Spending a Day in the Voter Center Shows the Best Our Nation Has to Offer
by Johnny Kincaid
Working at the polls is a long, grueling day. The poll workers arrive at the voting center at 5 AM to set up tables, chairs, and machines. They will work until the polls close at 6 PM and will stay another 30-45 minutes to tear everything down. In an ordinary election year, there are slower times during the day when workers can take short breaks, but in the election of 2024, the line never let up.
After my day at the voting center, I am even more determined to keep my voting streak going. I cast my first vote in a presidential primary in 1976, and I’ve always believed in the importance of voting.
A 94-year-old came to vote. She waited patiently for her turn to cast her ballot. I asked her how many elections she had voted in, “All of them,” she said with a big smile. She wouldn’t dream of missing her chance to cast a ballot, and nothing, including age, would stop her from voting.
Later in the day, a lady passed out while waiting in line. Her first concern was still being able to vote. Again, nothing was going to stop her from casting a ballot.
Then came “garbage bag man.” I noticed someone in line that made me do a double-take, he was wearing a trash bag. I understood the statement he was making based on the whole controversy about Trump supporters being trash. Another poll worker also made the connection and asked if that counted as electioneering. It didn’t violate any of the voting rules. When I got a better look at the guy in the trash bag, I realized that it was Sean Selby, and I decided that I needed a picture with him.
The real pay-off for poll workers is getting the chance to meet and assist people who understand the importance of the vote. We live in a great nation that can only thrive when “we the people” are in control.
WOuldn’t it be amazing if every election drew the same level of interest as the election of 2024? In presidential years it would be great to have the majority of registered voters cast their ballots and be just as energized by the down ballot races. Imagine city elections where over half of the eligible voters went to the polls to select the mayor. As long as voters stay home, the same people will be in control and they will act in their interest instead of ours. When we the people speak, we do it through the ballot box and huge voter turnouts are a voice that can’t be ignored.
