Poll Workers Needed for DC's Primary Election, April 3rd

We wanted to pass long this call for election day workers from a member of the Cleveland Park Listserv.  And we also wanted to remind everyone of the little-publicized DC Primary Election on Tuesday, April 3rd. Mark your calendars and remember to go and vote!

Volunteers are always needed at every election but you may volunteer for only one of our upcoming elections: Primary or November Presidential, or you could get hooked like I did and continue to work the polls year after year.

This is non-partisan. You will receive specific training for the job assigned to you. All election workers are re-trained for every election. Changes are made every year in an effort to streamline the process and integrate new
equipment. It will involve about 20 hours of your time for training, previous day's set-up and Election Day. Yes, you will be paid, but don't expect it to cover the mortgage. It is low pay, long hours, but great camaraderie, and
satisfaction guaranteed. If you are interested contact the Board of Elections & Ethics, 202-727-2525 or Jay Thal at jay.thal @ wap.org.

Best wishes from your friendly neighborhood ballot clerk,

Eleanor

Still Life with Robin: About the Election -- But Not About Politics

by Peggy Robin

All week long you’ve been reading about the election. Pundits weighing in on the meaning of the results. Talking heads analyzing the trends till they’re blue (or red, depending on their slant) in the face. Well, here’s more about the election, but this time it’s not about the meaning of the vote.  It’s about the actual physical act of voting. I’m talking about what it’s like to walk into your neighborhood polling place, sign in, get a ballot, and mark it. There are things I love about this activity, things that I think could be better, and things I definitely don’t love.

Let me start with the things that make me love Election Day. I vote at John Eaton School, precinct 27. For the past few years the parents of the Eaton Home & School Association have run a “cantina” -- a table set out with lunch foods, coffee, tea, sodas, pastries and desserts -- so that voters can stop off and pick up some good food (much of it homemade) and support the school at the same time. After buying myself a midday snack, I head for the check-in line, where I'm greeted by name by the election clerk.  All the poll workers at the table are longtime neighbors and they seem to know almost everyone who votes at Eaton. And if they don't know someone by sight, they say hello and chat and start to get to know them, so that next election, they can greet them by name.  It's been like that at this polling place for all the decades I've been voting there. The poll workers are very quick to offer assistance to anyone who might it (and with the older demographic in my neighborhood, that's no small percentage). As I’m sure they are underpaid for their efforts and underappreciated, the least I can do is to give them a grateful nod in this forum:  Thank you, election workers, for your friendly efficiency on this and past elections. 

It's Still Gray vs. Fenty, But with a Smile

Overheard at a polling place in Ward 7, and reported on the Hillcrest Listserv. It's good when election day is accompanied by good humor:

A funny thing happened on the way to the election poll today. A group of citizens were about to enter the door and the older woman said, "Remember that's FENTY with a Y and not an I." One of the younger ladies responded, "Dah...I know it's written all over my purse a million times...FENDI."

Voting Problem: Some Must Pass Through Metal Detector to Vote in DC

What if you had to pass through a metal detector to vote? If you had a perfectly legal Swiss Army knife or other sharp instrument in your pocket, would you be prevented from voting? That's the problem faced by District voters who cast their votes at the Reeves Center, Precinct 141. Citizens who vote there must first pass through a metal detector, empty their pockets and present a photo ID.

Here's the report about the problem that was posted on the Dupont Circle listserv. Voters who encounter a barrier to voting --and that includes passing through a metal detector-- may call the special District of Columbia Board of Elections hotline at 202-727-2194. The BoEE's hotline was set up so that the Board of Elections could deal with any election problems immediately.

Precinct 141 (the Reeves Center) requires voters to go through the building's security checkpoint in order to enter the building and get to the voting line.

While it's understandable for a DC government building to have security screening, it's inappropriate to require voters to go through such screening -- showing ID, running bags through the X-ray machine, emptying pockets, and walking through the metal detector. This is an additional barrier to voting.

The BoEE (Board of Elections and Ethics) needs to either create a work-around with the Reeves Center for election day that allows voters to pass through, or we need to move precinct 141 to a location that does not have this additional barrier.

Good Morning: It's Election Day

What really excites me about election day is it means that it's going to be about two years before the next barrage of political robocalls invades our homes. It's not that I don't enjoy listening to Vincent Gray and Paul Strauss, to name two politicians who have called me recently to engage in a dynamic and stimulating monologue. It's that I find these robocalls annoying and intrusive.

Today's voting weather: Very much like Monday's weather. Sunny and cool, with a high in the low to mid-50's. And I'm going to go out on a limb today and say you can you can put your shorts away until next May.