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Posted on 11/05/2004 9:52:33 PM PST by Vigilanteman
This marks our first presidential election since we moved back to the United States. The last time my wife and I voted together in a presidential elextion was 1984, the same year we were married and before our eldest daughter, now a beautiful young lady of 19, was even conceived.
When a friend called to ask if we could help election day and a soldier pen-pal in Iraq e-mailed and asked me to do what we could to help him keep his commander-in-chief, I asked my wife if she would be interested in spending a day doing whatever we were assigned to do to help. She agreed and two weeks before the election, we drove to a training session at the temporary Republican headquarters across from the courthouse in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. We were greeted warmly by other volunteers and organizers and were asked to take a seat in a room which was rapidly filling up faster than the available chairs.
With people standing, seated on chairs and on the floor, a middle-aged lady opened the meeting with the pledge and explained the purpose of the gathering.
Many of you, she said, have been working hard, passing out literature, talking to friends and neighbors and were coming to the most important part of a historic election-- ensuring they were conducted fairly, in accordance with the law and with the same care our opponents had put into it.
She became involved, she explained, when she was urged to perform similar duty some years ago by a like-minded friend. When she reported for duty at a polling station, the election officials made her sit apart from the proceedings and were reluctant to let her look at the results from the mechanical machines when they were opened and counted at the end of the day. Most precincts in Pennsylvania operate with five election officials-- supposedly two from each major political party and a judge to render final decisions. Our county used mainly lever operated mechanical voting machines. As voters are signed in and checked by the officials, one ushers the signed in voters to open machines and pushes a switch on the side to activate the machines, allowing the voter to close the curtain, make their selections, then open the curtain again to register their selections and return all levers automatically to the unvoted position.
At the end of the day, our speaker explained, two of the election judges simply went to the back of the opened machines as one read and the other wrote results. Remembering her instructions, our speaker insisted that she be allowed to verify the totals and, reluctantly, the officials agreed. When our speaker checked, she pointed out that the totals were wrong and in every case, benefited a Democrat candidate (a 3 was read as an 8) or harmed a Republican candidate. The officials as are most, were quite elderly and simply pleaded bad eyesight. Had our speaker not been there, wrong totals would have been officially reported, sealed and would have cost any candidate doubting their veracity to pay the county to open and verify.
She explained that each candidate had a legal right to have a poll watcher or checker present. The checker had the additional duty of checking off a list of voters believed to be favorable to your candidates which was produced in triplicate on a wide computer printout. Pennsylvania has the additional novelty of allowing candidate representatives to hand out literature, pens or other promotions and post their signs at least 10 feet from the polling places. My wife and I felt this duty is rather silly (though we don't mind accepting pens, emery boards or other useful items offered at our own polling place) as we could not imagine someone being convinced by an additional piece of literature when already innundated with it in the days proceeding an election. Therefore, we asked to be a checker/wacther team, signed up for the afternoon to closing shift and I signed out to take the day of work.
A week before the election, we drove back to the campaign headquarters to get our instructions, print-out and certificates allowing us to be present inside the polling place as legal representatives of our candidates, Bush/Cheney for my wife and Bob Regola, our township supervisor, who was challenging a 27 year incumbent for the State Senate seat, for myself.
I had thought it was an interesting coincidence for both of us. Our first election squabble happened back in 1992 when we voted absentee from Japan when my wife was unhappy at me for refusing to vote for the President's father and he went down to defeat. Bob Regola, like myself, had been a registered Democrat up until the spring of this year when the party's inflexible stand on important moral issues caused us both to change. We had met Bob and his wife at a rainy rally after church for traditional marriage and I was immediately impressed with his sincerity and similarity in reasoning.
Shortly before election day, the campaign called and asked if we could be at our posts as soon as possible, because they hadn't found anyone to cover the morning shift inside the polls. We agreed to do so after my own family had voted at our own polling place. Thus. my wife, daughter and I got up and drove the 5 minutes west to cast our ballots shortly after the polls opened, expecting to be to our assigned station perhaps only an hour after opening.
What was normally a 5-10 minute wait turned into a 30 minute wait at our own polling station. Our place was quite organized, but we ended up being in the 140's in voting order when we are usually in the teens or twenties when we arrive at the same time.
By the time we got done voting, dropping off our daughter, picking up our ice chest with food and drink to keep us going, and drove the 20 minutes east to our assigned post, it was nearly 9 a.m. and there was already a long line. We recognized a lady from the meeting at our party's literature table and one of the sons of Bob Regola helping her out. She wished us good lucky in doing what we were assigned to do and warned us that this was a heavilly Democrat precinct and the election officials inside were not very friendly.
We walked in, explained our assignment and showed our certificates entitling us to be present. The official informed us that there were too many people there, they wouldn't be calling out the names of the voters (as required by law) and we wouldn't be allowed to sit near the table to view the names of the voters as they sign in, something which is supposed to be allowed to designated representatives of each political party on the ballot.
The voting area was located in a public works building and all voters had to file by the time clock where a blatantly pro-Kerry, anti-Bush poster was hung, also in violation of the law against electioneering inside a polling place. There was, however, a picnic table in front of the time clock and poster where two ladies who appeared to be our Democrat counterparts were sitting and greeting voters as they arrived. My wife and I decided to use the other half of the table although we were at a distinct disadvantage, not knowing or having any way of knowing the voters as they filed in unless our counterparts greeted them by name.
So while my wife sat with the check-list doing the best she could, I explained to the election officials that I would have no choice but to report this situation to the authorities unless they followed the law by either (a)calling out the voters names as they signed in, or (b)allowing us to see who signed in-- both of which were required by Pennsylvania law. While I did not feel I was threatening little old ladies running the election, a portly man who appeared to be a public employee union boss said I was and that he'd have me thrown out for interference if I didn't sit down and shut up.
Accordingly, I asked my wife to do her duties as best as she could, while I stepped outside to call campaign headquarters for advice. When I did so and found all phone lines busy, I drove over to headquarters to report in person. The volunteer coordinator at headquarters ushered me into an office to explain the situation to one of the lawyers on duty there. The lawyer heard my explanation, agreed that it was in violation of the election law, asked me to draw him a map to the precinct and return there before the situation deteriorated further and he would be along shortly.
When I got back, the situation had actually improved. The union boss looking guy was gone, my wife was asking names of voters as they filed past the picnic table and the Democrat ladies were engaging in small talk. I took over the list checking duties while she joined their conversation and shared some of our food with them. When the lawyer from headquarters arrived, he noticed things had changed and we were now able to do the job, even if it was not in the manner proscribed by law. He then introduced himself to the election officials, explained the need for them to follow the law, noted that they had become more cooperative but warned that he would come back with a court order if there were any further violations of the law.
As the day wore on the line grew from an average of a 45 minute wait to double that. We nibbled on sandwiches and other snacks from the ice chest as time allowed. The major bottleneck was not the availability of machines but the speed of a table of elderly ladies signing in voters before they could get to the machine.
It was at least a 10 minute wait for voters to get from our picnic table to the registration table. Before long, my offer to waiting voters to check names to see if they were on our list were met with helpful presentations of driver's licenses or voter registration cards-- a great help in this area of Slavic names which are hard to spell and even harder to pronounce. A few refused to give names or asked why they weren't on the list. I told them it was 100% voluntary at this point and they could do it at the election registration table, but why not feel at ease as a lot of people were finding their names on my list and were able to relax all the way to the "official table."
There were some interesting conversations and lessons in not judging people by their appearences. I fully expected not to find an elderly black gentlemen on my list and had to do a doubletake when I did. He smiled at me and whispered "I'm 92 years old and have voted Republican since 1932 when Hoover won this state against FDR."@@I smiled back and said "You're amazing. I never expected to meet somebody who doesn't look a day over 70 and was around the last time the Red Sox won a World Series and the Titanic sank." With a twinkle in his eye, he replied "Lord willing, I might see you at the next election."
About 1 p.m., the lady working the literature table, stepped in to introduce a young man who asked for the first third of my checklist. These were the volunteers called "runners" who took the list back to headquarters where volunteers called those who hadn't been checked off.
Shortly afterward, another fellow on my list, an obviously a staunch Republican, pointed out the Pro-Kerry, Anti-Bush poster hanging behind me and said it had no place in a polling location. I said "You're right, sir, but don't you think it is good for the voters to see their tax dollars at work?" He smiled and said I was right and he had two boys of voting age not on my list who would be over later.
Another amazing thing about my list was the number of Catholic nuns on it. I was aware that there was a large Catholic cemetary near the polling place-- one lady even pointed out that her husband, still on the voting rolls, was buried there. I was not aware we had a convent which would send out a number of nuns-- everyone of which would be found on my list. One even tapped me on the shoulder and whispered "God bless you for helping out." I looked at her, smiled and said, "I'll bet it isn't often when a good Catholic stands in line an hour to vote for a Protestant running against a Catholic." She replied "It should happen more often when the Catholic candidate refuses to follow the basic moral teachings of our faith." All I could reply was "Amen, Sister."
Shortly after 4 p.m., the runner came back in. He smiled and said "I think its going well even though some of the networks said the turnout and exit polls pointed to a Kerry win. Back at HQ, they say we've never gotten this many checks off our lists." I also remarked how encouraged I was as this was supposed to be a heavilly Democrat precinct.
All was not pleasant. One lady asked me how many young people and first time voters had come though. I replied that I'd seen quite a few but had nothing to compare it with as this was the first election I'd worked in a long time. She made an obscene remark about President Bush and I reminded her that we were all Americans and should act accordingly.
Another woman, who had the dress and make-up to look like an "Elvira" double asked what candidate I was working for and said I should disclose it before asking anyone for their names. I told her nobody was required to give their names and election materials such as the poster on the wall were not appropriate inside a polling place. Perhaps she saw the connection as to who was misleading who as she moved on.
Shortly before 7 p.m., the runner came for the last third of the list. In a way. I was glad, because I was finally able to eat the hot meal our daughters had brought us from the fast-food restaurant where they worked. On the other hand, the line seemed to grow longer and slower. The Democrat ladies who had been visiting with my wife, shook our hands and thanked us for our duty. They could see their closing man in line to vote-- obvious by all his Kerry buttons. They brought us some food from the back. I thanked them and expressed surprise as I thought it was there for just the election officials. The older one of the two said "I used to be judge of elections here. They always share it with us."
Well, we had volunteered and by the length of the line, I knew it would be long after the polls closed at 8 p.m. before we would get out. The heavy rain had moved in from Ohio and voters were being routed through the maintainence garage to avoid waiting outside in the rain.
I made myself useful by asking those in line if they were familiar with how a lever operated voting machine worked as there was a model to demonstrate at the picnic table with another at the election table. Suprisingly, quite a few of the waiting voters asked for a demonstration. One asked how to vote a straight ticket and I proceeded to push down every lever in a row before another showed a master bar which would automatically depress every lever when pulled out-- something I hadn't learned, not being in the habit of mindlessly pulling the "D" or "R" lever without further thought over my voting career.
At 8 p.m., the garage door was closed and verified by all present who were asked to verify on behalf of their respective parties. Finally, I thought, at least one procedure that has been properly followed.
Finally, by 10 p.m., the last voter was ushered out. Each election official (who normally vote during the slack period of the day-- but there was none) took their turn in the voting booth. Finally the machines were closed down. They verified that there were no write-in votes and invited me back to look over their shoulder as they read each total from the back of the machine. Once I was satisfied, they proceeded with the second machine and, again, I asked to be present to verify. I thought it somewhat strange that the Kerry man did not ask to verify, but remembered the remark of the GOP worker that morning as to them all being on the same side. We added the totals of the two machines for each of 8 candidates. The top vote getter on the Republican side was 630 to Kerry's 367. The top on the Democrat side was Bob Regola's opponent at 389 votes to his 603. I tried to remain poker-faced but my wife could hardly contain her glee.
The Kerry man was ashen-faced and said "I don't understand it. This is supposed to be a Democratic precinct by 2-1." "Well," I encouraged him, "thinks might look better when they count the absentee ballots."
It took the ladies on the election board several more minutes to open and mix the absentee ballots. The Kerry man moved up to the table and helped them. Nobody told him as they'd told us that morning that only election officials were allowed at the table. Probably, I could have moved in with a letter opener and helped them at that point, but we were exhausted and I wanted to keep an eye on things to ensure no ballots accidently got misplaced.
As the ladies shuffled the ballots, the Kerry man went back for more food and brought me a piece of cake, bfore the absentee count begin. The ladies then called us to the table and let us each take a sample of the printed ballot to begin our hatch marks as they were called one-by-one.
The margin was even more lopsided than the machine votes-- 48 for Bush, 21 for Kerry, 1 for Peroutka (3rd parties got a total of 6 on the machines). Particularly interesting was that 6 Bush votes went for the ultra-left Joe Hoeffel in the U.S. Senate contest. Some Bush conservatives evidently hate Arlen Specter so much they would rather elect someone to his left. Interestingly, many union members in the state were told to vote a straight Democrat ticket except for Specter. He finished with 554 votes to Hoeffel's 358 and the Constitution Party's candidate Jim Clymer's 102 votes, by far the most respectable showing of any third party candidate in this precinct.
The election ladies, however painfully slow, were also determined to be accurate, even after the Kerry guy and I agreed on the final totals. At that point, he left to report to his party headquarters. I gave the ladies a copy of our totals while they decided to go over things one more time (or possibly more) and loaded up our things and our totals to take over to our headquarters. It was after midnight.
The radio on drive over was interesting. Pennsylvania had been called for Kerry, despite a smaller lead than Bush had in Ohio and despite the fact that our precinct was still going over the totals. It did admit, however, that Bush had a strong lead in the popular vote and the exit polls earlier in the day announcing a probable Kerry victory were seriously flawed. The campaign staff over at headquarters looked absolutely exhausted, but I could sense optimism. As they took my figures and report from the precinct, I was invited to join them briefly in the television lounge. Everything I missed came spelling out from the workers still up and at it.
"Pennsylvania was so close, but we couldn't quite pull it out. However, Bob Regola won in an upset. "
"Westmoreland County really surprised the State GOP. Nobody thought we could do this well."
"How is the President doing in the rest of the country," I asked.
"It will come down to Ohio. Our lead there is bigger than Kerry's in Pennsylvania, but the President has gone to bed. Kerry needs to sleep on it."
"The president has gone to bed? Doesn't that mean we won?"
"Probably, but remember Florida last time? We could be in for a repeat."
"I hope not. Any word on South Dakota?"
"Daschle is behind. There is a few precincts in the west which haven't reported."
"Does that include Shannon County?"
"Probably, but we're prepared to fight fraud this time, unlike 2002."
"It looks like we're prepared to be just as rough as the enemy."
"Count on it. Now go home and get some sleep."
"Good night, you don't have to tell me twice."
"Thanks again for your help, we couldn't have done it without people like you."
"Thanks for the opportunity to help. You folks get some sleep too!"
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It's a 'Burgh
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| Send FReepmail if yunz want on/off BPT list, 'n'at | |
| Learn Pittsburghese! | |
Interesting story. I'm half asleep but still read all of it, so I guess I liked it!! Thanks for posting it.
From Post: "Interestingly, many union members in the state were told to vote a straight Democrat ticket except for Specter."
Interesting information -
Great report - !
Thank you for that fantastic first hand report. You performed a solemn and important duty and I hope your report does convince others to follow in your footsteps. It is a wonderful feeling to have been part of the process, isn't it?
Thanks for a very good story. It's nice to know what is actually going on behind the scenes, and that there are folks around doing the work of looking out for the rest of us.
I did that at the last elections (mid-term elections). It was rather fun. I was not supposed to talk to any of the officials but.....we had a grand old time and I was even greeting people and answering questions.
I went in early as advised and knocked on the side door in the dark. A young lady opened the door and was a little shocked. She said "I've never had a poll watcher before", I said "I've never been one before".
It is interesting watching the people, hearing the stories. I really enjoyed it.
There were a couple of places there where I wished you had simply choked some one. But clearly your measured, solid, generous, consistent approach appears to have simply disarmed the adversaries. May that be the case. Danger lay in the skill of those who take advantage. But thank you for wonderfull report and your contribution.
Thank you very much for taking the time to share with us about your experience as an observer at the polls on Election Day. It was very thoughtfully written and I learned alot from it. Thanks so much.
FYI on Election Day I signed up to help at my polling place for the next election.
BTW, I think that democrats voting FOR Pres. Bush across party lines may well be the REAL reason that he is the victor in this election and I think it is very important that Repubicans everywhere remember that.
Good post! Every word of it. I am glad you were "on the ground" for the event.
Thanks for the ping, good read.
Thanks to all of you for your kind words and to sandalwood for recruiting us.
I tried to tell them not to ignore the east area of Pittsburgh but all they did was focus on the north and south.
Great post, Vman !
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