Michelle Senderhauf

Our excitement started to wane when we weren’t getting trained. We waited to hear about our training. We emailed multiple times, asking about training and kept being told it was coming. We were basically begging via email to be trained. Finally on 10/26, they set up classes, 3/25

but they made it *so* difficult to actually attend. Classes were announced last minute or would only be during the work day. I watched online training videos and thoroughly studied the training manuals to be somewhat prepared. 4/25

Before I get to the shit show that was election day, some background. Each precinct has two judges and two clerks, one from each party. This is to ensure fairness. An Inspector (aka boss) is appointed from the party in charge for each precinct. In theory, it's very balanced. 5/25

Everyone at the poll location was kind and there for one reason only – to make sure every single eligible person had the opportunity to vote. It was honestly inspiring. But when we showed up at 5am, we noticed we were missing a lot of required people. 6/25

Two Inspectors were MIA along with the ballots. We also didn't have the required Rep/Dem counterparts for each position. Less than an hour before the election start and we are unable to open, let along guarantee a fair election. The one Inspector there started making calls. 7/25

The rest of the volunteers did what we could to get ready with limited supplies and people. At 6am the ballot boxes weren't working. Inspectors were still MIA. We couldn't open. My stomach sank. I was trying to do something good and now I'd probably be on local evening news. 8/25

After 6, a sheriff's deputy showed up with two suitcases full of ballots. We were still missing the required Rep/Dem counterparts so we improvised, combined positions between the 3 precincts there and opened the polls at 6:12. Whew, right? Not even close. It just got worse. 9/25

None of that explains why there is still 0% reporting for the county, days later. I tweeted all of that just to set the stage for how unprepared the clerk’s office was to run this election. Voters from a different fourth precinct started showing up. 10/25

The newspaper had listed four precincts at our location. We knew nothing about this. We had zero workers or ballots for a fourth precinct. I wasn't about to let these people just walk away without getting a chance to vote. So I got on the phone and started making calls. 11/25

I tried the election and voter registration office numbers. All lines were busy. I finally tried the state election hotline and was able to talk to someone. They said the fourth precinct was NOT supposed to be there. So I started sending those voters to the right address. 12/25

The clerk's office had listed the wrong address online. The newspaper used that info in their election article. Still, everything should have been ok then, right? Uh, no. I soon found out that new location never opened. Poll workers were in the parking lot, locked out. 13/25

So they turned voters away. Voters started coming back to our location, desperate to vote. I finally got ahold of someone at the local level and told them about the locked location. It was 6:56am and this was the first the official had heard about it. 14/25

It was later reported that the locked location opened at 7:45, along with eleven other locations in the county that opened at least an hour late. That didn't even include locations like ours that opened 15 minutes or so late. The courts got involved. 15/25

The Democrat lawyers wanted to extend hours at those locations to make up for the late openings. Republicans fought it, saying it would be unfair. Thankfully, the judge ordered the extended hours. But AGAIN, this was still not over. 16/25

Around noon, we were told to expect the absentee ballots to count and include in the votes. We waited. Hours went by. No absentee ballots. The inspector started making phone calls. It was 5pm now and there were still no absentee ballots. This might not seem like a big deal. 17/25

We're talking maybe 15,000 absentee ballots across the county. All of them MIA. 6pm arrived and local officials told us to close without any absentee ballots. The inspector and the judges locked up the regular ballots and took them to the courthouse to be processed. 18/25

When my husband, a judge, arrived at the courthouse, he was told he couldn't leave. Deputies were out driving around trying to deliver absentee ballots, but were reporting that polling locations were closed. No one could leave until they arrived and were counted. 19/25

At this point, I put my coat on to head to the courthouse myself to help with the absentee counting. It didn’t matter that I had just worked for 13 hours. I was ready to finish my job. Then I got the word that I wasn’t allowed to help. Something about chain of custody. 20/25

Chaos was breaking out at the courthouse. People were worrying about what happened to those absentee ballots while they were MIA. Was the election compromised? Word spread that the absentees wouldn't be counted, but instead would be provisionals. Enter the courts again. 21/25

Early voters had possibly thrown their votes away. Meanwhile, races are being called. People in my county are seeing winners announced, knowing that their vote is sitting in a squad car somewhere and didn't affect the race at all. 22/25

Lawyers and the courts (and now the FBI) are figuring out what happened in Porter County on #2018ElectionDay. They've reassured us that everything will be thoroughly investigated and processes will be changed so this never happens again. But the damage has been done. 23/25

It’s one thing to see a race called with 50% of your precinct reporting in. Your vote could have been in that 50%. You think your vote mattered, even if your candidate didn’t win. It’s another thing to know that your vote couldn’t possibly have mattered due to incompetence. 24/25

Your ballot was sitting uncounted in a box somewhere. The officials in charge of the election weren’t equipped to do their job. They didn’t train people. They were short staffed. They broke multiple election laws and I’m not sure they’ll even be held accountable. 25/fin

To all those wondering what you can do: volunteer to become a poll worker for the next election! Despite the issues I had, it is still a very rewarding and educational experience. I was able to sign up by emailing my local election board office.

Also, I apologize for the Democrat vs Democratic usage. No ill will intended. It was more a product of me editing for Twitter’s character limit.