November 4, 2020
While the whole world waits for Pennsylvania’s U.S. presidential election results, here are Reflections of a first time Poll Worker.
I learned a lot yesterday.
I served as the Minority Inspector for the 17th Ward, 3rd District in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Arriving at the polling location at 6:00 am, there were already at least 2 dozen voters in line in freezing weather waiting to vote. Inside, people worked to set up tables, chairs, vote scanning machines, ADA voting machines to accommodate voters with visual and hearing impairments, voter checking tablets, voter privacy stations, signage. Most of us were meeting for the first time; everyone just jumped in to help wherever we could. Time was ticking – Poll Watchers roamed around to ensure that we opened on time. Photo by Dan Dennis on Unsplash
My partner, a neighbor I’d never actually met before, and I were following directions to set up the ADA voting machine that provides equitable access to voting for people with visual and hearing impairments. At one point we had to re-enter a different code on the key pad. I hit “cancel.” Yikes! Rather than returning to the code screen, the software cancelled out entirely. The screen went blank. Hello? IT? There was no IT on site – after a tip from another volunteer* we did what every good IT Help Desk person would advise: shut the power off, then on, and try it again. Luckily that worked – we got it running right at 7:00 am when the voters flooded into the building. Phew!
So many things must go right just to get the doors open!
I was a volunteer. I felt like a volunteer. My team of 6 felt like volunteers – with 3 first timers and 3 with experience at prior elections. Poll Workers in PA receive a stipend, so are actually one-day county election employees. I’m using the word “volunteer” because the people running the polling operation are folks that come out for one-day service events (aka: elections) one or two times a year. Plus, if the stipend is spread over the hours worked on election day (6:00 am to 9:00 pm where I was) plus the online training (2-3 hours), Poll Workers are making less than the state's $7.25 minimum wage.
Our day was long and daunting. The Election Judge is the “team leader” and the person in charge of ensuring all of the voting regulations are followed. My Election Judge set the tone the night before by leaving me a voicemail suggesting we get plenty of rest and bring food, promoting a culture of safety, and telling us that we would have a good election day. As we set up, our Election Judge gave a pep talk about making sure every voter feels welcome and can vote without hurdles. Having a positive attitude grounded in the belief that every person and every voice matters totally set the tone for the day. It was fantastic.
Voters arrived with a mix of emotions. Some liked the location (a change), others were annoyed to find out about the change when they arrived at the original location. Some voters loved the return to paper ballots; others hated it. Some voters used the services of an approved aid or translator, others brought a family or friend for company or moral support. Some were happy and excited to vote, some were frustrated over waiting in line – or waiting in the wrong line. Everybody was greeted and thanked for coming. Everyone was shown respect.
We had one hiccup when somebody outside the poll location tried to enforce a dress code that was not part of the election code – and our Election Judge followed appropriate protocols to make sure it stopped. Both voters involved left wearing the items they were erroneously told to take off.
While poll workers were required to wear masks or face shields to protect the health and safety of voters; PA voters were encouraged (but not required) to wear a mask to protect the poll worker volunteers. Throughout the whole day, I didn’t see anyone without a mask. I appreciated that.
Here in PA, voters could request ballots early and mail them in or deliver them to a designated drop box to be counted. Some voters requested ballots but also came to vote in person. Their reasons varied: they feared the mail-in ballot might not make it in time, they changed their mind or wanted to change something on the ballot, they felt an in-person ballot was safer, or other reasons they didn’t mention.
No problem! PA election officials planned for this – and poll workers took care of it. Voters who received a mail-in ballot but came to the polls had options: 1) they could go home, get the mail-in ballot, and deliver it to a designated location to be counted; 2) they could turn in their mail-in ballot at the poll location, complete a form, and then vote in person (this ensures the person is not voting twice, because they turn in the mail-in ballot); or 3) they could file a “provisional” ballot at the poll; provisional ballots are kept in a secure and private location until all permissible mail-in ballots are processed. After verifying that the voter did NOT vote by mail, the provisional ballot is opened and counted.
There are many checks and double checks in the process. There were poll watchers in the room all day, there were checkers who circulated to log the number of voters throughout the day. We had to account for every single numbered ballot available for our District.
At the end of the night, we knew the total number of ballots cast, and had several cancelled ballots (e.g. the voter started to fill it out, made a mistake, and asked for a new ballot. These are retained separately, marked void and not tallied, but used to account for every single paper ballot.), a couple ballots were still available (unused). Yet, our total number of valid votes was one HIGHER than the number of paper ballots we could account for. As we double, triple, quadruple checked our math, we couldn’t figure out how it could be possible to have one MORE vote than ballots used. Finally, we remembered – the ADA voting machine uses a different paper – so the voter who used the machine indeed cast a valid vote without using the other paper ballot. Mystery solved!
The process of counting the votes goes in stages. At the end of the night, each poll location produced a tally of votes for each race (including write-in votes). Checkers wrote down those numbers to report to their own groups. The Election Judge returns all of the ballots and documentation to the County. Election day ballots are tallied electronically – and these results are reported on by news outlets. Mail-in and drop-off ballots are being tallied. After all of that, provisional ballots will be tallied. The Supreme Court ruled that ballots received by Friday will be counted according to PA election policy. There is a process. The process has layers of checks and balances. It is implemented by citizen volunteer employees and staff.
After my first Poll Worker shift as Minority Inspector, I have faith in the process because I saw it work in Allentown. Neighbors helped one another do our civic duty – to vote, peacefully, in the world’s greatest Democracy. Voting peacefully and respecting the outcomes of a fair election are among the most important acts we can do to preserve our Democracy.
Now the world just has to wait for our process to be completed. We know the number of registered voters. We know the number of election day voters. We know the number of voters that requested and were sent mail-in ballots. When the process is over, we will know how many people voted for each candidate in every race.
Take a deep breath, world, as you wait for election results from Pennsylvania voters. And, as Philadelphia sports fans have learned recently, just Trust the Process.
(1) Minimum Wage Source: National Conference of State Legislatures https://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wage-chart.aspx#Table accessed November 4, 2020