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Black Leather Rain (Greensboro, NC)

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Obama supporter in Greensboro, NC shares an occasional thought.

YOU can protect Voter's Rights in November.

By Black Leather Rain - Aug 6th, 2008 at 8:10 pm EDT

Also listed in: Action Wire | Guilford County for Obama | High Point NC for Barack Obama

I was reading the story from Independence, MO on DailyKos today about a Kossak who was arrested for insisting the poll Judge honor the state law regarding voter IDs, and immediately thought: what if there was another person who knew the law also waiting to vote?

No, wait. What if there was another person who knew the law standing behind the Chief Judge that day?

Let me tell you a story.

This past primary in North Carolina, I watched no more than a dozen voters get told by a Republican Judge (nice man, I don't think he was being malicious) that they weren't registered to vote. The Republican Judge had done poll work for years, is in his late 60s/early 70s, and by the time noon hit that day, he looked like he'd been up for days. He had difficulty understanding, reading, and looking up "ethnic" (read: non-caucasian) names, and most of the people he was rejecting fell into that category.

Each of those voters was sent over to an Election Specialist approximately half the Judge's age. She looked up their names, saw they were properly registered for that presinct, and walked back to the Republican Judge who had moved on to the next voter in the long line waiting their turn(s). Without fail, she was able to find the registration in the Judge's book, and set them on the path to vote.

You may have guessed that the election specialist in this case is your humble diarist, here. This was my first year working election polls in any state, although I've had a reverence for the nitty gritties of the process that helps us elect those who direct our country. Earlier this year, right around the time I threw all of my chips in behind Obama, a friend of mine at work remarked that she had just been promoted to Democratic Judge in her presinct, since they were hurting so badly for workers. I decided at that time that I would go ahead and throw my hat in the ring.

I did this for two reasons: 1. I wanted to be a part of this year's election in a greater capacity, and to see what happens "behind the scenes" in the election process; 2. I wanted to ensure voters in my district were afforded their full right to vote, and would not be hindered from that right under my watch.

Here's where you come in.

Many of you, like myself, are lucky enough to have positions in life where they can allocate an entire day to one purpose. Many of you have already arranged to have November 4th free in order to help shuttle voters, hold signs outside of voting presincts, or perhaps you've even allocated the entire day to celebratory wantonness to herald in our next era of politics coming in 2009. The purpose of this diary is to encourage you to contact your local Board of Elections this week to find out if they still need poll workers for this November, and to sign up to be a candidate in your district (or any local district) that needs your help.

Here's what you can expect as a poll worker:

Angry voters who are waiting in long lines to do something that takes five minues

Being on your feet most of the day in an election that is almost guaranteed to have one of the highest voter turnouts in recent history (We surpassed a quintupling during the primaries here compared to recent Presidential primaries, the election is going to be SO MUCH WORSE)

Being tired and cranky, because while your friends are partying once the polls close, you're still dealing with voters who are still waiting to vote, or you're closing up the polls, or you're counting and recounting ballots due to a discrepancy in numbers

Spending about 16 hours in one building, as you won't be able to leave for any reason

Having no idea what's going on in the outside world, because the poll places are not permitted to receive news

Having the chance to make a difference in voter's rights as they exercise their most fundamental American right

Potentially fighting for voter's rights when they're told they're not able to vote by a fellow worker who may not be up to date on state laws

YOU can be the angel some voter needs this November when they are told that they cannot vote because an uninformed poll worker refuses to communicate, or is even actively preventing others from exercising their right to vote. It's not a glamorous job, but in my opinion, pollworking is the most important job a Progressive can undertake on Election Day. Voters can only be denied their right when we allow it to happen. If we are on the front lines, arguing from a position of authority, we can combat ignorance and outright voter intimidation by being the worker that calls the election officials for the voter when their rights are being abused.

Please consider signing up this week, and please pass the message on to your friends and family. A contingent of us spread across the country, especially in states like Missouri, Florida, and Ohio (where voter rights have been proven violated in the past) can help stem off the concentrated effects of the GOP to intimidate and disenfranchise Democratic voters.

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