A few observations about being an election inspector in Milwaukee Wards 187 and 188.
Conversation
First and most importantly: everyone who can work at the polls should try it out. One learns a great deal more about how democracy works by looking at (and becoming part of!) the technical infrastructure that supports it.
Second: Personnel matters on Election Day. A seasoned chief inspector, eager to solve problems, and veteran staff who can train new officials in how to interpret complicated rules is critical. We had such a Chief and it made a difference all along the line.
1
11
Third: staffing seems to be easier if there is some flexibility. Because folks could sign up for half day or one hour slots, we ended up with capacity to spare in most hours which meant just enough during high volume times.
1
11
Fourth: redundant systems are clearly a must. Some addresses were recently changed by the city. When our tablet computers didn’t recognize this, we had hard-copy parameter sheets that helped to solve the problem.
1
2
14
Fifth: the materiality of voting matters so much. Voters’ eyes light up when they feed their ballots into the DS200 and they can *see* their vote added to the polling place counter.
1
17
Sixth: States expect voters to carry a dizzying number of rules in their heads. Voting is an infrequent activity for *most* people, much moreso if one has been marginalized from participation, or even if you move to a new county. Little about it is intuitive.
1
15
Seventh: our voting systems will only work to the extent that they are designed with end-users in mind. Most people know their SSN. Virtually no one knows their ward number. If we don’t take account of that when informing voters about how to vote, we’ve failed them.
1
4
22
Eighth: democracy isn’t just a set of rules. It’s a set of habits and dispositions embodied by a network of persons who interact with a network of technical objects (computers, tablets, maps, forms, pen, paper, envelopes), all of which is a budget line item somewhere.
1
1
15
Ninth: making ballot-box democracy work depends on state policies that assign a *higher value* to voting as a civic activity. In many states, voting is harder, more cumbersome and confusing, than virtually any other type of participatory act.
1
11
Tenth: upgrading ballot-box democracy means, among other things, thinking about things from the perspective of a voter who has never voted before. Was blessed to be on a team today who saw things that way. But we’ve got very, very important work to do, too. /end thread
1
1
9
One last thing: how polling officials treat voters when they enter the polling place for the first time is everything. Making things work depends on keeping the line moving at pace with no small amount of warmth, patience, respect, and high fives on the way out the door.
1
6