It rained all day, and they take a moment to wipe their feet before entering the gym.
There are tables set up for people to sit down and vote. Most of the time they are occupied by parents who brought their kids with them to vote. I especially enjoy watching the moms voting while their young daughters watch.
Every hour I take a look at the ballot counter, while not getting too close to it (rules). The turnout is very high and late in the afternoon we wonder if there are enough ballots on hand. That’s about the closest we get to drama all day, which is just what we hoped for.
It’s the kids standing in line that notice the volleyballs and basketballs stuck in the rafters. I smile when they point them out to their parents, and am secretly proud that I noticed them too.
I also noticed a steady stream of younger men voting, most for the first time since they had to register as well. These young men often came in groups of two or more from work or school, and it looked very organized to me. They far outnumbered the number of young women who voted on election day. I checked-in with Jane, who was at a different polling place, and she says she has noticed the same thing, with some people voting while dressed in their pajamas. And it was at this point that I was concerned about the election result.
Election Day - Closing Time
The day finally came to an end with a few people arriving just before the 8 o’clock closing time. I packed up and waited for the initial count. I watched the election workers empty the ballot box and transfer the ballots to the transfer boxes. They disconnected the poll pads used to check people in and register new voters, and they put the tamper evident zip ties on them. They folded up the tables and chairs and broke down the voting booths. All that remained was for the ballot tape to be posted so I could report on that and drive back home in the dark.
I thanked the election judge for the graciousness she showed me and for running a good team, and headed out to the car. It was dark, but the rain had stopped.
An election worker from the other county walked out with me and we chatted. He said he was glad that we had a quiet day and that we live in a country where we are free to vote. He was also glad that we hadn’t reached a point where someone was waiting out in the parking lot to shoot at us. I had to agree with that, but was sad that we’re even having to consider that there are people willing to commit political violence.
We live in a still free country where people can make their own choices and vote freely. We might not like the decisions others make, but they are free to do so. And I hope that remains the case for at least another 250 years.