A day at the polls
offers frustration
and rewardsPatience and humor help
By Remee Bolante
election workers survive a
stressful but fulfilling dayI strongly agreed with Dwayne Yoshina, Hawaii's chief election officer, when he wrote in a thank-you note to me and other precinct workers in the November 1996 election, "Conducting an election is a monumental undertaking. It is only through the efforts of all of us working together that we can accomplish this task and maintain the security and integrity of the election process."
Before, I never bothered to get involved in elections other than just going to the polls to vote. More recently, though, I have found myself volunteering to work there -- not just as a precinct official but as a chairperson for the '94 and '96 elections, and the primary election this past Saturday.
I conscientiously carried out my responsibilities, especially this past weekend because of the new Elections Systems and Software machines we are using.
The three-hour training sessions for voter assistance officials (VAOs) and chairpersons, conducted by the Office of Elections, were excellent. But since I felt that I needed further familiarization with that huge "black box," I went to the Office of Elections at 802 Lehua Ave. a few days before the primary to get more hands-on experience with the equipment.
Our black box worked beautifully throughout the election, which I attribute to a precinct official who stayed with it all day talking soothingly to it and rubbing its exterior every now and then. It responded so well to the tender loving care!
Election Day itself went smoothly but slowly, with the normal challenges that go with an election -- changes of address, voters going to the wrong precincts, wrong names and no identification.
The new machine read the crossover votes and blank votes immediately, so voters were given a second chance if they wished. Our number of spoiled ballot envelopes for the day was 37, higher than the election before but expected because of the new machine.
What can we do to encourage less frustration at the polls? Patience is crucial.
Some voters became upset when the machine detected their crossover votes, and they were asked to press "accept" or "reject." Several did not want to take the time to do it over, thus their ballots were invalidated. For these individuals, the trip to the polling place was a complete waste of time.
There were other instances of impatience. In one case, a voter's name was not in our poll book so the VAO asked him for the yellow card that was mailed to him by the Office of Elections. He replied in an irritated tone, "I don't read those things!" Before the exact location of his precinct could be obtained, through a call to the Control Center, he told the VAO that he couldn't wait and rushed off. Again, a vote not cast or counted!
One person walked toward the registration desk and sternly told the poll book official that she did not have any ID, but recited her name, Social Security number and address. When questioned to further prove her identity, she yelled, "I don't have to vote if you're going to give me a bad time!" Then she left -- with her vote untallied.
Not all voters were impatient, however, and some provided us humorous moments:
A lady in her 70s quickly informed us that she had the wrong ballot, because the letters D-E-M-O were missing across its top. She wanted one just like the demonstration one that the precinct official had shown her.
It was a long 14-hour day for all of us working the polls, but it also was very rewarding. We did not do it for personal gain. In fact, faculty and students workers from Sacred Hearts Academy donated their pay to the school as part of the Office of Elections fund-raising program for nonprofit organizations.
Workers like me simply got a high for having done something, albeit small, to make sure the voting process was carried out efficiently and the democratic process was preserved.
Remee Bolante is a precinct chairwoman in Kaimuki
and is the lower school vice principal at Sacred Hearts Academy.
