Colorways by Vicki Welsh

I’m writing this last night after dinner and I was finally getting some of my energy back after a day as an elections officer.

Working a a precinct is a very long day but it’s really enjoyable. We set up the precinct the evening before and we arrive on election day at 5:00 am to open the poll books, put out signs, set up the ballot box and other preparation tasks. At 6:00 am the polls open and, even in my small precinct, we usually have people waiting to vote first. At 7:00 pm we close the polls and spend the next 45 minutes to an hour taking everything down, closing the books, tallying the results and doing a VERY detailed summary of the day’s activities. There are a number of special envelopes and boxes that all have to be packed exactly right. It’s a great job for meticulous people.

In our precinct we have about 1500 registered voters so it’s a small one. There are 5 officers and 1 chief and, on an election like this one, we stay busy all day. We get about 15 minutes each for breakfast and lunch. In my county, with 95,000 registered voters, there are about 400 precinct workers, many are volunteer. The paid workers get a whopping $10/hour. It’s considered more of a stipend. Our crew has been pretty stable for at least 4 years so we are like a well-oiled machine now. It’s also nice to catch up with some friends and neighbors as they come in to vote.

If you have ever considered working an election, I highly recommend it. It’s very serious work but it’s easy work. I’m sure that all municipalities have excellent training because the voting process is so heavily scrutinized. I can only speak for my county, but working the election gave me more confidence in our process.

It is a long day though and I spent most of yesterday napping and relaxing.

On Monday, I had some time to quilt on Kim’s quilt. I’m about 2/3 done. I don’t think I’ll have any time today to finish it but I’ll get it done by the weekend.

Today I have to help Chris return a rental car to the airport and then Mom and I will run errands all afternoon. For dinner, Chris is cooking up some of the fresh pheasant and turkey that he got on his hunting trip to Nebraska. I should get the quilt wrapped up Friday.