POLLWORKER.US

A website for Americans Who Serve in Our Nation's Polling Places

JOIN OUR DISCUSSION GROUP FOR POLLWORKERS HERE

Not Just a Bunch of Little Old Ladies: The Importance of Becoming a Pollworker
By Marybeth Kuznik, VotePA

"Pollworkers are gatekeepers. A pollworker is the last human being the voter encounters before he or she enters the voting booth to cast a vote. In many cases a pollworker is the only "official" human representative of the electoral system ever met by the average individual voter."

Pollworker Opening Lever Machine If you ever voted at a polling place you probably met and talked to at least one pollworker when you signed in to vote. You may have wondered, who are these people? How do they get chosen for the job? What it is that these folks really do while sitting around the voting room? You may have even had a passing thought about what it would be like to become one of these officials.

Pollworkers are found everywhere. Even in Oregon, where they vote by mail, citizens still assist on election boards and help process ballots as they come in. Different states may call them Judge of Elections, Inspector of Elections, Clerk, Machine Operator, even Deputy in some areas, but all these workers are sworn officials who are in our polling places to operate and control our elections on the local level. Pollworkers have incredible access to the entire voting process, and they are an important component of our electoral system.

(more)

ON SITE NOW

First-Time Inspector of Elections Warren Stewart Gives us "A Report From Precinct 204300"

Pennsylvania Re-Examination of a Voting Machine Means "Blame The Pollworker"

ARE YOU A POLLWORKER?
LET US HEAR FROM YOU!

We welcome stories, comments, and even just a hello from all pollworkers, wherever you may be.

Please CLICK HERE and send us an e-mail

California: A Report from Precinct 204300
By Warren Stewart, Director of Legislative Issues and Policy, VoteTrustUSA
November 10, 2005

Elections take place in polling places and it is in polling places that an individual informed citizen, concerned about the accuracy and security of the election process, can make a difference. I served proudly as poll inspector for Precinct 204300 in Berkeley (Alameda County), California on November 8th. Alameda County was one of nine counties in the state that used paperless DREs one more time before the requirement for a voter verified paper audit trail goes into effect next year. But my precinct was not entirely paperless.

We had a strong turnout given the fact that it was a special election with no candidates - just eight statewide ballot initiatives - and a high number of absentee voters. Official ballots were cast by 323 voters and 31 additional provisional ballots were cast, most by voters who had applied for absentee ballots and either lost or failed to receive them.

What made this polling place different from most was that every voter, after signing the roster, was given the option (by me) of voting on an optical scan paper ballot or on a Diebold touch screen machine. This option, available to every California voter in counties that use DREs, came as a surprise to most and the range of responses was informative. Many made their decisions immediately (almost a third chose paper), but many asked questions. Most importantly, every voter was in the precinct was presented with the issue of voting technology.

(more)

PA Danaher Re-Exam: Blame the Pollworkers!
By Marybeth Kuznik, VotePA
November 2, 2005

Eclipsed by late-night theatrics in the Pennsylvania Assembly over a controversial pay raise legislators voted themselves last summer, the citizen-petition re-examination of the Danaher 1242 voting system received little attention in the Pennsylvania press.

The 1242 Machines, first certified for use in Pennsylvania in 1984, failed to count votes in a number of precincts precincts during the May 17 Primary Election in Berks County. A re-examination of the Danaher system was called for by the petition of Berks County voters and filed by Sheila Green of Beaver County.

During the re-examination, held in Harrisburg on November 2, Danaher Vice President Matthew Lilly blamed Berks County pollworkers for causing the problem. He said that the pollworkers did not follow training and pushed a red button more than one time to start the machine when the polls opened.

(more)

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		*JOIN OUR DISCUSSION GROUP FOR POLLWORKERS HERE*
	Not Just a Bunch of Little Old Ladies: The Importance of Becoming a Pollworker By Marybeth Kuznik, VotePA "Pollworkers are gatekeepers. A pollworker is the last human being the voter encounters before he or she enters the voting booth to cast a vote. In many cases a pollworker is the only "official" human representative of the electoral system ever met by the average individual voter." If you ever voted at a polling place you probably met and talked to at least one pollworker when you signed in to vote. You may have wondered, who are these people? How do they get chosen for the job? What it is that these folks really do while sitting around the voting room? You may have even had a passing thought about what it would be like to become one of these officials. Pollworkers are found everywhere. Even in Oregon, where they vote by mail, citizens still assist on election boards and help process ballots as they come in. Different states may call them Judge of Elections, Inspector of Elections, Clerk, Machine Operator, even Deputy in some areas, but all these workers are sworn officials who are in our polling places to operate and control our elections on the local level. Pollworkers have incredible access to the entire voting process, and they are an important component of our electoral system. (more)	ON SITE NOW First-Time Inspector of Elections Warren Stewart Gives us "A Report From Precinct 204300" Pennsylvania Re-Examination of a Voting Machine Means "Blame The Pollworker" ARE YOU A POLLWORKER? LET US HEAR FROM YOU! We welcome stories, comments, and even just a hello from all pollworkers, wherever you may be. Please CLICK HERE and send us an e-mail
		California: A Report from Precinct 204300 By Warren Stewart, Director of Legislative Issues and Policy, VoteTrustUSA November 10, 2005 Elections take place in polling places and it is in polling places that an individual informed citizen, concerned about the accuracy and security of the election process, can make a difference. I served proudly as poll inspector for Precinct 204300 in Berkeley (Alameda County), California on November 8th. Alameda County was one of nine counties in the state that used paperless DREs one more time before the requirement for a voter verified paper audit trail goes into effect next year. But my precinct was not entirely paperless. We had a strong turnout given the fact that it was a special election with no candidates - just eight statewide ballot initiatives - and a high number of absentee voters. Official ballots were cast by 323 voters and 31 additional provisional ballots were cast, most by voters who had applied for absentee ballots and either lost or failed to receive them. What made this polling place different from most was that every voter, after signing the roster, was given the option (by me) of voting on an optical scan paper ballot or on a Diebold touch screen machine. This option, available to every California voter in counties that use DREs, came as a surprise to most and the range of responses was informative. Many made their decisions immediately (almost a third chose paper), but many asked questions. Most importantly, every voter was in the precinct was presented with the issue of voting technology. (more)
		PA Danaher Re-Exam: Blame the Pollworkers! By Marybeth Kuznik, VotePA November 2, 2005 Eclipsed by late-night theatrics in the Pennsylvania Assembly over a controversial pay raise legislators voted themselves last summer, the citizen-petition re-examination of the Danaher 1242 voting system received little attention in the Pennsylvania press. The 1242 Machines, first certified for use in Pennsylvania in 1984, failed to count votes in a number of precincts precincts during the May 17 Primary Election in Berks County. A re-examination of the Danaher system was called for by the petition of Berks County voters and filed by Sheila Green of Beaver County. During the re-examination, held in Harrisburg on November 2, Danaher Vice President Matthew Lilly blamed Berks County pollworkers for causing the problem. He said that the pollworkers did not follow training and pushed a red button more than one time to start the machine when the polls opened. (more)