I was surprised but my county is still accepting applications for poll workers.

[Fresh_Start]

Signed up today, receiving training tomorrow..not sure where I will be asked to work.
But at least I will be out there helping.

[greymattermom]

1. They made me a precinct manager.

None of the 7 of us have ever done it before. The classes weren't very good either. I think hand counts would be easier than dealing with ancient machines.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Don't know where you are, but here it's a 17 hour day for a little over $200...

A lot of people try it once and never go back.

They're always begging for people.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. I thought about doing it after I stopped working,

but being somewhere at 6 am is out of the question for me.

If they had two shifts, one starting at 6 am or whatever time is needed for setting up, the other starting midday and ending when the polls close and all of the finish work is done, that would make vastly more sense.

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Worse-- polls open at 6, so the setup starts at 5AM...

In the old days of lever machines, we would be counting and recounting sometimes till 11 or so before we could close everything up. Now we often get out by 9:30.

Two shifts kinda makes sense, but administratively it could be a nightmare.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

7. I am simply not a morning person.

Never have been, although in my younger days I worked a job where I regularly (not always, the shifts changed) had to be at work at 6 am. I hated it. Most of my life I've worked an afternoon shift of some kind, and my age mates (I'm 70) make me crazy because they are in bed asleep by 9pm most of the time. Of course, I make them crazy because I am rarely out of bed as early as 9am.

As an aside, every so often I read something that virtuously asserts EVERYONE should get up early in the morning. Well, no. For one thing, if you want cops out patrolling at midnight, or a late night pizza delivery, or someone in the emergency room at the hospital at 3am, the world is much better served by having people who work and thrive on different shifts.

[Fresh_Start]

5. I understand its a long day..

I normally start work at 6AM anyway so the early hour isn't going to be a problem.

I figure if the white/gray haired ladies can do it...I should also be able to handle it.

[TreasonousBastard]

6. Yeah, it won't kill you, but it helps if you have nothing to do the next day.

[LiberalFighter]

9. In our neck of the woods it is $85 base pay with $10 training.

Other counties in the area pay more.

[LiberalFighter]

8. In many situations those positions are difficult to fill.

I have been working since 2008 helping to get election workers. We usually get them all filled 30 days before the Election but then we get lots of cancellations. And it involves finding replacements the night before and day of the election.

[FormerOstrich]

10. I sign-up. But they don't ever call me.

I worked 4 or 5 a few years ago. Then they stop calling me. I re-sign up and still no call. One election they called me the morning of and asked if I could come work. I couldn't. I take a vacation day to work the polls and can't do it same day.

Then every single election there are tons of articles about how they just don't have enough people willing to be a poll worker. I get so damn mad.

This year I saw an advertisement for www.BeAPollWorker.org. I signed up again, using their site (which I think just redirects you to the county's page). I haven't heard anything. Sigh.