Thank you, poll workers

The midterm elections are over now. Gone are the grassroots days: the annoying text messages from congressmen, the aggressive attack ads, and the campaign literature slipped under your doorstep. All of it is finally over – until the next election.

Our local poll workers deserve our thanks for protecting our democracy and the right to vote.

To an outsider, being a poll worker may seem like an easy job: you sit down all day, direct voters where to vote, and count the ballots. What more can there possibly be?

Well, a lot actually. Poll workers, depending on their position, may be required to serve 14-hour shifts, speak Spanish or Filipino, drive disabled people to the polls, pick up the ballots at the drop boxes, operate the voting machines, handle the ballots in the warehouse, and best of all, give us those free “I Voted” stickers.

On a more serious note, midterms have become a stressful time for any poll worker. In states such as Wisconsin, Arizona, and Georgia, poll workers received death threats for merely doing their job. Those death threats have also scared off people from voting, in fear of being injured by domestic terrorists.

Law enforcement in some states did little to protect poll workers, and we should be angry about that. Poll workers have done so much for us and they deserve protection and respect. So, thank you again poll workers and I hope to see you again in 2024.