Just back from my first voter protection shift . . .

[Ms. Toad]

You too can help ensure that everyone who is entitled to vote is actually permitted to vote. Google democratic voter protection + your state name and you'll probably come up with contact info to sign up.

Steady stream of voters all day on this, the first day of early voting. A 90-ish black woman voted for the first time ever! She accidentally selected the candidate whose name she recognized, but when she got to the final screen she realized they were from the wrong party. The process worked as it is supposed to - the pair of poll workers (one dem, one rep) responded to her request for assistance, clarified whether she wanted to vote for a person or a party, and helped her properly mark her ballot to vote for the candidate from the party she wanted to vote for.

She left, proudly carrying the voting stylus with her.

Incidents like this make it worth it. It's well worth the time it takes to serve in this role. I wish I could give you a state-by-state pointer as to who to contact, but at least during midterms everything is organized at the state level.

In Ohio - if you're interested - you should be able to reach someone here

[we can do it]

1. I'm doing voter protection hotline again.

[Ms. Toad]

11. Yay! n/t

[MLAA]

2. Well done! Thank you for volunteering!

[BlackSkimmer]

3. K and R! nt

[progree]

4. Your instructions worked perfectly for Minnesota - first link at the top:

https://dfl.org/voterprotection/

Voter Protection - Minnesota DFL https://dfl.org › voterprotection
Whether a voter decides to vote early via absentee ballot or in-person, or goes to their polling place on Election Day; the Voter Protection Team works to ...

Google democratic voter protection + your state name

(DFL - Democratic Farmer Labor - is the official Democratic Party in Minnesota - the party of Al Franken, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Tina Smith, all of the state's Democratic reps in the U.S. House, Governnor Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, etc. etc. etc. - its not some radical crazy subversive spoiler offshoot)

[Ms. Toad]

12. Great!

I keep thinking there has to be a master list, but I can't find it. Glad it worked for Minnesota!

[mcar]

5. Thank you!

I'll be doing early voting and Election day poll watching, like I did in 2020.

It's a remarkable experience, that is also long and boring (at least it was in 2020). Despite that, we stand for democracy!

[Ms. Toad]

14. Definitely long and boring -

especially during off times.

We were steady today - so not too much time to be bored, and they are more flexible about half-days during early voting. But election day starts before 6 and ends more than 14 hours later. It's a rough day!

[GenThePerservering]

6. Thank you for doing this,

and congratulations to the 90-year-old who voted for the first time!!!

We have mail-in voting and have for years, but I had the privilege of assisting a new citizen to mail his ballot properly. I live in an area with a high refugee population, and was doing my shipping (I run a mail order company) at the USPS when a polite man came up to me holding his ballot - sealed in its envelope, in both hands and asked where was the proper place to mail the ballot. I escorted him to the secure mail slot in the lobby and said that this was the safest way - it would get right to the mail handling. He smiled, thanked me graciously and did so. He was from Somalia, and he was at last able to vote as an American citizen. I was very proud to help!

[Ms. Toad]

15. That was so much fun!

The election workers were so patient and so careful about trying to understand how she intended to vote to make sure they helped her get it right.

Yay for your new citizen.

The gratitude is another thing I noticed today - about half of the voters took the time to say thank you to the pollworkers. I haven't noticed that before - at least not to that extent.

[Cadfael]

7. Common Cause

Common Cause does election protection work as well, information should be accessible here:

https://protectthevote.net/?source=commoncause

[Ms. Toad]

16. Thanks! n/t

[Mr.Bill]

8. I worked at the polls for ten years.

I finally just couldn't handle the long hours anymore. It was a great experience, though. Everyone should do it at least once. It will give you much faith in the integrity of the vote. You will realize how silly some of the cheating accusations are.

[Ms. Toad]

18. Yup.

I have never encountered an election worker who did not do their job with integrity.

In Ohio, the early voting observer shifts are shorter. The disadvantage is that you don't get paid. But there are advantages (like shorter shifts) that make up for it.

[True Blue American]

29. I too worked at the polls. We had a great 4 crew, 2 Democrats, 2 straight forward Republicans

We worked as a team to make sure the vote was secure.

[ShazzieB]

23. I worked at the polls for years, too!

I had to quit because of the hours as well. In my case, the start time was the biggest problem. You have to be there by 5 a.m. (polls open at 6). I've gotten to be a total night owl since I no longer have to get up early to go to work, and I finally reached a point where I just couldn't handle it anymore. Besides getting there at 5, you can’t leave until AT LEAST 8 p.m. (exact time depends on how long it takes to pack everything up and complete necessary paperwork), so it's a 15 hour day, minimum. Pretty grueling, especially if you start out severely sleep deficient due to not being able to fall asleep early enough the night before. I just can't do it any more.

Like you, I'm really glad I had the experience. I understand the whole process so much better as a result, and hearing about some of the crazy voter suppression stuff that goes on in some states has made me appreciate all the more the way my state keeps looking for ways to make voting easier instead of harder for as many people as possible.

[True Blue American]

30. Early bird here

By the time 6:30 PM came I was dragging. They need split shifts.

[ShazzieB]

31. Thy really do!

If there was a late afternoon/evening shift, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Getting up at 4 a.m. to get there by 5? Sorry, no can do.

[True Blue American]

32. I usually wake

At 3AM. I can be at the Y pool at 6 with no problem, but by 3 PM I am dragging. Shame we do not live in the same precinct!

[LisaM]

28. I did it for years, loved it!

It paid well too, a good job for college students to do for a day.

[grantcart]

9. Great story

[wryter2000]

10. I'm making GOTV calls

We all should be doing something as well as voting.

[Ms. Toad]

19. Yup!

That's why I post about it here every time I do it - to encourage others to think about doing more.

I'm not a phone caller, but I can troubleshoot at the polls. There's something for everyone!

[Hortensis]

13. Wonderful! Early voting calls here. I loved being an election protection

volunteer in the past and would be glad to get out there again. These days I have to stay inside, but there's nothing like being out and part of what's happening at the polls.

[Ms. Toad]

20. In Ohio, the early voting observer shifts are inside. n/t

[Hortensis]

27. Thanks for the info and the post, Ms. Toad.

[AllaN01Bear]

17. thanks for protecting the vote . i vote by mail since i dont drive .:)

just got my official ballot today and going to vote straight party. thanks again.

[Ms. Toad]

21. Yay! Voting early is the way to go!

That way nothing can happen at the last minute to keep you from getting there!

[True Blue American]

33. Waiting on mine now.

Started mailing on the 12th. They moved my precinct to my old Church. They were at my Church, almost across the street.

[liberal N proud]

22. I did it for elections from 2000 to 2014.

I moved in 2015 and have not connected with right people in our new location

[Ms. Toad]

24. I'm sure they are still looking -

if you've got extra time!

[True Blue American]

35. When you sign up for an absentee

The form asks if you want to volunteer. Sign that.

[summer_in_TX]

25. Looked it up in my state.

https://texasvoterprotection.org/

Texas Voter Protection is a joint program of the Texas Civil Rights Project, ACLU, LWV of Texas, Common Cause and other civil rights organizations. It is nonpartisan. They're requesting volunteers, training them, and help them sign up for in person or online poll monitoring.

Then parties and candidates are training poll watchers who are partisan. And of course, the Stop the Steal side is energized and is likely to have the most volunteers trained. As I understand it each candidate can have two poll watchers at each poll. Quite a crowd! https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2022/09/13/how-to-become-texas-poll-watcher

Early voting in Texas is October 24-November 4.

[True Blue American]

36. Good Lord

We never had but one and that was Republican. Who wondered why she was there and offered to help.

[electric_blue68]

26. Thank you, and others for doing this.

[Takket]

34. Thank you for your service