Election Judge Duty

Yesterday was the primary election day in Illinois. I served as an election judge at one of the local precincts. It was a grueling day for the polling staff: set up the polling site Monday evening, 2 hours; do final set up at 5:30 am on election day; open polls at 6 am; close polls at 7 pm; laboriously close down the operations, ensure ballot security, run the computer tallies, and transport the secure items to the Election Commission; finished by 9 pm.

This is but a small part of what goes on behind the scenes of a polling site. The day-long stream of voters, sometimes in bunches, often stretched out thinly through many hours, gives witness to American democracy in action at the most basic level. We see people who are unfamiliar with the process while others confidently perform their duty with practiced certainty. Some express confusion with the ballot wording. Others bristle with their voting intentions. Throughout it all the staff can only wonder with what knowledge and intentionality the voters are exercising their right to vote.

A mystery, but a healthy one. It is not ours to determine what is right. It is only our job to make certain the process is open and works efficiently, confidentially and accessibly. That is the spirit of American democracy. That is our form of governance.

During a primary election, three options are open to the voter. Ballot selection calls for selecting a Republican, Democrat or non-partisan ballot. The voter only casts votes for those people or propositions that affect everyone or just that party’s selection of slated candidates. In our county there are a few Democrats, a lot of Republicans. The process is pretty simple. And direct.

In the fall the every-four-year presidential election is scheduled. That will be more demanding and frenetic. The lead-up will be a bit noisy. But one wonders if it will match the temper and clangor of the primary season this year?

By the end of the day our polling site tallied 395 voters out of 1660 eligible and on the rolls. Adding in early voters and absentee ballots, our numbers exceeded 415, or 25% of the voters participating. This is considered a good turnout in a primary election. The fall election will draw a larger voter participation.

This was my third election as an election judge, the first serving in my own precinct. The day brought a lot of friends and acquaintances through the doors. Maybe 30% either knew me or I them. It was much more fun than I had anticipated. Drudgery eased into pleasure. And the hours slipped away smoothly.

All in all a good experience observing American democracy in action. It went well and smoothly. And politely. As it should.

March 21, 2012