Since I LOVE the right to vote and the whole democratic process and this is such an important election, I thought it would be fun to be a poll worker! Not to mention, it seemed like a well paying job for one's day work and we have a purity ring to buy. : ) (little did I know what was involved!)
When I was 18, I voted for the first time at a poll down the street from my house in someone's garage. (do they still use resident's garages for polls these days? I doubt it)
I used to love to bring my kids with me to the poll when they were little. One year they were given ballots with a bunch of past presidents to choose from like Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington and they had their own ballot box. Too cute. Now I have an 18 year old who is going to vote in his first presidential election and a 17 year old, who will miss getting to vote by 5 weeks.
I still only have to walk down the street to vote, but now my poll is a 100 year old church. I love the run-down-but-sweet look of the old building as you open the door and the kind, elderly poll workers who crack jokes when you arrive and then make you feel like a million dollars for voting. That is why I have never wanted to vote by mail before. But this year, I had to. Being a poll worker means that I won't have time to and I'm not working at my poll. -Wow, was voting by mail ever convenient! I might have to stop being sentimental do that every year. ; )
Back to the pay...
When you realize that you have to go to a 2 hour orientation class and then a 3 hour poll worker training class, study your manual, help set up the poll on Monday night and work at least 13 hours on Election day...it doesn't seem to pay as well as I thought. ; ) My hubby has been teasing me that I will probably make about $3 an hour when it is all said and done. LOL Oh well. I'll just have to keep remembering that I LOVE the election process and hope that I still think it is 'fun' 7:00 PM Tuesday night! (or quite possible 10:00 PM)
We, of course, have to be totally impartial that day and cannot discuss anything related to the election or even speak the candidates names, which I totally agree with. But TODAY, on the day BEFORE the election....
my teens (and one borrowed kiddo) and I went to help out at Romney's campaign office!!!! Whoo-hoo! A very exciting place to be on the day before the election! They had us making phone calls. -Phone calls to people who are VERY tired of being called! Oh, do my kids have some stories to tell about those calls!!!
Our county is so important to the vote in FL that people from other states were there to help make calls. Amazing.
Lots of memories made today. Not to mention, a TV camera recorded Andrew making one of his calls and I got my picture taken for our newspaper. Then to our surprise, Connie Mack, who is running for Senator, stopped by to encourage us and give a speech. Our kids met him and had him sign their campaign poster and have their picture taken with him.
I was assigned to a poll in well, the slums, actually, and my hubby exercised his right to veto me working there. I was, thankfully, reassigned to a poll in a great neighborhood with a fun team of workers who are meeting for breakfast at 5:30 AM and who are all bringing various casseroles to insure that we don't starve. (we are not allowed to leave the poll all day/night) I'm off to study my manual and get to bed early.
Be sure to go and exercise your right to vote! It's a close race!
Go Romney!
~Becky
No comments:
Post a Comment