6:45 am: I arrive at the high school auditorium by the dawn’s early light to find the other election officials busy connecting our new E-slate machines to a power supply. The election judge swears us in-- we swear to “guard the purity of the election” and not to in any way attempt to influence the voters. The first voter arrives before 7 am and huffs off when she is told she has to wait 2 minutes because we can’t allow anyone to vote before 7.I’m working the Republican primary and we are covering 2 precincts. The Democrats have a group of workers for their primary and they have to cover 5 precincts. Hooray! We don’t have to try to cover both primaries.
7:00: We open the polls to several voters. The machine that assigns the passcodes for the E-slates decides to be balky. A call to the county clerk’s office corrects that and we are in business. One man shows up with a mail-in ballot that he failed to mail in time. We call the County clerk again and are instructed to allow him to vote and to retain his mail-in ballot to be returned and voided. That's not what they told us to do the last time, but oh, well.
7:35: The security guard at the high school stopped by and brought us a menu from a local deli that won’t charge for delivery to election workers today. Hooray! The lunch dilemma is solved and no one has to take orders and shag food.
7:50: Republican Primary –23 voters, Democratic Primary—0 voters.
Fashion Police Alert: One of my co-workers came DECKED out in red, white and blue—including a rhinestone American flag belt buckle, rhinestone American flag watchband, rhinestone patriotic earrings, a red cowgirl shirt with rhinestone stars in red, white and blue, bedazzled blue jeans and short socks with red and blue stars. And yes, it’s Rodeo time in Houston! This is one time I wished for a photo-phone so I could get a picture to show you.
8:12: First Democratic voter arrives. She’s under 21 and started to vote in the Republican primary until we caught her mistake and sent her over to the other group.
8:43: Heads up, People! Tom DeLay didn’t vote early after all. A press spokesman just came in, trailed with several cameramen to alert us that he will be voting here in about an hour. We’re to expect CNN, the AP, the Houston Chronicle, local TV news stations and other local media. We go over the guidelines for filming in the polling place with them—no pictures that show other voters casting their votes, no pictures of other people voting, etc. Okay, we’re going to have our excitement for the day after all!
9:15: Tom and Christine DeLay arrived earlier than advertised, trailed by a huge RV plastered with the election signs of his opponent. What a coincidence—who would think? We had an unusually large group of voters in here when he came. One of the other ladies thinks some of them came at this time on purpose to catch the action which included Ms. BeDazzled hugging Tom. There were 5 TV cameras—including CNN and Fox News filming the DeLays voting. The press abided by our guidelines and interviewed him for about 15 minutes just outside the auditorium, so we didn’t get to hear anything. We’re having a lot more voters than we expected this morning.
Voter Update: Republicans—78 voters. Democrats—5.
9:30: Community Snack Inventory Report. I spotted pudding cake (almost gone because we shared with the press), low-fat chocolate angel food cake, low-fat pimento cheese spread, string cheese, diet coke, ice, bananas and bread in the little kitchenette behind our setup. Hmmm, what? No donuts??? How are we expected to function without donuts?
10:45: Republican voters continue to trickle in steadily. People and Vogue magazines and a crossword puzzle are being perused by the idle workers. Guess I’ll go get mine, too. I sure wish I had wireless access!
11:30: Time to post again. Republican Voters: 122 Democrat Voters: 6. Crossword Puzzle 55, Grace 2. What in Heck is the name of Eurytus’ daughter?
12:15: I’m getting a headache from the door that keeps slamming loudly as voters come and go. We tried to fix it with a wad of paper, but it’s no use. The guy who built our house just came in to vote and asked if we are still living there. It brings back memories—Babs and Portia were only four and five when we moved into this house and now they’re all grown up.
SLAM. Someone PLEASE get that &^%$$# DOOR! ~sigh~ SLAM!
I’ll perk up when Sonia gets back with the lunch we ordered. The deli won’t deliver unless the order is $15 or more and everyone else brought their lunch.
12:45: Can You Hear It Now Department. The school security guard reported the slamming door to the custodian and so he came and has been SLAMMING all the doors to diagnose the problem. There are 16 heavy doors. You do the math.
1:45-2:15: My phone rings with the Yale Fight Song tune. That means it’s Portia. I call her back after registering a voter. She wants to talk about shoes she ordered to go with her wedding dress, but then I go back to the kitchen for a lengthy mom-to-daughter when she switches topics to the real point of the call--her fiance’s future career plans. It’s all very good news but it takes awhile to discuss. Fortunately my fellow election officers understandingly covered for me.
The door is still slamming, by the way.
2:29: One of the officials gets a phone call from her daughter-in-law. DIL reports she just saw her on national Fox news giving Tom DeLay the passcode to vote on the e-slate machines. Omigod…we went national!
2:30: The high school lets out for the day. We’ve had several teenagers come by to vote for the first time. That’s always fun!
We took a vote and the Worst Attitude Displayed by a Voter goes to the arrogant guy who responded to an offer to demonstrate the E-slate machine with a haughty “I AM a COLLEGE GRADUATE!” Yes, but not a gentleman. So far the Most Confused Voter is the poor gal who inadvertently pressed the button for the Spanish language ballot after starting to vote. This required voiding her entire entry, some paperwork and starting all over again. Moral—if you don’t habla then don’t press the Spanish button!!
3:00: Ran home to let out Gretel The Noble Dog. El Jefe will be home in another couple of hours so she can sun herself on the patio until then. Now I’m back at my post.
3:15: Time to post again. Republicans—225, Democrats—19
It’s fascinating to be in a precinct where the Wangs, Shahs, Patels, Ahmeds, and Chens are the most common family names, far outnumbering the Browns, Smiths or Joneses!
4:12: Our first disaster with the machines occurs when a voter punches the Cast My Ballot button without first entering any votes. We can’t give her another passcode, so she leaves unhappily. She just wasted her vote on an empty ballot! With that door SLAMMING, it’s a wonder more people haven’t screwed up.
Oh, my aching head! Could the Texas Truck 'o Justice deliver us from these wretched doors? Where the heck is Mindy's phone number? Is it too late to call for backup from West Texas?
4:45: Here’s a tip, Voters. Don’t try to carry on a cellphone conversation and check into the polling place at the same time. PUT DOWN THAT CELLPHONE. That is all.
5 to 7 pm: We are overwhelmed with voters and close the polls with 25 people waiting in line to vote. Everyone who is in line to check in is allowed to vote. Now we wait for this group to finish voting before we can finish our paperwork and pack up the machines.
7:30 pm: The last voter finishes voting and we have a lot of tedious paperwork to do. The E-slate machines also have to be dis-assembled and packed up for the county to come and pick up in the morning. We are tired and can’t lift them so we put out an SOS and get a husband to come assist. Over 450 people voted in our precinct today in the Republican primary. I lost track of the Democratic primary voter totals. I predict that means that Tom DeLay will face a run-off for the Republican nomination because in my experience big turnouts are bad news for incumbents. We'll see tomorrow if I'm any kind of political prophet.
9 pm: I’m finally home from the polls. It was an exhausting day. We concluded that the learning curve on the new machines slowed the voting—also I think the new machines are slower than our old paper ballot and number 2 pencil scantron equipment. It's change but it sure ain't progress. Also, my ears still ring from those infernally slamming doors.
In conclusion, friends, our democracy works because of the dedication of your civic-minded neighbors who volunteer their time on election day to wrestle with all the tiresome and boring details that insure a safe and fair election in your area and put in more than 12 hours that day to do so.
Did you vote in your primary? And did you remember to thank your volunteer election officials?
____________________________________________________________
10 pm update : I guess I'd better keep my day job. The local television news is reporting that Tom DeLay will win the Republican nomination with about 59% of the vote--no runoff needed. He had 3 opponents in the primary election. Obviously Ronnie Earle (the District Attorney in Austin who brought the charges against Tom DeLay) and company have zero credibility in District 22.
7:00: We open the polls to several voters. The machine that assigns the passcodes for the E-slates decides to be balky. A call to the county clerk’s office corrects that and we are in business. One man shows up with a mail-in ballot that he failed to mail in time. We call the County clerk again and are instructed to allow him to vote and to retain his mail-in ballot to be returned and voided. That's not what they told us to do the last time, but oh, well.
7:35: The security guard at the high school stopped by and brought us a menu from a local deli that won’t charge for delivery to election workers today. Hooray! The lunch dilemma is solved and no one has to take orders and shag food.
7:50: Republican Primary –23 voters, Democratic Primary—0 voters.
Fashion Police Alert: One of my co-workers came DECKED out in red, white and blue—including a rhinestone American flag belt buckle, rhinestone American flag watchband, rhinestone patriotic earrings, a red cowgirl shirt with rhinestone stars in red, white and blue, bedazzled blue jeans and short socks with red and blue stars. And yes, it’s Rodeo time in Houston! This is one time I wished for a photo-phone so I could get a picture to show you.
8:12: First Democratic voter arrives. She’s under 21 and started to vote in the Republican primary until we caught her mistake and sent her over to the other group.
8:43: Heads up, People! Tom DeLay didn’t vote early after all. A press spokesman just came in, trailed with several cameramen to alert us that he will be voting here in about an hour. We’re to expect CNN, the AP, the Houston Chronicle, local TV news stations and other local media. We go over the guidelines for filming in the polling place with them—no pictures that show other voters casting their votes, no pictures of other people voting, etc. Okay, we’re going to have our excitement for the day after all!
9:15: Tom and Christine DeLay arrived earlier than advertised, trailed by a huge RV plastered with the election signs of his opponent. What a coincidence—who would think? We had an unusually large group of voters in here when he came. One of the other ladies thinks some of them came at this time on purpose to catch the action which included Ms. BeDazzled hugging Tom. There were 5 TV cameras—including CNN and Fox News filming the DeLays voting. The press abided by our guidelines and interviewed him for about 15 minutes just outside the auditorium, so we didn’t get to hear anything. We’re having a lot more voters than we expected this morning.
Voter Update: Republicans—78 voters. Democrats—5.
9:30: Community Snack Inventory Report. I spotted pudding cake (almost gone because we shared with the press), low-fat chocolate angel food cake, low-fat pimento cheese spread, string cheese, diet coke, ice, bananas and bread in the little kitchenette behind our setup. Hmmm, what? No donuts??? How are we expected to function without donuts?
10:45: Republican voters continue to trickle in steadily. People and Vogue magazines and a crossword puzzle are being perused by the idle workers. Guess I’ll go get mine, too. I sure wish I had wireless access!
11:30: Time to post again. Republican Voters: 122 Democrat Voters: 6. Crossword Puzzle 55, Grace 2. What in Heck is the name of Eurytus’ daughter?
12:15: I’m getting a headache from the door that keeps slamming loudly as voters come and go. We tried to fix it with a wad of paper, but it’s no use. The guy who built our house just came in to vote and asked if we are still living there. It brings back memories—Babs and Portia were only four and five when we moved into this house and now they’re all grown up.
SLAM. Someone PLEASE get that &^%$$# DOOR! ~sigh~ SLAM!
I’ll perk up when Sonia gets back with the lunch we ordered. The deli won’t deliver unless the order is $15 or more and everyone else brought their lunch.
12:45: Can You Hear It Now Department. The school security guard reported the slamming door to the custodian and so he came and has been SLAMMING all the doors to diagnose the problem. There are 16 heavy doors. You do the math.
1:45-2:15: My phone rings with the Yale Fight Song tune. That means it’s Portia. I call her back after registering a voter. She wants to talk about shoes she ordered to go with her wedding dress, but then I go back to the kitchen for a lengthy mom-to-daughter when she switches topics to the real point of the call--her fiance’s future career plans. It’s all very good news but it takes awhile to discuss. Fortunately my fellow election officers understandingly covered for me.
The door is still slamming, by the way.
2:29: One of the officials gets a phone call from her daughter-in-law. DIL reports she just saw her on national Fox news giving Tom DeLay the passcode to vote on the e-slate machines. Omigod…we went national!
2:30: The high school lets out for the day. We’ve had several teenagers come by to vote for the first time. That’s always fun!
We took a vote and the Worst Attitude Displayed by a Voter goes to the arrogant guy who responded to an offer to demonstrate the E-slate machine with a haughty “I AM a COLLEGE GRADUATE!” Yes, but not a gentleman. So far the Most Confused Voter is the poor gal who inadvertently pressed the button for the Spanish language ballot after starting to vote. This required voiding her entire entry, some paperwork and starting all over again. Moral—if you don’t habla then don’t press the Spanish button!!
3:00: Ran home to let out Gretel The Noble Dog. El Jefe will be home in another couple of hours so she can sun herself on the patio until then. Now I’m back at my post.
3:15: Time to post again. Republicans—225, Democrats—19
It’s fascinating to be in a precinct where the Wangs, Shahs, Patels, Ahmeds, and Chens are the most common family names, far outnumbering the Browns, Smiths or Joneses!
4:12: Our first disaster with the machines occurs when a voter punches the Cast My Ballot button without first entering any votes. We can’t give her another passcode, so she leaves unhappily. She just wasted her vote on an empty ballot! With that door SLAMMING, it’s a wonder more people haven’t screwed up.
Oh, my aching head! Could the Texas Truck 'o Justice deliver us from these wretched doors? Where the heck is Mindy's phone number? Is it too late to call for backup from West Texas?
4:45: Here’s a tip, Voters. Don’t try to carry on a cellphone conversation and check into the polling place at the same time. PUT DOWN THAT CELLPHONE. That is all.
5 to 7 pm: We are overwhelmed with voters and close the polls with 25 people waiting in line to vote. Everyone who is in line to check in is allowed to vote. Now we wait for this group to finish voting before we can finish our paperwork and pack up the machines.
7:30 pm: The last voter finishes voting and we have a lot of tedious paperwork to do. The E-slate machines also have to be dis-assembled and packed up for the county to come and pick up in the morning. We are tired and can’t lift them so we put out an SOS and get a husband to come assist. Over 450 people voted in our precinct today in the Republican primary. I lost track of the Democratic primary voter totals. I predict that means that Tom DeLay will face a run-off for the Republican nomination because in my experience big turnouts are bad news for incumbents. We'll see tomorrow if I'm any kind of political prophet.
9 pm: I’m finally home from the polls. It was an exhausting day. We concluded that the learning curve on the new machines slowed the voting—also I think the new machines are slower than our old paper ballot and number 2 pencil scantron equipment. It's change but it sure ain't progress. Also, my ears still ring from those infernally slamming doors.
In conclusion, friends, our democracy works because of the dedication of your civic-minded neighbors who volunteer their time on election day to wrestle with all the tiresome and boring details that insure a safe and fair election in your area and put in more than 12 hours that day to do so.
Did you vote in your primary? And did you remember to thank your volunteer election officials?
____________________________________________________________
10 pm update : I guess I'd better keep my day job. The local television news is reporting that Tom DeLay will win the Republican nomination with about 59% of the vote--no runoff needed. He had 3 opponents in the primary election. Obviously Ronnie Earle (the District Attorney in Austin who brought the charges against Tom DeLay) and company have zero credibility in District 22.
12 comments:
QG, you will surely have stars in your crown, while most will have rhinestones. Bless you!
~laffin~ you really should have kept up with my number! We would have been there in a flash. Though I hate to think what Rach would have done or said to DeLay *spits*.
I loved the food updates! I got to vote on the new machines for the first time this go around. I love them! Also, I would have thought you could have still voted alright if it was in Spanish. I mean...the names were still the same right???
*honk honk....and drives away in the Texas Towncar Of Justice*
Kudos to you for doing your bit for democracy and the republic! Nice to have a first hand up to date report on Tom Delay.
I'm saving myself to sign the petition for "One Tough Grandma", Carol Keaton Strayhorn.
I would like to see 'Ole' Helmet Hair' (aka Perry) have a run for his money up against that tough lady!
Go get 'em Grandma!
Is Carol Keaton Strayhorn the same as Carole Keaton Rylander?
CP--Why not Kinky? My daughters saved themselves to sign his petition. I'm kinda partial to the Kinkster myself. Love his motto: how much worse could he be?
Becky--Yes it's the same (oft-married!) lady.
QG - Nice job and thank you.
(will smama now exits the comments section, carefully shutting the window herself so that it does not slam.)
Thank you, QG!! I'd like to take up a donation for your wireless -- I loved reading your commentary and real time would have been a blast - wait, chasing the little guy wouldn't allow that, but nice thought, hee, hee.
This was great! Your be-dazzled friend must be the same woman who worked the polling station here for early voting last year. Oh yeah. Quite a sight.
I bet y'all had a lot of fun! Wish we could've been there, too!
Here in my township of Outer Podunk, the same women work every election. And you wouldn't believe the buffet spread they put out for themselves...a groaning board of delicious-smelling food. It's bad enough that most of the people on the ballot are bozos, but then to add injury to insult the voters have to stand in line, see and smell all the wonderful food back on the kitchen counter...and not be able to taste one bit of it.
loved this :)
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