On election night I had the privilege of spending six hours in the elections office for Jefferson County, watching the work and reporting numbers to a national news outlet. It was truly a privilege for several reasons.
First, I got to see how hard our county elections staff and volunteers work. I didn’t see any of the clerk and recorder/elections staff get a break between 6 p.m. and midnight. They were moving constantly, helping voters in many ways. Everything I saw was very professional and efficient. And they did it with smiles on their faces, pausing briefly to grab a snack once in a while as they continued to move. There was no leisurely coffee drinking going on, and I strongly suspect their workdays had been extremely busy for days, maybe weeks.
Second, I got to see the process and how sincerely the election staff wanted every vote to be counted. Most of the votes this time came in by mail, meaning the staff had to scan in the returned envelopes, verify the signatures on the outside, prepare reports on each batch, and take other steps before even opening the outer envelopes. The ballots were passed through multiple stations, with records kept all along the way and with professional staff observing every part of the process. The signature verifications sometimes presented a real challenge, especially for voters who registered decades ago and have grown into shakier or lazier signatures. Sometimes the verification process required checking multiple county records for signatures to be sure the one on the ballot matched. Sometimes it involved a phone call to the voter to ask for a form to be filled out and returned with a signature and acceptable ID. Perhaps only a couple of dozen ballots or so were involved over the course of the night, but that meant quite a bit of staff time in service to the voters. I found that inspiring, while at the same time recognizing that the uninitiated observer might be confused or even suspicious.
Third,
also in the election office were ten or so citizens who had stepped forward to serve the election needs. Many others also served at the polling places and transported the sealed ballots to the counting location. Well ahead of election night they all went through training for the big night and then they spent much of the night on their feet doing their part to help the election run smoothly.
Fourth, in my first 45 minutes or so at the office, about a half dozen folks showed up to vote only to learn they were not on the precinct roll. In some cases, staff was able to tell them they were registered in another precinct. In other cases, they had been sent an absentee ballot at their request but had failed to return it. Yet others had never registered. In every case, the needs of the voter were addressed, with most casting what is called a provisional ballot that is set aside for further verification that they were eligible and had not voted elsewhere or in another way. Perhaps the most important reason, though, for calling the six hours I spent in the office on election night a privilege is what I saw at the Boulder polling place just beyond the office counter. I saw a young man who turned 18 since the last election come in and cast his first ballot ever. He was congratulated by many in the area. I also saw a father come in to drop off his ballot accompanied by his son, who appeared to be age 10 or so. The dad took time to point out the different areas in the polling place and explain briefly what was going on. Those two observations warmed my heart and lifted my spirits that have sometimes flagged in light of the current political atmosphere.
The citizens of Jefferson County owe a big thanks to those who worked so hard on the election. We are indeed privileged to have the right to vote and the people who work to guard that right.
