Why you should be a poll worker

Citizen? Your country needs you.

Last year, Gov. Ned Lamont signed a law that sets up a system for early, in-person voting in Connecticut. The legislation came after years of backand-forth, and the debate was rigorous. Our state Constitution contained specific language that dictated when and where a person could vote, and in the Land of Steady Habits, change takes time, especially if it involves a constitutional amendment.

But by offering early in-person voting, Connecticut is doing no more than joining this century. The Center for Election Innovation and Research says opportunities to vote early have expanded exponentially since 2000, when just 40% of votingage citizens had at least one opportunity to vote prior to the actual Election Day. Now? Some 97% of voters have that opportunity, including Connecticut residents.

This despite lies being spread by the Republican presidential candidate, who has been telling voters that mail-in voting — one form of early voting — is rife with fraud.

It is not. Voting by mail has been around since Union soldiers were allowed to mail ballots back to their hometowns. States such as Ohio, Missouri, and — yes! — Connecticut signed on at the time because otherwise, soldiers who were putting their lives on the line would have been robbed of this basic right.

In fact, Donald Trump’s relentless lying about the efficacy of early voting is working against the GOP. Election data from three states that expanded early voting for the 2022 midterm elections showed that doing so did not increase voter fraud (the incidence of which is negligible in the first place), nor did expanded voting opportunities favor any particular party.

It’s ironic that while the GOP frontrunner continues slinging his nonsense, the GOP is trying to counter the candidate’s message. They are pushing a boulder up a hill and good luck to them.

In 2022, the election innovation center, a D.C.based nonprofit founded in 2016 to combat low voter turnout, prepared a report as Connecticut was figuring out how to expand opportunities for voting. The report said that contrary to the disinformation that’s been circulated, early in-person voting actually improves voter access and election integrity. The more time voters have to cast their ballots, the greater the chance any issues can be detected and — if necessary — corrected.

And yes, Bridgeport is our embarrassingly notable exception. Last year, a surveillance video showing what looked like tampering with absentee ballots was discovered — key point there — and voters got a do-over for their mayoral primary. They eventually re-elected Mayor Joe Ganim, who in 2003 was sentenced to nine years on corruption charges and has been unable to regain his law license. Though voters say Bridgeport’s election outcomes have historically relied on (allegedly illegally obtained) absentee ballots, Ganim denied any knowledge of this most recent example of election misconduct, which threw votes his way.

Election deniers have made great sport of pointing to Bridgeport as an example of rampant nationwide election fraud, but the facts do not bear that out. The people who would thwart a free and fair election were stopped. That part tends to get left out of the narrative.

Now here’s where you come in. With the state offering more opportunities for people to cast a vote, elections need more poll workers, which means you can put your time where your bumper sticker is. Please consider joining me.

I am a poll worker. That means I would walk you through fire so that you can cast your vote, though I have yet to have to do that. Mostly, I’ve checked people in, registered people to vote, directed them where to show their ID and performed small tasks that allows me to be a tiny — but meaningful, to me — role in helping the wheels of democracy to turn.

And I say that regardless of your politics. On that day and in that room, I do not care who you’re voting for. I will help you vote. Poll workers are there to make sure that happens, and that every voter is treated with respect in an island of calm that is the voting booth.

In the last few years — as more and more lies about elections are being pumped into the national bloodstream — there’s been an increase in threats of violence against poll workers. Some of the recruitment material says that by some counts, 70% of poll workers do not return to their posts — though that has not been my experience. In my town, it feels like the same group of us return every election and because we are encouraged to bring snacks to share on our breaks, I always hope Claire brings her deviled eggs.

I have not witnessed any threats, though at the recent primary, a resident raised his cellphone to take photos of the tabulator in which he was about to feed his ballot. Taking photos at the polls is not allowed. He was politely told to holster his phone and the world kept turning.

You get training as a poll worker for this kind of rare situation, and there are poll moderators and registrars standing by to help.

The secretary of the state’s website has more information for would-be poll workers, with a form you can complete, if you’re interested. You can also contact your local registrar of voters and your local League of Women Voters can always help.

If you still need help, email me. I can put you in touch with the right person. We need you. Our nation needs you. Answer the call.

Susan Campbell is the author of “Frog Hollow: Stories from an American Neighborhood,” “Tempest-Tossed: The Spirit of Isabella Beecher Hooker” and “Dating Jesus: A Story of Fundamentalism, Feminism and the American Girl.” She is Distinguished Lecturer at the University of New Haven, where she teaches journalism.

Erik Trautmann/Hearst Connecticut Media A Connecticut voting sticker.