What I Learned as a Poll Worker

Knowledge Gained from Experience

It’s often interesting the way one simple step can lead to something unexpected and, ultimately, very beneficial.

Photo by Ernie Journeys on Unsplash - New Jersey Polling Place (not Colorado)

That happened to me in 2022 when I learned about and joined The Union.  The pro-democracy messaging and focus was appealing. Working as an Election Judge was one of The Union’s suggested ways to “get involved” to help defend democracy, and the suggestion intrigued me. 

So I applied for an Election Judge position with my local county for the upcoming election (back in 2022). I was hired as a “Computer Judge” – one of the roles at a polling location. In Colorado, where I live, the Computer Judge verifies voters’ identities and registers them to vote, if necessary. Colorado offers extensive mail-in voting capabilities, but many people still prefer to and enjoy voting in person.

I anticipated learning a lot about how elections are run. 

What I didn’t anticipate was experiencing the stark difference between the reality of how elections are really run and the way many I know tell me they’re run (based on info they gather from all forms of media and some politicians). 

Here are some of the surprising things I learned during my four days of work as a Computer Judge at a polling place:

• Each Judge’s nametag was color coded – based on our party affiliations (Republican, Democrat or Independent). People of similar party affiliation were never allowed to sit next to each other while working. This rule was followed meticulously; to the point where a person might need to change seats if someone went on break or went to the restroom. 

• Ballot boxes were large, black plastic bins that looked a lot like … suitcases.  They were sealed with tamper-evident tags with serial numbers. Any action taken with these boxes was logged; including checking the integrity of the tamper-evident seal at the beginning and end of each day.

• One Dominion voting machine was installed at our polling location. It enabled people with muscular or vision impairment to vote via a large screen. When voting was completed the ballot was printed out and placed in the ballot box just like ballots completed by hand. The ballot was not submitted (for counting) electronically. Use of the machine, and enabling it to be used, could only be done by the Election Judge Manager. The machine was never used during the four days I worked.

• The Dominion machine’s tamper-evident seal serial numbers (there were about six of them) were entered in a log book at the end of each day. The next morning all seals were confirmed (logged) to be in the same state as the previous evening. The only wires leading to the machine were power cords. 

• Verification of mail-in ballots is managed via signature matching between the signature on the ballot and the state issued identification – such as a Driver’s License. The technology used for this verification is similar to that used by banks to verify check signatures. If a ballot’s signature verification fails via machine verification, a bi-partisan team of Judges reviews the signatures. If they disagree as to the validity of the signature, the voter is contacted and asked to come sign the ballot in person. Mail-in ballots are not counted until they are verified by one of these steps.

• Extensive and very rigorous tracking and auditing methods are used for every single paper ballot – completed or not. If a voter makes a mistake and requests a new ballot, the old ballot has to be marked in a very specific way that will invalidate it from being counted. It is sent back to the central counting location for archival. In my location, a voter, prior to asking for a new ballot, ripped her ballot into tiny pieces. This caused considerable work as this type of scenario was not addressed in our procedures manual. Election officials from the Clerk & Recorder’s office had to be consulted to ensure we handled this special situation correctly. This is how seriously protection of invalid ballots is taken. These kinds of processes and procedures ensure that we eliminate a common concern: “ballots being thrown away”.

After the election I had the opportunity to share these experiences with a number of my friends. The majority of them had no idea that election processes were this rigorous. Most appreciated the info I shared and said that it increased their level of trust in our election system. Others were intrigued to hear how carefully elections in our state are run compared to their image of the process. Some were convinced “it’s not like that everywhere”.

I encourage everyone to get involved in their local election process. Who knows how your simple act may impact others … and possibly in ways you may never have imagined.

Post submitted by Jim Haselmaier, a volunteer with The Union who lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Note: The views and opinions expressed by volunteer contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of The Union, a single-issue organization that welcomes all and is dedicated to protecting democracy.

If you’d like to help defend democracy in the US, we invite you to join The Union.