Working the Poll

Yesterday was Primary Election Day here in Indiana, and in a new experience for me, I decided to work at our local polling precinct as a Clerk. Real simple things, checking people in, making sure they have no issues complying with Indiana's Voter ID law, making sure they are voting in the right precinct, and giving them the appropriate ballot (Republican, Democrat, provisional, under-18, School Board, etc.).

I figured it would be something different to try, and I was curious as to how many people would actually show up to vote, and what proportion would be Republican and Democrat. I've always been curious as to what the actual split in our little town would be, and while the Primary may not give as good of insight as a full general election, it would highlight some of the folks who are more political involved than others (and being a small town, there would be a good chance I would know some of the voters personally).

It was a long day, being there an hour before and after the polls close meant for a 14 hour day; but all in all I have to say it was worth it. Similar to my experiences at the library, this provided an excellent opportunity to meet new people, introduce myself, talk about the town and learn more about the town. The small town dynamic continues to fascinate me (its amazing how many people came up and introduced themselves to me saying, "hey, I don't know you, who are you?" - as I was the only poll worker they didn't know). Its interesting to live in a town where people know you are new (and for reference, we've lived here for three years, so we are new, but not that new, at least in my mind). People know where I live, not because of the subdivision or telling them the street corner, but by the person who used to live there, but hasn't in the last 5 years. At times, the dynamic seems to present such an opportunity for fellowship within the community in which one lives; at other times, the dynamic can be a bit, not sure of the right word here - intimidating, exclusive, stand offish, snobbish, difficult. Not meaning to imply anything negative per se, but the dynamic can easily lead to an insider and outsider type dichotomy that would inherently be problematic.

I also learned some more about local political/government issues, some that have me somewhat irked (maybe a blog post later on that). In any event, it was a worthwhile experience, and one that I imagine I would be likely to do again.