Yesterday I worked the polls, as did two fellow bloggers, Trina and Chuck. Unlike Chuck, who articulated his experience in terms of celebrating a working democracy, doing my civic duty did not leave me so much with images of revelry as it did with a dream of voting absentee for the rest of my life.
In a word, it was awful.
Working with the public wasn’t bad - neither was getting up at 4:30 a.m. nor finally wrapping up at 10:30 p.m. Maybe getting one tiny 45-minute meal break in a 17-hour day wasn’t so great, but that’s not what made it unbearable.
What was awful was working with someone - I’m pretty sure loathed me by the time the votes were dropped off to the Sheriff. She may have started to despise me earlier in the day, but it was clear by then where she stood.
Trina
from Carlsbad
February 07, 2008 at 04:43 PM
Oh Alma! I'm so sorry you had such an awful experience! Doggone it! My experience was so far to the other extreme that I wrote the most sappy blog entry ever about how much I fell in love with my patriotic co-workers, how great America is, yada yada. It should be posted some time today. I really hesitated posting it because it's so sacharine, but it's really how I felt after the end of Super Tuesday.
You are an extremely intelligent, capable woman, so I highly doubt you were making as many mistakes as she made you feel you were making. I guess that lady in your precinct is a good illustration of how some people get so carried away with the minutia of life that they forget to stop and enjoy the journey. Granted, the job that poll workers do is immensely important, but somewhere she forgot to smell the roses and decided to just stink.
aaryn b.
from san diego
February 07, 2008 at 05:56 PM
I heard a very similar story from my co-worker who voted at Fletcher Elementary School. While waiting in line, she witnessed an elderly poll worker yell at and thoroughly humiliate a young woman (my co-worker said she was no more than 20-years old) who was working the polls for the first time. Apparently, this verbal lashing for "mistakes" the new volunteer had made went on so long that a third poll worker eventually stepped in to defend the young woman. This third person scolded the old man (repeatedly) and then told the young girl to "ignore that jerk off!" (repeatedly), all of this in front of a line of people waiting to vote.
I can't imagine anything more effective in dissuading young citizens from participating in their democracy.
Alma from San Diego
February 07, 2008 at 08:29 PM
Thank you Trina, for your encouraging words! Your time working sounds wonderful. I'm really glad you wrote about being inspired. It's what I would've expected too, and it's good the majority of people who worked (you, Chuck and my hubby Chris who worked a different poll) had those same good experiences.
As for Aaryn's co-worker who witnessed a double whammy of a tongue lashing, and sounds frighteningly similar to my own time, I'm not sure why some polling places allow verbal escalations like that. My personal guess is that there wasn't enough of a clear boundary between expectations of duties, so it's easy for someone who has done things a certain way for many years to get bent out of shape if a newbie isn't up to par.
Unfortunately, though, I do think it dissuades much younger people from wanting to work the polls. And that's sad, no?
Trina
from Carlsbad
February 07, 2008 at 10:21 PM
I hope your encounter was the exception rather than the common experience. I'm glad to hear your hubby and Chuck both had a good time. I was really pleased with the teamwork of my group. Whenever there was a gap someone just quickly and quietly filled in. Although we had defined jobs we overlapped tasks when needed. I wish politicians would work that way, you know?...just get the job done without worrying so much about who is going to get the credit.
Dave
from Oceanside
February 08, 2008 at 05:43 AM
Thank you for your toil!!
Another group of public servants toiled on Wednesday.. the California Coastal Commission (un-paid position).. they are helping to slay the Toll Troll!!
I stood for 14 hours with my hands over my head holding my sign.. and we won!!! I didn't think that the little people really won things..
A good day for the environment!! Anyway.. my point is that the toil and thankless tasks are often the ones that are most needed and have the biggest impact on the world despite the thankless factor... thanks!
