Welcome Back! Um, Why Are You at Work Today?
Photo du Jour 516
Tiger Woods In "Serious" Condition After Car Crash
-thumb-110x110-461569.jpg)
Photos from Black Friday
SFist Interviews: John Ortved, Author of The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History
During election day, SFist will be running a Diary of a Poll Worker by friend of SFist Leanne. This was written about the night before the election. Check in later as we continue to see what life is like on the other side of elections
11pm
I just got home. It took an hour and a half for the sheriff's deputy to come pick up the ballots and supplies. This was long after the parking operations guy had come by in his little vehicle and collected the voting machine memory card and printout of the final totals. The sheriff's deputy said he wants that job next year.
As I had suspected, the end of the election was the most eventful part of the day, and after a couple of gulps of whiskey straight from the bottle, I think I have the energy to blog about it right now...
The place was hopping from 5pm on, and everyone seemed genuinely excited about voting. There was one guy in particular who was loudly teaching his 6(ish)-year-old daughter about the voting process. There was something witty he said as they were inserting his ballots into
the "Eagle" machine when she lunged for the bag of candy, but I'm too tired to remember. It was so cleverly related to democracy and the voting process and about how her rights did not extend to candy-eating (since she'd most likely had her fill from Halloween), and it was witty enough to make me not totally annoyed by him anymore.
Speaking of the "Eagle," I had meant to write about how that thing makes noises that range from a weed-whacker to a paper-shedder to the beloved '80s Asteroids arcade game. And for the record, not a single person used the new "AutoMark" machine that marks (but doesn't count) ballots for people who "might need assistance." Rumor has it that each machine costs $10,000!
Note to future pollworkers: Vote before the election or vote early in the day. Not while huddled in the dark at 7pm on your break and on the verge of angry tears because you got called out by your kind of bitchy high school-aged clerk. (I voted late in the day--by absentee-- because I had to wait for my friend who is a public policy masters student to get her slate of endorsements sent out this morning. Plus, I was busy writing this blog on my breaks! Priorities!)
After my dinner break this evening, I stopped near Precita Park to get some coffee on the way back to the polls. This was obviously a bad decision since I had gotten completely lost every time I tried to return to the elusive voting location, on top of the bad decision to get a double soy cappuccino when I usually only drink soy au laits. My stomach was in knots after about 1/4 of the way through.
I had hiked all the way up the hill and then down again when I realized I had gone the wrong direction, away from the polling place. I was late and sweaty, and I kid you not, my glasses were steamed up (it was freaking humid out today). Then, like angels sent from heaven, came a really cool, old school, emerald green, Bronco-type, lowrider truck that was transporting a boisterous family of Latino adults. The driver asked if I knew where the polls were. When I said
it was way back up the hill and that was where I was trying to go, they told me to hop in. I have never been so in love with a family of boisterous strangers before!
Today has been a very "only in San Francisco" sort of day, and I look forward to the next election.
2 pm
Still not much to report. I've met a lot of nice people and a few nice dogs. One of the clerks brought in her chihuahua "Peppy," who was sporting an argyle sweater, to hang out with us for a little while. (He wasn't very nice though.)
I've had about four pieces of chocolate so far, and we started trying to give it away to the voters. One older gentleman declined, saying he was "already sweet." I really need coffee, but there aren't really any convenient coffee shops nearby. Note to election staff: Please supply your pollworkers with caffeine!
I met a woman in the inspector training on Friday who was running the polling place at her house, and she said she was going to have meals prepared for her pollworkers all day long. Luckies!!
10am
I am trying to avoid the big bag of candy bars that a nice/evil voter brought us-- at least until Noon!
It's been pretty easy so far. Everyone's been really nice. After my zig-zagging cab ride in and out of dead-end streets in Bernal Heights, I found my precinct at exactly 6am-- $8 poorer. We got the polling place set up and plastered with signs just in time for the onrush of voters at 7am.
I'm lucky to have 4 clerks at my station, since often times there are only three. One of the clerks was an inspector last year, so she took over right away, which was fine by me. She said she didn't like the "pressure" of being an inspector last year, and I agree with her. All of the extra responsibility is not worth the additional $20 to $40 pay. I will apply earlier next time, so I can get a clerk position near my house. They get nabbed very quickly, and I applied late.
There will probably be a lull from now until around 5. Luckily we each get 2 hour-long meal breaks during the lull.
Ho-hum. Must avoid candy... Oh great, someone else just brought some more candy!
9pm Pre-Election Night Jitters:
I have signed up to be a Poll Inspector: a person who manages a polling station. I have never been in a professional position that gives orders. Nor have I ever worked in the elections. And I can't remember the last time I was up at 5am. This should be interesting.
I signed up for the extra cash (Muni advertising works!) and stuck with it to learn more about myself, my community and the political process.
After a 3-hour training class on Friday and a couple of hours of studying the training manual and other materials, I've learned a *lot* of rules. I've been bombarded with names, numbers, forms, cards, signs, ballots, bags, bins, office supplies, and voting
machines. I've made sure all of the supplies are in order and called all of the clerks. At 5:30am, I will take a cab a mere five blocks from my garage to my assigned polling station in order to transport two tremendously heavy "rice bags" full of supplies. (Do they use "rice bags" to carry ballots in other city's elections?)
I will meet the "responsible party of the polling station" and the clerks. The clerks will pick their jobs, or I will delegate them. Then we will all set up the polling station together. Here, all of the names, numbers, forms, cards, signs, ballots, bags, bins, office supplies, and voting machines will be spread out in their precisely designated glory.
At 7am, I will then go outside and declare, "The polls are now open!" at the top of my lungs. This should be interesting.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Right on Leanne! Kick em in the ball-otts.
Is there any way to cheat the polls after learning the process?
Here's a fun exercise for Election Day:
Check out some left wing blogs and see how many times they mention "disenfranchisement" compared to how many times they mention "fraud."
Now go check out some right wing blogs and see how many times they mention "fraud" compared to how many times they mention "disenfrancisement."
If you want to feel real warm and fuzzy about the great state of Democracy in our land, you know the country that is a shining example to the rest of the word, go to Slate or Wonkette for all the latest in dirty election tricks. We started reading these but quickly determined that this is the kind of day just made for sports and celebrity gossip.
for some real disturbing shit, watch the HBO documentary "Hacking Democracy."