Wanted: Front-line democracy defenders
New Yorkers have strong opinions about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, so on Nov. 8 we can expect long lines at our polling places. And while it is our civic responsibility to vote, there’s another crucial role people who care about the future of our country can play: Sign up to be poll workers so a shortage of personnel doesn’t make casting a ballot a big burden for your fellow citizens.
A poll-worker recruitment campaign in New York City brought in over 3,100 applicants this summer. More are needed, however, to fill all the jobs at our city’s approximately 1,250 polling sites.
At 71, I’m one of two coordinators who run the large polling site at Public School 41 on W. 11th St. in the Village. Some 15,000 voters are expected to come to us to cast a ballot for President. Without sufficient workers, our lines will move more slowly than they should. And if things somehow get really bad, people could give up and be disenfranchised.
Our most recent election, the federal primary on June 28, had a small turnout. We managed with half staff because most of us were able to cover two jobs. That won’t be possible in November.
The core of the problem is that our older poll workers have been retiring, but younger folks aren’t stepping forward in great numbers. They don’t seem to realize they’re needed. In fact, running elections is everyone’s civic duty. Those who can’t work at the polls can urge family members and friends to. Employers can also give a few people on their staff the day off for this important task.
I got involved with elections because of my mom and dad, German Jews who immigrated shortly before World War II. They’d cherished America and taught my two brothers and me that citizen participation led to good government. At age 8, I marched with my brothers down our small street in Missouri carrying handmade “I Like Ike” signs.
In 2003, although my parents had passed away, I couldn’t let them down. I heard that New York State was heading toward paperless electronic voting. As a professional in information technology for 30 years, however, I knew that normal computer security practices were based on the use of tracking numbers for all transactions.
Tracking numbers could not be allowed for ballots because then votes could be traced back to their voter — compromising that person’s privacy. Most states adopted the secret ballot in the 19th century so voters could make their choices without coercion or retribution from others, as well as to prevent vote-selling.
I spent six years pushing our city and state to select the best available new voting technology. Due to the efforts of activists statewide, New York chose paper ballots — which are fed into pollsite scanners that count the votes on Election Day. Manual audits and recounts were designed to guarantee the sanctity of the vote.
But would our new equipment be used properly? In 2010, I became a poll worker to get the insider view. Then I got hooked. I kept working elections for the satisfaction and connection to something bigger.
My most challenging day was the presidential election of 2012, when I coordinated a tiny poll site on the East Side of Manhattan. Several hundred voters rushed in as soon as the doors opened, followed by a steady stream all day. Their seriousness of purpose and passion kept us cheerful and efficient.
Our system works. But it needs people on the ground. New poll workers should sign up at pollworker.nyc/2016. Mandatory four-hour training classes are being conducted now. You’ll earn $200 per election, plus $100 for training if you pass the test and work at least one election. There’s a $75 bonus for working two elections during the next year. Our city also foreign language interpreters.
If you pitch in, you’ll get paid before the December holidays. But your best reward may be knowing that you made our elections happen.
Poll sites need more workers