Keep 'em honest!

"Some of them put on their cowboy boots and put their feet up on the desk." -Wes Clark

Please let us know how it goes

This is not a time for a candidate who will offend no one; it is time for a candidate who takes clear stands and kicks ass.....Molly Ivins

I can't encourage you enough to read
Who's Counting at http://www.whoscounting.net/
ms in la and Jen worked hard to explain a lot, about the different machines, about what snicky questionables happened in different states, and much more.

Also, you might go to:
http://wecount2006.org/
You can watch many great videos about election fraud.

and finally go to http://www.blackboxvoting.org/
You can go to the right-hand column to click onto "Get the Tool Kit"... lots of information there.

Hop around Bev's website in the link I just gave http://www.blackboxvoting.org/ because there is a lot to glean about what goes on in precincts and what to watch for.

I hope this helps.  I have also called often to work in a precinct.... I am constantly told they have too many volunteers. 

GOOD LUCK PHYL! 
 

was a poll watcher, I think. I hope he'll weigh in here with some sage advice.

"Some of them put on their cowboy boots and put their feet up on the desk." -Wes Clark

I worked the polls in my district in September (Maryland) and although there were some major problems in our state, my district seemed to run smoothly. We have Diebold machines and I was extremely skeptical.

Anyway, I think it would be difficult to pinpoint any particular sticking points because every polling place is going to have their own idiosyncracies. Just keep your eyes peeled and don't take anyone/anything at face value.

Forewarned is forearmed.

"COUNTRY before Party!" -- Wes Clark

This is a reply to Phyl. We use E-slate in our county and I have been a poll worker, using those machines. They seem to work very well - no malfunctions or strange outcomes when I was there. Each precinct has its own recording box, and all voting machines in the precinct, are chain-linked together and to the main recording box. No internet involved at all. In the primaries, it was easy to add up the sign-ins and compare to the machine tally. At the end of the day, the recording box is taken by the election judge to a central collection center; after that I don't know how they are tabulated together. This is a Democratic (mostly) county with a Democratic Clerk overseeing elections. I have wondered myself how this type of machine is rated; have never heard of bad outcomes such as with Diebold and others; this machine can be made with a paper receipt, but ours does not. The County Clerk has been challenged as to why we do not have this kind, and she says if public opinion is in favor of it there is no reason we could not have it. (A big cost would be involved, I'm sure.) If anyone has solid information about how these particular machines could be hijacked I would sure like to know.

The World Needs Wes

Where I live, poll workers are referenced by the rather heady term, 'judge of election.' Which sort of cracks me up.

I remember feeling as if the one day of training wasn't nearly enough, but thankfully, had a nice booklet to reference throughout the day. I worked a precinct where only three out of five judges showed up, and none of us had ever done it before. (One of the other judges was a retiree, who thought the sun rose and set on Fitzpatrick, and the other was an 18 year old high school senior who wanted the day off school...sigh.)

I guess the best advice I can give you is be prepared for a VERY loooooong day, pay really close attention at the training and don't let them rush you through it - ask lots of questions if you don't understand. If you can have some hands on time with the sample machine at the training do take advantage of it. Don't be afraid to step up and take a leadership role if no one else seems to at your polling place, there may be a myriad of small little decisions to make first thing in the morning (where to place equipment for best traffic flow, etc) and if you've paid attention and asked those questions at the training (and don't be put off if the trainers seem impatient with you - just because they've been through it a zillion times before doesn't mean they shouldn't be precise and clear as possible) then you'll feel comfortable and confident when your day starts. Which will be before sun-up. :-O And believe me - that confidence will make a world of difference. Your local board of elections will probably give you a phone number to call for any questions that might arise, but know that it's going to be busy all day long. Another reason it's good to try to think of these questions at training. But bring your cell phone charger, just in case.

I remember the precinct maps they gave us were pretty hopeless for helping people to find where they were going if they were in the wrong precinct (the first ward of Chicago is hopeless - OMG - you should see it!) and I remember thinking that it would have been good to to have access to address listings for precincts...like wifi with my own laptop. (Ask if that's allowed if you feel it might come in handy.)

And last but not least, where I was, it was all about the food. Every local candidate brought goodies (remove the "Vote for me!" stickers right away) and the board provided a HUGE lunch. So try not to eat too much, or you'll be snoozin' between during the afternoon lull. Which doesn't inspire confidence in the voters. And lord knows, they're (we're) jumpy enough already!

Anyhow - good for you!!! And I can't wait to hear about your experience!

Thanks for the support Ruth, mad, msbe,
Dorm and all. I actually had skimmed "Who's"
when it was new, but thanks for reminding me
and providing links now that I'm actually
involved. And thanks for the real-life
experiences, r'mom and newant, I'm encouraged
by specific info about the eSlate machines in
use. And Dorm, I remembered your story from an
earlier election. Not sure I'm ready for that!
And, sadly, we have to bring our own lunch.
(Also thanks for the recommends, everyone.)

Keep all eyes and ears open, and report back to us!

Also, any problems or...er..."irregularities"-- report to Verified Voting dot org.

Good luck and thanks for doing this.

Tonight I received my training--all 1 hour and
10 minutes of it. Most of the people had worked
before and they asked questions (which no one
else could hear) about things that had happened
at the last election, but no actual instruction
was given, We were given a 5 page guide for a
registrar (which is my title.) People who asked
about a "paper trail" were pretty much
dismissed. One good thing (which the officials
holding the meeting did not seem happy about) is
that there will be observers from each political
party who will have free access to all the
polling places.
I'm not at all confident that I'm going to know
what I'm doing, but I'm going to give it my best.