Leading up to the election, like many, we could feel anxiety and a pit in our stomachs, not knowing what was to come. Instead of sitting on our butts all day doing nothing, we decided to distract ourselves and work at the election polls. Hearing about the opportunity in Constitutional Law class last year, our interests were immediately sparked. Not only would it distract us, but we would also get paid. Excitedly, we submitted our application and signed up for the required four-hour training class.
As we made our way to the class in downtown DC, we were prepared for a light and easy training. We quickly discovered that it was NOT light OR easy. We suffered through endless instructions about how to help people through the voting process. Finally, we had to take a daunting quiz that would secure our certification as poll workers. After weeks of waiting, we finally got our assigned poll location and despite requesting the same location, we weren’t together. A tragedy. We almost gave up on this quest but persevered for the sake of democracy.
Come November 5, we woke up way too early for a non-school day. As we made our way to our separate locations, Kalpana to the Cleveland Park Library and Noa to Marie-Reed Elementary School, we were intimidated by all the adults. As a nice surprise, Marie-Reed had free Dunkin coffee and doughnuts which made Noa much happier.
At the break of dawn, Kalpana arrived at the library, half awake because she only got five hours of sleep the night before. After standing there for an hour as the adults talked about politics, the polls finally opened. She was assigned to help voters put their ballots in the ballot box so they could be properly counted. She stood there for six hours saying the scripted words to everyone passing. “Good morning! Take your ballot out of the folder and place it in that slot right there! Thank you so much, have a great day!” She was met with all types of people, ranging from first-time voters, extremely rude people, kind people, and people with MAGA shirts (even though political merchandise isn’t allowed).
Meanwhile, in Adams Morgan, Noa was immediately put to work at the welcome desk outside the Marie-Reed location. Her job was to answer questions such as, “Is this a voting center” (yes, yes it is) and direct people on where to go. Working an eight-hour shift outside in the elements was not for the weak, but it did come with its perks. A voter bought her food from a bake sale and passersby would thank her for her service. Another aspect of working outside was helping with curbside voting for those with disabilities. When people would roll into the parking space, it was Noa’s job to get them the proper documents and follow the correct procedure so that they could vote. The highlight of Noa’s day was when her friend kindly brought her Chipotle for lunch.
The experience was extremely rewarding, and it was an honor to participate in the democratic process even though we can’t vote yet. We definitely recommend signing up to work at the polls next election. •
