Well, Super Tuesday, that crazy day where twenty-four states (one of which I hold citizenship to) decided to be stupid enough as to hold all of their elections on the same ridiculously early day in February. And I mean ridiculously early. Why didn’t California just stick with June for its primary, like it used to be? After all, California is going to be having another election on June 3rd for the congressional primaries. It just seems that with California in a substantial budget crisis that seems to be uprooting every faction in the state right now, doing an extra election isn’t the smartest use of taxpayer funds.
Then again, who am I to talk? I don’t pay any taxes (yet). I’m simply a student in public schools facing significant budget cuts, and among a class of students that’s going to graduate in 2009, many of whom are going to be looking to get into CSU and UC colleges.
But let’s put that rant aside. Tuesday is Election Day here in California, and courtesy of a recent change to the California Elections Code, 16 and 17-year-old students can now participate as poll workers in the election. I’m in San Mateo County, which has one of the best elections offices in the state. I’m not kidding. California recently got a new Secretary of State who set very high standards for electronic voting machines to make sure that they would be secure and reliable (and good for her); because of that, San Mateo County is one of only two counties in California (out of 58 counties) that will be having electronic machines at this February 5th election.
Anyway, here’s how my day will be on Tuesday. I have to report to my polling place at 6 AM–that’s right, 6 AM. At that point, we start setting stuff up. This includes setting up the four eSlate (electronic) voting machines and the two paper-voting stations by 6:30, hoping and praying that they will all work properly, getting out all of the different versions of the paper ballots setup on the table (only 23 of them), putting the signs up, and getting everything ready to go in order to open the polls promptly at 7 AM. (And yes, there is a California law that says that you must proclaim aloud “OYEZ OYEZ THE POLLS ARE NOW OPEN!” outside of the polling place at 7 AM, and a similar announcement when the polls close at 8 PM.)
During the time that the polls are open (7 AM-8 PM), there’s not very much to talk about. People will inconsistently come in to vote, wonderful, but most of the day will require me to have something to do. At the polls, there are no cell phones or any other electronic devices allowed whatsoever, plus nothing that could suggest electioneering (endorsing a particular candidate or issue) is allowed. So, I’ll probably be resorting to bringing along a book or two to keep myself occupied throughout the day.
I do get to have two separate one-hour breaks–one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Since I don’t have to go vote myself (simply because I’m not old enough to do that yet), that will probably mostly be an opportunity for me to grab bites to eat, etc.
When the polls close at 8 PM, we have to print out the receipts from the electronic ballots, sign them, and put them in their sealed boxes on their way back to the elections office, and then count up the paper ballots and make sure that all of the documentation is in place. Then we clean up and take down the machines and signs and all of that, and it will probably be about 9 PM by the time we’re out of there unless there is the unusual circumstance of something going wrong.
But anyway, that’s going to be my so-called “Super Tuesday,” which I am looking forward to (especially to hear everyone shut up about the candidates and the ballot propositions, which is driving me crazy right about now). As for you, if you’re one of my blog’s readers and qualify, be sure to go and vote. However much commercialized it may be these days, I still encourage you to exercise your right to do so in what is sure to be a tumultuous year 2008.
Tags: Election Day, poll working, polls, precinct, primaries, Super Tuesday, voting
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