POLL WORKERS!! Share your stories here!

[derby378]

(This message thread is intended as a forum for those who worked as poll watchers, poll greeters, election judges, or anyone else who put in time at a voting precinct in America during Election Day. Please supply your state, county, precinct number, and your own title and/or duties along with your own experiences.)

Texas - Dallas County, Precinct #4419

ginbarn and I spent some 12-13 hours outside the Lila Cowart Elementary School in southern Dallas as poll greeters, promoting Martin Frost for Congress (who lost) and Lupe Valdez for Sheriff (who won).



From left to right: ginbarn, David, Yvette, and Junior (from the Frost campaign)

One of the Republican election judges was a real hoot - when he couldn't get a ballot to feed through the optical scanner, he opened the machine and tossed the ballot in unscanned. This resulted in a Democratic poll watcher being assigned to watch his every move.

Martin Frost was running against incumbent Congressman Pete Sessions. And guess who showed up to help Pete's campaign? His wife:



She stayed for about 30 minutes, then left to hit another precinct. There were still Sessions poll greeters who stayed for most of the day, and we understand they were 18-year-olds who were paid by the hour to hand out fliers and literature.

Two Sessions poll workers started putting up more signs, but complained that they ran out of staples. So they went back to the truck and reloaded their staple guns. Once they finished with the signs, guess what they did with all the extra staples?



That's right, kids - a staple gun fight! Showdown at high noon between a couple of guys who were clearly working hard for Pete Sessions. (Pete? You out there? This is my gift to you!)

Turns out that all of us were stationed a little too far from the entrance to the polling place, as demostrated by this Frost poll greeter:



In Texas, electioneers must stay 100 feet away from the polling place. We were some 150-200 away from the entrance. After some wrangling with another election judge, we were allowed to come closer, but we tried not to push it.

Around 6pm, I pulled out a laptop and started showing Eric Blumrich animations for incoming voters:

http://www.ericblumrich.com/antiwar2.html

http://www.ericblumrich.com/faith.html

One of the Frost workers seemed to think it was a terrific idea.

Although I didn't see it happen, ginbarn tells me that one of the Republican election judges actually sent a sheriff's deputy out to warn the poll greeters against distributing literature to voters! Of course, that went over like a lead balloon, and we just kept on handing out fliers as though nothing happened.

So, that's my war story from November 2. Your turn!!

[derby378]

1. Those nutty Sessions kids

You know what Beavis and Butt-head episode they remind me of?

"BURGER WAR!!"

[demnan]

2. Great pictures

I worked at the Mohican Precinct in the Occoquan District of Prince William County, Virginia. This small precinct consisting mostly of condos and townhouses in a suburbian community went for Kerry, I'd say about 55%.

While I was handing out ballots the county supervisor for the district, Michele McQuigg (R) came to the polls and pulled the guy who was working for the Republicans aside. She said that there were many people voting who were "not her neighborhoods". I don't know if she was upset about people voting while Black or not, but the woman was extremely rude to me, saying "Well how is it going for you?" in a really rude manner. I had offered my hand to shake hers just because you don't act that way when you're representing a political party (which I was). So help me God I'm going to take down this rude Republican bitch in the next election if it's the last thing I do.

Of course she found no voter fraud, but she was just pissed that this precinct was going Democratic, that's all.

[derby378]

3. A bitchy Republican county supervisor? It can't be!

I appreciate you hanging in there like you did.

[michigandem2]

4. is there anyway we can get voters that had issues with voting on bbv's

to say they did..I saw ONE person the night of the election on NBC admit she tried to vote for Kerry and it kept coming up she voted for Bush...she had to hit the button 3-4 times to get it to record it right...can't we get a list of people together or soemthing that have had this kind of issue?

I really am having such a hard time believing he won fair and square...its suspect

[derby378]

5. Did she get hold of a poll worker?

If she let it go through, then she herself is now to blame if her vote went for Bush.

[kick-ass-bob]

6. I worked in Southeast Raleigh NC.

Precinct 01-50. 99% afro-american, 1% hispanic (from what I saw come in).

I worked outside the polls making sure voters knew how to use the ballot (president is not included in straight party vote) and showed dozens of first time voters how the ballot worked. This was the most uplifting experience of my life (outside of family things). The activism and the belief in that neighborhood was so overwhelming and their sense of community was stronger than anything I had ever seen before anywhere.

We had little problems out of the Repub observer other than trying to intimidate us (and the Election Protection people) into leaving (no one left) and no one that I saw come out after voting ever mentioned the guys.

This was an experience I will never forget.

[mbee]

7. Worked my polling place here in MD and have a few stories to

relate. A guy came up the pug side of the sidewalk and was offered a brochure and his comment was that he'd waited 4 years to vote and couldn't wait to get in there and didn't want their brochure. A lady was pushed up the sidewalk in a wheelchair and she was holding a Kerry/Edwards sign and she related she had been a pug voter for 40 years turned Dem. The Dems took her picture with the sign. The third story is heartfelt. A young Black man came up to me and told me he wanted to vote, but he seemed nervous about what kind of I.D. he needed. I told him he just needed to be registered and probably might need a Driver's License, but that was it. I told him to go and vote and he did and came back out with the biggest smile on his face. That absolutely made my day, but I was quite disturbed that he was that intimidated by the voting process.

[kittenpants]

8. too few machines, suppressed minorities/youth where I worked

in Columbus, OH.
1) It was a democratic precinct and there were only 3 machines for 1300 registered voters. We processed 600 voters and there was a three hour line the entire day, so there was absolutely NO WAY we could have accomodated everyone that was registered.

2) A lot of young people showed up with cards from the election board that directed them the wrong election precinct. Minorities showed up with stories of having been directed to other precincts already, having waited in line only to be sent over to wait here.

3) People who had already been given the run-around didn't show up on our voter lists and had to vote provisional ballots. This took up a voter machine (had to give them a curtained area to vote in) and slowed down the wait for everyone else who wanted to vote. And, of course, who knows if their votes will be counted in the end after all the effort they put forth to make themselves heard.

Overall, the turnout was inspiring. people's moods were amazing considering the inconvenience the had to put up with. the outcome, however, was unacceptable.

[Gothmog]

9. Thanks for sharing

I was part of the legal or voter protection team. I will post my thoughts later when I recover some more.

[derby378]

10. Looking forward to it

Any pics you might have are welcome!

[The Backlash Cometh]

11. I suggest you double check the names of the absentee ballots

that came in for Republicans in Republican counties and compare them against, not the database, but the polling sign-in registers. Those sign-in sheets can't be dithered with since the election.

Otherwise, it was a great experience. I hope I can work in a Dem precinct next.

[derby378]

12. kick! (n/t)