Over the past 25 years, I have observed and participated in local government from a variety of angles. From humble beginnings as a local political cartoonist, through a local elected official career, and now a Local Government Affairs Director for a large trade association.
To add to that local government/politics resume, I applied two years ago to become an election official. I wanted to work at the polls on election day. I wanted to know what it feels like, to have the responsibility of administering the most sacred of our rights, the right to vote. It is an awesome responsibility. Think about it. Those local citizens who work at the polls, make our whole system work. From electing a Coroner to the President, that is where the action is. I wanted to be there!
I recently received my work assignments for an election being held Tuesday, February 21. This should be a rather large turnout. There is a local school district bonding project on the ballot. Those always bring out the people!
I have worked only one previous election. It was a Primary election, but a very, very sparsely voted election. It was so slow, I was sent home three hours early. This will be different. This will be a full day.
My first assignment will be the distributor of the ballots. After the voter has