Reply #14: Bowen: Poll workers on front lines of democracy

[EFerrari]

Op-Ed: Poll workers on front lines of democracy

May 10, 2008 11:36:00 PM
By Debra Bowen/California Secretary of State

Each election, Californians see snapshots of what makes our democracy tick. Candidates. Initiative measures. Campaign commercials. Voter registration drives. Ballots and the machines that count them.

One crucial element that's often overlooked is the contribution from the state's largest one-day volunteer work force: the 100,000 men and women who serve on the front lines of democracy as poll workers.

Teenagers and senior citizens, professionals and retirees, people of all backgrounds come together to ensure all of the more than 23,000 polling places across California are staffed on Election Day.Poll workers make voting easier and they protect our ballots until they are delivered to county election officials.

For their valuable service, poll workers take home modest stipends. But they walk away with so much more — a sense of community, a chance to reconnect with neighbors and friends, first-hand experience with democracy, and personal satisfaction.

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/poll_63777___article.html/workers_democracy.html