[ad_1]
Election officials installed advance voting machines in Provo, Utah in 2016.
George Frey / Getty Images
hide the legend
activate the legend
George Frey / Getty Images
Election officials installed advance voting machines in Provo, Utah in 2016.
George Frey / Getty Images
On November 6, I will join nearly a million other Americans who have volunteered for a nominal fee to participate in the polls.
It's an amazing thing when you think about it. This army meet for one day (or more, if you include early voting) to ensure that every American can exercise one of their most basic rights. Despite all the talk of rigged elections, cyber threats, voter suppression and frauds, it's often the front-line people who most affect your voting experience. And this responsibility has become even more complicated.
After talking about voting for NPR for 18 years, I decided that it was finally time to work at the polls. I usually cover the story, but this year I am writing a book and I had the time.
I started with a training course for election officials. In my class of 18, we were all women except two. We started the four-hour session by testing some of the rules, especially for voters with disabilities. No, an elector who wants help does not need a note from his doctor. Yes, voters can get help reading and even marking their ballot, provided the assistant completes an election assistance form and is not their boss, union representative or candidate. And do not tell them how to vote.
We then learned how to set up the voting site. Almost everything – ballots, machines, pens, tapes, posters, etc. – is stored in a black metal cabinet that should be on standby, locked, instead of voting on election night. Our chief, the Chief Electoral Judge, will have the keys. There will be diagrams showing exactly where we need to place the equipment inside and the signs on the outside telling voters where to go and where the "no election zone" begins (100 feet from the door).
My first reaction was, "Wow, there's so much to remember, how am I going to do it all?" My second reaction was that I'd better not mess up. All these steps are necessary so that voters can vote easily, safely and fairly on polling day.
Do we know what to do in case of a problem, for example a defective machine or a missing address? Do we know where to send you if you are in the wrong place? Can we detect bullying or cheating voters? Will we make you feel welcome?
More importantly, election officials need to know the rules. These vary considerably from one state to another, or even from one county to another. I live in Montgomery County, Maryland, where it is ok to wear a t-shirt or a country hat in the polling place as long as you vote, no elector. This is not the case everywhere. In Texas, it's a crime if you wear a political t-shirt, button or hat. (But if you're a Texas election officer authorized to carry a firearm, you can bring your weapon on polling day.This is a no-no in Maryland.)
In Texas, voters must also present a photo ID issued by the government in order to vote. Maryland voters do not need any piece of identity. They just need to provide their name, address and date of birth. But that can be confusing. There are exceptions to these two rules, and sometimes they change. A Missouri judge has just issued a last-minute decision infringing the state's new law on voter identification. Will all of the state election officials know it on polling day?
The confusion of the investigators can lead to long lines and discourage those who have little time to lose. Or even worse. In North Carolina, one poll worker gave the wrong vote to 150 of the first voters. They must now return if they want their votes to count.
That's why the recruitment and training of poll workers are so important. It's hard to find enough workers, so the polls started hiring people months ago. Montgomery County needs 3,200 election judges (as they are called here), but recruits 4,500, knowing that some will fall ill or give up at the last minute. Most places also pay their election officers a nominal fee as an incentive. My county is relatively generous – $ 210 to attend the training course, install the equipment the day before the elections and work around 3 pm on polling day.
Montgomery County is also one of a growing number of places where 16- and 17-year-olds can help at the polls to encourage youth to get involved. In 2016, more than half of the country's polling station workers were over 60 years old. Polls welcome teenagers energy and technological know-how.
Back in training class, we train in pairs to practice rolling a large machine to scan ballots on a ramp and out of the closet. Our coach tells us to be careful – do not tip over or hurt yourself. This machine is the place where voters will insert their completed ballots to be counted. We then remove the foldable booths from the blue boxes and try to assemble them. The most important tip: make sure the slender legs are secure so that the cabins do not collapse.
Maryland used touch screen electronic voting, but recently returned to paper. This presents its own challenges. This year's ballots have three pages. We are training to form a mini assembly line, tearing pages of ballot boxes and inserting them into wallpaper folders, so that each voter gets a complete set. We are told to prepare at least 50 of these files on the eve of the elections in order to be ready for the morning rush hour.
We also set up an electronic ballot marking machine mainly for disabled votes, such as blind people or people who have trouble using a pen. We try in turn to insert a delicate cable in the lower part of the machine. You have to squeeze the sides of the plug just for it to work.
We then assemble the electronic voting registers used to register voters. These registers contain the county voter registration database and are sealed with coded security tags. Almost everything here is locked or labeled to prevent fraudulent manipulation, and we must record each seal in the "Report on the Integrity of the Electronic Register". We are NEVER told to remove the red seal!
Each poll book also comes with a printer and a series of wires and cables. All these machines must be properly connected to function. "DO NOT connect the power cord of the electronic pollbook to the printer", we warned in the trainer's manual. "This will cause serious damage to the printer." Some mediators have probably discovered this the hard way.
The voting cards must also be connected to each other. Thus, when an elector is elected, an elector is aware. So no one will vote twice. We also have the habit of checking the voters' samples and knowing what to do in case of any problem. It's like when the information they give us does not match what is displayed on the screen. An elector may need to fill out an elector update form when he has recently changed his address or changed his name. Or maybe they will need a provisional ballot, which will be counted after verification of the voter information.
All other electors receive what is called an election authority card. They must give this card to another election officer who will give them one of these kraft paper folders along with the ballots. The elector then goes to a booth, places pens in the ovals next to his choice and brings the completed ballot to the scanner machine. Another election officer will help them insert the completed ballot and collect their electoral authority card. These cards must be counted several times during the day to ensure that totals correspond to the number of registered voters and ballots cast.
That's how it should work, at least. Rest assured, there are rules on how to handle almost every problem imaginable, such as canceled or "canceled" ballots. Even threatening behavior inside the polling place.
I have covered the vote since the disputed presidential election of 2000 and I realized that the work of the poll worker had become more complicated for a reason: For the votes to be counted correctly, the voters did not are not intimidated, no one cheats and polls are available to voters. all those who want to vote. The ultimate goal is to give people more confidence in the results.
I am reassured to know that every polling station has an experienced chief justice who has already done so and who can tell us what to do if we are confused. I am also encouraged by the fact that one of the first instructions in my training manual is "Greet the Elector". Everything will probably be fine. This is usually the case.
Source link
