Election Monitoring in 2004: Notes from the Field III

read part 2
read part 1

There were, of course, real problems also – things that I didn't see myself, but that I heard about from other poll workers around the country. Some of them were really scary stories about voter intimidation. How would you feel if when you drove up to your polling cite there was a person there writing down your license plate number and who-knows-what information about you? There were polling sites where people were told that they couldn't vote if they had outstanding parking tickets. There were even sites where people were warned that their papers with the INS would have to be checked over after they voted. I don't know what you would think if someone told you that, but if it was me I'd think I'd better be safe and not vote at all.

Simplest of all – and scariest, too – was the polling sites where official-looking individuals in dark suits standing near the entrance to the site with a clipboard. They didn’t even have to be writing anything, but the feeling of being watched made the air electric around them. No one wants to be put under a microscope – especially when they’re doing something as personal as voting.

For some of the problems we saw, we were only about to record them and report about them to the press – at the least, this made sure that people knew what was happening. At other times, though, we were able to get in touch with election officials who would then send the trouble-makers away.

Remember – the right to vote is a right ALL Americans have. A lot of people don’t know this, and we need people there to tell them – otherwise, folks from the other side end up keeping them away. No one should be afraid to vote because their CAR isn’t properly registered (and yes, that happened too). When you’ve got poll watchers there, those things aren’t as likely to happen.

We learned a lot from the 2004 elections. We might not have been able to stop every problem at the polls, but we exposed the voter suppression that has been going on for years, largely unnoticed. The more people we get this time around, the better the election will run in two weeks. Here in Virginia and across the country, we need election monitors to make sure that we can keep accidents from happening at the polls, keep the other side honest, and make sure that no one gets away with the honest-to-god-scams that someone will almost certainly try.

This time around, every vote is going to count. We’ve seen the problems before, we know what to look for, and we’re ready for it. So get out and vote, email us if you’re interested in volunteering as an election monitor, and let’s win this thing on nov. 7th!

The more stories we can get out, the more we’ll be ready for this election, so please comment and let everyone know what you’ve faced if you’ve ever worked as an election monitor.

Stay tuned for more stories from the field...