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I have exercised my right to vote in every presidential election since 1980. Never have I felt so unsettled leading up to the general election as I have this year. It seems counterintuitive then that when I opened an email from the Miami-Dade County Elections Department asking for volunteer poll workers, I answered almost immediately – Yes! For 20 years I covered elections as a television news reporter. This represented an opportunity to see the inner workings of the election process up close, and by participating in it, hopefully ease or at least distract my nerves.
My 1st surprise was that I needed to complete four hours of training ahead of election day. For what! I wondered. I hadn’t counted on devoting more than one day to the experience. I drove from my home in Coral Gables to the Miami Elks Lodge in South Miami and sat down next to a sweet older Hispanic woman who told me that she was volunteering to show her appreciation as a new US citizen. There were about 20 of us in the room, mostly women, and we were each given a rather thick training course manual. Somehow, we managed to get all the way through it in those four hours and even ran through a couple of roll-playing exercises to learn how to greet people, check their IDs, hand out the ballots (“Getting the Ballot Right!”), help them submit their ballots, and send them on their way. We spent a great deal of time learning how to treat people with disabilities respectfully, which I personally found edifying.
Then came my 2nd surprise: We needed to be at the precinct the day before election day to set everything up. That means the Privacy Booths, The DS200 machine (where the ballots are submitted), the Evid machines (where IDs are checked), and lots of other things. That added a third day to the experience. Yet it was the 3rd surprise that really got me: On election day, we would be working 14 ½ hours! What! I would need to report to the precinct at 5:30 am and would not be allowed to leave the premises (not even for lunch) until 8 pm at the earliest (Or until the ballots were finalized). Now I really had to think about it. Was this truly something I wanted to commit to? I could still get out of it – ‘Just say No!’
While I was still thinking about it, I got my 4th surprise: An email designating me as an Inspector and assigning me to Precinct 434 in a largely Hispanic neighborhood even though my application clearly stated that I do not speak Spanish. How would THAT work? As election day neared, I made the decision to go through with it, remembering the gratitude expressed by the woman who sat next to me in the training class. I was born in America. Shouldn’t I also express gratitude for being born into a free, democratic country that has provided me with so many opportunities?
When my alarm clock sounded at 4 am on November 5th, I did expressed gratitude – for having slept well the night before since I had a long day ahead. One of the volunteers with me was a woman who has volunteered in every election since 2007. She told us she had prayed a rosary for a safe and successful voting day the night before. Another volunteer said she had also prayed. We finished setting up all of the materials and the ballots that had been locked up the night before and opened the doors precisely at 7 am – and in came about 20 people ready to vote. I volunteered to oversee the Privacy Booths and guide voters in submitting their ballots. The best part, I came to discover, was handing out the coveted “I Voted” stickers.
The very first voter through was a Hispanic gentleman who, after handing him a sticker, surprised me by standing up straight and proclaiming, “I love America!” As the day progressed, several others made similar announcements when slapping on the sticker. “The United States is the best country in the world!” one man said joyfully. I soon realized just how seriously these voters took their civic responsibility to participate in the democratic process. I witnessed women motioning the Sign of the Cross before inserting their ballots. Parents came in with their children so that they could witness them voting. One couple brought with them the most adorable children, a sister and brother around 6 or 7 years old, dressed up in red, white, and blue. Adding to the spirit of the day, every time a new voter came through, all of the volunteers cheered and clapped! Not speaking Spanish turned out to be a non-issue since most of the voters spoke both English and Spanish, and whenever a language issue arose, there were several volunteers who spoke Spanish.
Not once, not in training, not on the set-up day, and never in the 14 ½ hours on election day, did any volunteer utter a candidate’s name nor mention a ballot measure. On the drive home, I realized that I had absolutely no idea how any of them voted.
While it was a loooong day, I absolutely cherish the experience. It was like an all-day Fourth-of-July parade filled with precious moments of national pride. I don’t think I will ever look at a ballot again in the same way. It’s taken on new meaning for me. I also gained confidence in the voting system after witnessing Miami-Dade County Elections employees set up, oversee, and then break down all of the equipment and carefully double-check the ballot numbers before dismissing us. It was done with clock-work precision and professionalism. Including training and the set-up day, I worked a total of 21 hours, for which I will get a check for $200. I get to keep that plus hold in my heart forever a new perspective of what it means to be an American, whether by birth or naturalization, and why it’s so important never to take for granted our right and privilege to vote.
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