I'm going to work at the polls on election day!

[Marnieworld]

I am BEYOND excited about this. I work in IT and we vote on electronic voting machines in my district. In the past, the polls have been run by techno-frightened Seniors and it has seemed very confused and disorganized when I have voted. There was even a moment when I wondered whether my vote counted, it was so frustrating. People have problems with the machines and the workers that are there to help them are confused as well. Throw in my whole suspicion about the integrity about such a voting system and I have been anxious to know exactly how it works from the inside.

Now my district has been split, due to more voters, and they needed workers for the new polling place. I got my call today about it and they were THRILLED that I work in IT since they have had reluctance and fear about "the machines" from other workers. So not only will I really learn the details about how it works for me locally, but I can really assist if there are actual problems and totally be on the lookout, if not the barrier, for any shenanigans.

Yay!

The best part is, I was told that the only volunteers were Democrats and that I should try and get Republican volunteers because they are required to have a balance by law. I told them I'd try but I doubt I'd find anyone. So at least 800 PA voters are in my hands. So we got that going for us, which is nice.

[Webster Green]

1. I run a precinct in California..

There's no repukes on my crew. We do have some pukes that come to vote, but not that many. It's a very liberal area.

We all bite our tongues a lot when pukes are in the vicinity, to make sure we don't appear to be partisan. :smoke:

[diva77]

2. I wish we could say they're in your hands, but with vendors and computers

involved, I assume the votes are not in your hands unless proven otherwise. :argh:

[Marnieworld]

3. Is there some info somewhere to give me a heads up as to what to watch out for?

I wish I could get inside the machine's OS and see how the votes are tabulated but of course that would be too much. Still if someone decides to keep them overnight or something funky. Maybe this could lead to a greater IT role for me with the machines. I live in a rural part of PA so they must need help.

[diva77]

4. check out the election defense alliance website

http://www.electiondefensealliance.org/

they have a comprehensive guide to monitoring computerized elections

http://electiondefensealliance.org/files/AZ_Election%20Monitoring%20Guide.pdf

even tho it was written for AZ, it applies elsewhere as well

It may seem lengthy and intimidating, but you could probably find a few things to look out for; but still, with vendors and computers, we have moved out of the realm of being able to monitor elections with any degree of certainty.