One poll worker’s report from the front lines of Pennsylvania voting

Submitted by LinIsStrong t3_yqrnon in Pennsylvania

We saw record in-person turnout yesterday, over 20% more voters than in the 2020 presidential election! That is unheard of for a midterm election. We were busy all day but lines were short (we have an awesome team and a supremely experienced Judge of Elections) and had to redirect only 2 voters and that was because they were in the wrong precinct. We were able to legally accommodate all other voters that needed ID, surrendered their ballots, came in because they did not receive their absentee ballot, or needed special adaptive assistance.

Despite the fear-mongering on social and other media, voters were consistently polite, respectful, and many expressed their gratitude and thanks to us workers. (My favorites were the first-time voters, especially young people and the naturalized citizens. More than one said, in a heartfelt manner, “This is such a privilege!”) The polling station felt safe at all times.

I share this to counteract the negative and frightening stories out there, to thank all of you who voted and made a difference (especially those who persevered through long lines and administrative hassles!), and to encourage those of you who are not yet voters to register for your next local election.

The experience renewed my hope and optimism in the power of free and fair elections, and restored my faith in my community and country.

Thank you, dedicated voters. You made a difference!

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feudalle t1_ivpuo45 wrote

See we need to just step back and remember we are all Pennsylvanians and we need to stick together and be happy we're not in jersey (I'm from jersey originally)

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wagsman t1_ivq4pfd wrote

And get back to the real Civil War: Sheetz vs Wawa

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Auflodern t1_ivqnypx wrote

Where do Redners and Rutters fall on this war? Are we border states?

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rovinchick t1_ivsz1p4 wrote

We also have Royal Farms down here in SEPA.

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FarmersHusband t1_ivqa46p wrote

As a transplant from Florida and North Carolina.

Um.

Is there a Publix around here or are ya’ll just poor?

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Mijbr090490 t1_ivqqcu2 wrote

Publix? What low class class heathens do you take us for? We have Wegner's.

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AbigailLilac t1_ivquv2u wrote

I'm a Texas refugee and I will be forever grateful for Pennsylvania accepting me with open arms. It's so nice to live here compared to Texas, seriously.

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himynaameisjoe t1_ivpvw91 wrote

What an awesome story! I voted mail-in because I work overnights and knew it’d be a struggle to get to the polls, but it’s great to hear from someone actually there that it wasn’t a ticking time bomb!

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AbigailLilac t1_ivqv50n wrote

I voted yesterday. There was no line and everyone was super kind. I was on crutches and the workers helped me navigate the place without falling. :)

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dackinthebox t1_ivs0052 wrote

Everyone was nice at mine, mostly. When I finished the woman looked kinda Eh… in my direction and goes “That was quick.”

I took longer than the two people in front of me, but even still, sorry I did my research and knew who I was voting for?

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AbigailLilac t1_ivs1eds wrote

Yeah, it wasn't rocket science here in Pittsburgh. It was 4 candidates and an easy ballot measure about city council.

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VaggPounder t1_ivptdx9 wrote

Your post is very encouraging for the future of PA!

Warms my heart to know how many Millenials and Zoomers showed up to show their enthusiasm for democracy and send a clear message to the far-right extremists they are NOT wanted in this state! America and PA wins when that happens!

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BFreeFranklin t1_ivq1hy8 wrote

Question: Do you know why poll workers (at my polling place, anyway) we’re asking people for their party affiliation after they signed the voter roll?

I only ask because I can’t recall encountering that before.

I don’t know if it matters, but another volunteer ushered me into the booth after I signed the roll but before this person could ask for my affiliation.

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LinIsStrong OP t1_ivq2txl wrote

Was it just one person, or all the poll workers at your polling station? We have to look for party affiliation in primary elections because PA has closed primaries, but poll workers should not be asking affiliation during a general election. If the official poll worker with the voter roll was asking during a general election, they were either poorly trained or purposefully intrusive. That question should not be asked during a general election and a complaint should be filed with the person in charge of the polling station (the Judge of Elections in our precinct).

Now I’m super curious why that person was doing that.

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BFreeFranklin t1_ivq4ngv wrote

I’m not sure whether it happened at any other tables. I went to the table for my precinct/ward (apologies for any imprecise language), and there were three workers, if I remember right. One of the first two would ask for your name and give you the roll to sign.

Then most people seemed to proceed to the third worker, who (again, if memory serves) had a pen and notebook and was asking voters for their affiliation.

A voter ahead me in line took issue with it, which seemed to annoy the worker. I did not catch the explanation of the reason for that question, but the voter’s response was something to the effect of, “Well, check your book then.”

My only real hypothesis was that it was a weak attempt to catch impersonators, but that doesn’t seem a very satisfactory answer.

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LinIsStrong OP t1_ivq5hp6 wrote

That seems sus for sure. The voter roll we work from here in Chesco has party affiliation already printed in it; there is no need to ask. I would call your county election office about this and complain. Number can be found here

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NotNowDamo t1_ivqd817 wrote

I have another question, similar.

I went to the fire station, our local polling place, and the woman with the signature book (I don't know what it is called) asked me my name times, at the third time I spelled it for her and she responded, I know the name, I just don't recognize you, then when I looked at her with a blank stare she just said, " oh, give me your paper."

I need to point out that this is a very rural community and I don't work in this county and am a new transplant.

I did get to vote, but found the situation uncomfortable.

I find this to be abnormal behavior and never encountered it before, but am from another part of the state and have never voted in this area before.

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LinIsStrong OP t1_ivqfml5 wrote

If this was your first time voting in that precinct, I am guessing that the “paper” you gave her was some sort of identification? In PA, when you vote in a precinct for the first time, the voter roll book has “ID needed” next to your name so that we can verify you as a legitimate voter in our precinct.

If this was the case for you, it sounds to me like the poll worker was rude or thoughtless with her comment but not necessarily obstructionist.

Poll workers are just everyday people - some make voters feel uncomfortable which stinks! I’m lucky, I work with a group that works hard to make every voter feel comfortable, welcomed and appreciated. Sounds like yours was just an unpleasant person, unless there is something I’m missing.

Thank you for voting!

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NotNowDamo t1_ivqgede wrote

It was my registration. I realize that was my ID and brought it for that reason. However, she asked me for the ID before she looked up my name in the book.

I was more worried about her asking who I am and then saying she doesn't recognize me.

My town has 1400 people and people don't move here--they move away, so I get a lot of "I don't know you" when I meet someone for the first time.

Which is what I think was happening, but thought that the polling place was the wrong place for that interaction.

Thanks for volunteering!

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ScienceWasLove t1_ivssgea wrote

In my rural polling place around 1,000-2,000 people vote in non-presidential elections.

There about a dozen volunteers that run the polling almost every time I have voted.

It is common for them to put my name to my face in that setting and say “oh I remember you”. At least in my experience.

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wagsman t1_ivq4v1u wrote

In a general election it would make no sense, but in the primary it would make complete sense given we have closed primaries.

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Megadeth201 t1_ivt7zqg wrote

The only thing I can think of is that maybe a poll watcher was there. Repeating your affiliation is only needed for primaries, but people act weird when someone is watching them.

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jayragu t1_ivrm0xg wrote

Thank you for your service! We appreciate all that you do.

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vasquca1 t1_ivr1h6g wrote

Thank you for your civic service!

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quietreasoning t1_ivqwr2t wrote

I had a similar experience. Everything went very well. Poll workers clearly explained to everyone relevant rules, in particular, that ID was only needed for the first-time voters for that location and that it would not be needed for them for subsequent elections at that location.

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HortonSquare t1_ivr84sd wrote

Thanks for volunteering to do this work OP!

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LinIsStrong OP t1_ivreg0s wrote

It's actually a paid position, believe it or not - the county pays about $114 for a full day shift, and it takes about 2 months to get the check :) But I do it for fun and would do it for free. I love helping people have their voices heard!

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Pink_Slyvie t1_ivs43s6 wrote

I had a very bad voting experience, and in the interest of privacy, I'm not going to share it here, but I'm so glad others didn't.

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LinIsStrong OP t1_ivsypzy wrote

I’m so sorry you had a bad voting experience. Thank you for persevering anyway - here in PA every vote really does count!

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wagsman t1_ivq4kc4 wrote

The closest I had to anything like that was a table set up for Mastriano supporters to give his voters free coffee. They were in the parking lot at least double the legal distance from the polling place, and they were reasonable people.

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NotNowDamo t1_ivqdf63 wrote

Couldn't I just say I was voting for him and get the free coffee anyway?

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ragunaxAS t1_ivqggz7 wrote

Correct.

And, much like the people they religiously follow, you are lying to them, taking from them, and benefitting from blind sheep follows mindset.

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Odd-Neighborhood5119 t1_ivt40zl wrote

I voted yesterday. Saw a few people outside wanting to hand me voting material. Simply said I know who I am voting for. Walked past them. Poll workers were great. In and out in under 5 minutes with a feeling of pride. I vote every election.

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worstatit t1_ivtdsyt wrote

This was my experience, too. Apparently the deniers couldn't be bothered to show up themselves. Congrats to poll workers and voters statewide.

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Redlar t1_ivw52oo wrote

I had an odd thing happen when I was about to sign the voter register, hopefully you can give me an answer.

The lady presenting the register to me placed her hand over the copy of my signature that is already in the register. It made it a tad difficult to actually sign my signature with her doing that. Is that normal procedure?

It's never happened before that I can recall. My daughter had the same thing happen when she went to vote (same polling site).

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LinIsStrong OP t1_ivwch9r wrote

That is not normal procedure.

It sounds like the poll worker was hiding your voter registration signature so that you could not see it as you signed, perhaps thinking that way you could not "forge" the signature and thus "cheat" the system. Did you get the sense she was comparing your signature to the one in the book? Did you feel intimidated?

Because she absolutely should not be attempting signature verification. There is even a unanimous Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling buttressed by a ruling by a Trump-appointed Federal District Court Judge that "...the Election Code does not permit county election officials to reject applications or voted ballots based solely on signature analysis..."

Further, if she was making an attempt to check signatures, her behavior falls dangerously close to voter intimidation. From the vote.pa.gov site under "Examples of Voter Intimidation": "Routine and frivolous challenges to voter's eligibility by election workers or private citizens that are made without a stated good faith basis."

It all comes down to, did you feel intimidated by her behavior? Because if you did, you can file a complaint - again on vote.pa.gov under "Your Rights/Report Election Complaints".

Here is a great CNN fact check article that has links to the judicial rulings. It is mostly about checking signatures for mail-in ballots, but it applies to in-person ballots as well. https://www.cnn.com/factsfirst/politics/factcheck_70c9f1b1-352d-405e-b625-f204161fd55a

tldr: Poll workers are not handwriting experts and shouldn't pretend to be.

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rovinchick t1_ivsz8se wrote

No surprise that turnout was higher when people were literally afraid to leave their houses for the last 2 elections due to he pandemic.

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