September 25, 2008

 

Like Democracy? Thank Your Local Poll Workers and Clerks

Sometimes I just don’t understand why some people hate Democracy so much. The bad mouthing of election workers and calling the election process a sham makes me want to stand up and say “enough already”! I had a local poll worker call my office this week saying all of the negativity makes her feel like a criminal – she has worked the polls since 1966.

This is Wisconsin; we have one of the best election processes in the nation. We have elected successfully without fraud since 1848 individuals to the position of President, US Senator, US Representative, Governor, Attorney General, Senator, Representative, Alder, Supervisor, Clerk, Register of Deeds, Sherriff, Corner, and maybe even dog catcher. Surprisingly there are still people out there that would like to point fingers and cause chaos because they have some misguided belief that they will benefit from lowering voter turnout and hurting election officials. These are feeble attempts to use our election system as a political tool. This makes me angry.

In nearly every town and village in Wisconsin when a voter goes into the polls there is a “Hello Bob” or a “Good to See you Sally” from the poll worker. Even in our bigger cities, many voters know their poll workers and the RIGHT to vote is an opportunity to see neighbors and friends. Elections are the political process in our backyard. They are where Washington DC and Madison face their maker on each Election Day. The polling booths around Wisconsin are literally where the rubber hits the road of democracy.

Even though you will miss a happy poll worker you may want to consider voting early at your local municipal clerk’s office or requesting an absentee ballot for the November election, especially if it is hard for you to make it to the polls on election day or you just want to be able to tune out the last few weeks. If you choose to go to the polls on Election Day take a minute while you are there to thank your local poll worker. It is often a thankless job of working from 6:30am until the last vote is counted, often after 10pm. The commitment of our local poll workers is a service that cannot be replaced by a machine or a computer program. The right to vote is still a community experience all over Wisconsin, and for that I am thankful.

This Election Day, more than ever, thank your local poll worker, they deserve our thanks for their tireless work to make Democracy work every day. This Election Day thank your local clerk for their commitment to making sure all eligible voters can exercise their right to vote. For more information on how to become a poll worker or on election laws, please contact my office at 888-549-0027 or 608-266-6670.