Observations from the Polling Booths

In March, I had volunteered as a poll worker for the Presidential Primary Elections. It was grueling work - a long 15-hour day with one small lunch break. It was chaotic and fascinating!

Then, the pandemic stormed our nation and we all became acutely aware of how the COVID-19 virus was transmitted. Facial masks and social distancing were the norm.

So, I wavered when I was asked to volunteer again for the Presidential General Election. I wondered if I would be safe - especially, after hearing of people refusing to adhere to the California rules of public behavior, let alone the looser CDC rules. The training dispelled any fears that I had. We were instructed to wear facial masks and gloves; and sanitizing methods/procedures were hammered into how we were to handle the machines, desks, polling booths and everything we touched. I decided to continue. I was worried that the Registrars would have less volunteers because of these fears. (By the time the voting began, I heard they had more volunteers than ever!)

This time, instead of having only one voting day, in-person voting would be available for four days in fewer polling places. It was decided to limit the voting areas to public places such as schools (which were closed to students), libraries and community centers (which were closed or had limited occupancy). Special ballot mailboxes were installed in areas that filled the less populated but well-watched areas such as fire stations and food banks. Also, ballots were mailed to every voter in California. The voter had the option to 1) mail their ballot in a stamped envelope, 2) pop it into a ballot mailbox, 3) take in their mail-in ballot to ANY voting place or 4) vote in person on ANY of the four days. (Of course, this meant that I'd be working four long days rather than just one. What did I get myself into?!)

On Saturday, I approached the assigned voting area and noticed that the ballot booths, ballot machines and desks were already set up. I remembered that, in March, we hardly managed to finish up all the opening chores before the place was opened to voters! We were met by two supervisors who took our temperature before we entered. We were instructed to sanitize our hands and put on our gloves, then put on a facial shield over our face masks. I felt very protected from any stray virus droplet!

We didn't have a line of voters when we opened on the first three days but the mornings were always busier. The voter was asked to sanitize their hands and directed to put on finger cots (which looked like tiny condoms) to sign the iPad or use the machines. They were given sanitized pens to mark their paper ballots or sign their mail-in ballot envelopes. At every opportunity, they were asked to handle what they were using. For instance, if they were handing in their ballot, THEY placed them into the ballot box. We touched almost nothing. As each person left a desk or station, we wiped it down with sanitizing wipes. I had never cleaned so much!

Saturday and Sunday were not busy. We only had about 25 in-person voters and 25 mail-in ballots dropped off. Monday doubled the numbers. Tuesday, the traditional voting day, started with a line of about 25 people and, throughout the day, we had about twice the total crowds we had for the previous three days. We had spurts where we had to manage how many people were in the building but there were also slow periods. This meant that we were able to have breaks, eat lunch and dinner, and take a breather by checking our phones. It was altogether managed very well.

For all three days, the mail-in ballot drop-offs were more than the in-person votes. Clearly, getting a mail-in ballot made a difference. It looked like these voters took this opportunity to read through the ballot and its propositions before casting their votes. Some voters had a letter that their mail-in ballots were received but missing something like a signature or the paper ballot. Those were handled by the supervisors so they quickly fixed their mail-in votes. Some voters asked about how the signatures were verified. (The answer is that it is mechanically checked against county and state records such as driver's licenses. Any that fail are checked manually.) If the voter felt that this signature would be difficult to validate, they surrendered their mail-in ballot and voted in person. Interestingly, the signatures for in-person voters were not checked (unless it was flagged to check the ID). Apparently, verifying their name and address was all that was needed. The mail-in voters were delighted when told that they can check the status of their ballots online.

The mail-in ballot initiative was very successful. Expanding the number of days to vote in person is questionable. If there were more special mailboxes instead, I believe any fear that the US Postal Service cannot deliver their ballots in a timely fashion would be mitigated. (These mailboxes were emptied every day and the ballots were delivered directly to the Registrars.)

Our community is comprised of mostly middle-class people of various ethnicities. The northern area, however, is inhabited by rich, white citizens. In March, when I was stationed at a central community center, I saw all types of people. This time, however, I was stationed by the richer community. While I did see black, brown and yellow ethnicities, the voters were, for the most part, white.

The morning population was older. During the last hours, the younger people arrived. It almost reminded me of last-minute rush to return school essays before the deadline! Unfortunately, the percentage of young people who did arrive was small as compared with the others.

The biggest observation, though, was how the voters handled themselves. There was a clear delineation between "nice guys" and "bullies". The nice guys were grateful to vote, were not uncomfortable with waiting or having to provisionally vote (because they were in the wrong precinct) and thanked us for volunteering. The bullies acted as if they were owed respect, that they could cut to the front of the line, that their opinions mattered more, and that they were entitled to everything first.

The loyal Trump followers (aka bullies) wanted to express their opinion on everything from having to wait, how the ballots didn't list Trump first, how the outside signage was insulting because it was too small and dissuaded voters from voting, how masks were stupid and that they were wearing them (under their nose) just fine, etc. One couple even attempted to vote twice. They had dropped their ballots into the special ballot mailbox by the fire station the day before. The check-in clerk noticed that their ballots were already received and wanted to know if they wanted to provisionally vote to nullify their previous ballot. Of course, they didn't and insisted they didn't know their previous ballots would be counted.

I have friends and family from the Republican and Democratic parties...and Independents. My observation is that being a bully is not political. My friends and family are not bullies. Being a loyal Trump follower, however, makes a person a bully.