A Very Long Day

Today is election day. I am serving as Judge of Elections and Dianne is Majority Inspector. Unfortunately, we are both running for reelection. I'm not sure why we agreed to do this for four more years. And we are unopposed, so we will probably win. It really is loads of work, but sometimes it is fun. We do have a great team to work with. I do spend many hours before the election completing schedules, getting a staff, going to training, preparing signs, and completing paperwork. The day before election I spend about eight hours setting up and organizing for the day. By 6 in the morning I am headed to the election site and on a normal night it is about 10 p.m. until I've delivered the results and head home. The forms and envelopes that must be completed are unbelievable and indescribable - government in action. Tomorrow I will need to return some equipment and keys. So it is plenty of work and it is a service to the community. However, on days like this, when the turnout is so very small, the day really drags. We will be fortunate to have 200 voters today out of about 2,100 registered to vote here. And then there are unexpected incidents. So far there have been just two today, but two too many. One voter was upset when the scanner rejected his ballot because he carelessly made a mark in a wrong box. I guess he thought that was my fault. The second incident was with one of the volunteers who works outside. I very kindly reminded him of the rules which I must legally enforce. He became angry with me because I had also enforced the rules the last time he worked here. He felt that I was picking on him and he refused to accept my apology and explanation. Nothing I could say or do satisfied him. I don't know if more will happen from this incident or not. Sometimes no matter what you say or do, it will be taken wrong, no matter how kindly you try to handle the situation. Then folks wonder why it becomes harder to get volunteers today. So it can be a very long day. Last year we handled about 1,800 voters for the presidential election. It was a very full day but time passed very quickly. But today .... Now tell me, why am I running for another four year term? I guess some of us are just slow learners. Hope you voted and helped the day move faster for the volunteers in your precinct. And, in the future, thank them for their service in an important but challenging position.