Catch up!

I've been enjoying fall, school and free time something fierce.

B and I had a terrific Thanksgiving - a little extra driving meant I helped my mom cook, practiced pie-crust-making, participated in the annual Criner Night Before Thanksgiving Dinner Out, met B at his family's annual Turkey Bowl, showed off my game by catching a pass for a first down, ate turkey dinner with my family and enjoyed a few days of relaxation with my parents. Compromise might actually not be so bad.

I've got finals fast approaching along with B's work Christmas party - a much anticipated occasion to wear my pre-wedding dress - which only got about an hour's worth of wear in July and desperately wants out of the closet.

I'm going to be a blogging machine starting next week when my classes are over. Now I'm off to dedicate some time to flashcards, nerves (that's what I'm studying in anatomy) and figuring out what my unknown bacteria might be in microbiology. (Science is secretly exciting, no?)

Impressions of Election Judging

I started to put these on my last post, but I think they deserve their own.

• Voting makes people feel good. People felt proud to vote. That makes me feel good too.
• Illinois voters had two ballots this year. That's annoying, but people did pretty well with them. I still maintain that the amendment is stupid.
• The Chicago Board of Elections is really organized. I'm sorry, Chicago Board of Elections/Cook County Board of Elections. We didn't do the best job on our paperwork. Too many cooks spoil the paperwork. Next time, I'm taking charge. And maybe yelling.
• Our precinct had about 50 percent turnout. At 5:30 p.m. we had 164 voters - I hollered at everyone that we'd get to 200 and we did! 204 voters, plus 51 early voters. In a precinct of about 430 voters on a mid-term election that's excellent.
• People are pretty patient. We had lines and some people had to wait a while for us to figure out exactly what they should do (especially when people recently moved). But no one was angry or upset. Hooray for that.
• People are very punch-ballot focused. At least five people told me they knew how to punch the ballot, which is not how we vote here anymore. Thankfully we just connect two lines with a "special voting pen," as I call it, and it's not too tricky.
  
• I thought all the election judges would be old, but they were not. They were all pretty weird though. And all were either easily confused or surly about confusion. I was - without a doubt - the friendliest election judge. But the judge in charge of my precinct was very friendly to all female voters, which counts for something, I guess.
  
• Voting is awesome.
  

Life as an Election Judge

The biggest deal about being an Election Judge is that you work all day. That's the worst of it. I was happily able to spend the day after Election Day sleeping late, but I could have managed a real workday if I needed to. Here are the highlights of my big day:

• 4:40 a.m. - I'm the first person in my precinct to arrive! Everyone is already at the other precinct and they're completely set up. They do not seem to care that I'm wandering around unable to do anything. Everything is locked up.
• 5:15 a.m. - We start setting up, which isn't too hard. The biggest challenges come from people being sleepy.
• 6 a.m. - The polls are open! Our first voter used the touchscreen - she was the only one to do so all day! (Touchscreen voting isn't any better than traditional ballot voting, plus it takes forever. We are told to "discourage" it, but if someone wants to do it, it's allowed.)
• 7 a.m. - We've got some flow, everything is moving along. Lots of voters. Plus coffee and donuts from the Democratic Party. Thanks, friends!
  
• Silly republican judge seems to bother people more than necessary. I ignore him for the most part. He makes people fill out annoying paperwork which seems to follow the rules, but also seems to be stupid. One voter tells me, "That's how republicans are," as he rolls his eyes and completes his affidavit. Ha!
• Pizza for lunch. Yum.
  
• Fellow election judges are much hungrier than I am. They eat almost all the pizza and donuts throughout the day.
• Mid-day I do some homework. We have a steady flow of voters, but no lines until about 5 p.m.
• Lines are not too bad, mostly longer because of a few provisional ballots and incredibly confused voters. One lived in Berwyn.
  
• Person who voted already comes back concerned that she wasn't supposed to vote at our polling place. Republican judge wants to give her provisional ballot. NO! I say. I tell concerned woman that she'll have to sort it out another day - you can't un-vote!
  
• 6:45 p.m. B comes to vote! I try to challenge his citizenship, voter status, identity and signature. He still gets to vote.
  
• 7 p.m. - Polls are closed. Everyone is very concerned about dismantling voting booths.
• Paperwork takes forever. It's not complicated, but it's a lot of paperwork. All the judges have to sign just about everything. Closing paperwork should have been started at like 2 p.m., it seems.
  
• 8 p.m. - Almost out the door, everyone seems annoyed with each other. But everyone says goodbye and hopes to see everyone else next election.
• 8:30 p.m. - For an extra $20 I help deliver the results - as messy as they are - to the Receiving Station. It's a testament to the complexity of organization. All the envelopes we put together are sorted with every other precinct in the ward's. There are about 30 people working to organize and receive all the stuff we bring. We wait in line for our checklist to be completed. I'm completely amazed at how many people it takes to run an election. Wow.
• 9:15 p.m. - Home! B is in the kitchen making dinner. Hooray!
  

Live from Election Judging!

A few notes from my ballot-distributing seat as an election judge.

• People who bring kids with to vote = awesome.
• People who bring dogs with to vote = silly.
• Ratio of people who bring kids: people who bring dogs = about 1:1.
• Food provided by democratic poll watchers = donuts, coffee, pizza, cake, pop.
• Food provided by republicans = NONE! They haven't even stopped by to say hello yet!
• Animosity between Precinct 10 and Precinct 28, which share the same large room for voting = unexciting and mild.
• Number of weirdos = Lower than expected. Or maybe people have better manners when voting.
• Evidence that being a competent person is rarer than it sounds = plentiful.
• Silliness of our lone republican judge = high, but bearable.

Back to work for me!