Finally we arrive at the destination and hope that the light at the end of the tunnel is the sun
Tomorrow while you all are living your lives I will be property of the Democratic Party of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I'm going to be a poll watcher from the time the polls open in the morning, until after the count is completed at my polling place tomorrow night. I get a wee break in the middle of the day so I can eat and vote.
I've done this twice before - once for the Mondale/Ferraro campaign, and once for the George W. Bush bloodless coupe of '00. I'm not a fanatical supporter of Barack Obama. I don't like him enough to phone banking and canvassing on his behalf. I Do want him to win though, because I can't stomache the alternative. And I DO believe in free and fair elections, which we have not had in this country for the past 8 years.
A poll watcher's charge is to safeguard a free and fair election. We are to watch, and to report an funny business we see.
Tomorrow I will arrive at the polling place about a half hour before it opens. I'll be standing alongside the election judges when they unseal the voting machines. I will confirm that the counts on all of the machines are zero. (You can see that it would be kind of bad to have votes registered before election day in a state the doesn't hold early voting, right?)
I'll be planted within earshot of the judges all day, listening and watching, trying to spot bias. My goal is to ensure that every legally registered voter who shows up at the polling place is allowed to cast a ballot. If someone makes an unfair challenge I'll call the voter protection hotline. If I see anything that smells remotley discriminatory, I'll call the hotline.
At the end of the night I'll observe the counting. I'll check the math. I'll check the forms that the judges use to record the counts to ensure that they write them down correctly. Afterwards I will go either to the campaign's celebration, or home, depending on my mood and my energy level.
This is about fairness for every American citizen. This is about ensuring that no registered voter is tricked away from the polling place, and that all votes are counted. We have had trickery and manipulation mar the last two elections, notably in Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004. My day tomorrow will be devoted to ensuring that it doesn't happen in my wee district in a state that both candidates desperately need to win.
I am looking forward to the end of this, and to knowing who will lead our country for the next 4 years. I pray for the best possible outcome for all.
My evil twin wants to encourage McCain supporters to stay home tomorrow. But I know that's not right. I'm working for a principle - one man / one vote. If we lose an open election, we lose fair and square. So to all of you, whoever you are, whoever you favor for the Presidency, I urge you to go to your polling place and excercise the right that so many have died for. Excercise the right that women and people of color had to fight for. Stand in line. Tell your boss you'll be in AFTER you fulfil your civic duty. Get your ass out there and vote.
I've done this twice before - once for the Mondale/Ferraro campaign, and once for the George W. Bush bloodless coupe of '00. I'm not a fanatical supporter of Barack Obama. I don't like him enough to phone banking and canvassing on his behalf. I Do want him to win though, because I can't stomache the alternative. And I DO believe in free and fair elections, which we have not had in this country for the past 8 years.
A poll watcher's charge is to safeguard a free and fair election. We are to watch, and to report an funny business we see.
Tomorrow I will arrive at the polling place about a half hour before it opens. I'll be standing alongside the election judges when they unseal the voting machines. I will confirm that the counts on all of the machines are zero. (You can see that it would be kind of bad to have votes registered before election day in a state the doesn't hold early voting, right?)
I'll be planted within earshot of the judges all day, listening and watching, trying to spot bias. My goal is to ensure that every legally registered voter who shows up at the polling place is allowed to cast a ballot. If someone makes an unfair challenge I'll call the voter protection hotline. If I see anything that smells remotley discriminatory, I'll call the hotline.
At the end of the night I'll observe the counting. I'll check the math. I'll check the forms that the judges use to record the counts to ensure that they write them down correctly. Afterwards I will go either to the campaign's celebration, or home, depending on my mood and my energy level.
This is about fairness for every American citizen. This is about ensuring that no registered voter is tricked away from the polling place, and that all votes are counted. We have had trickery and manipulation mar the last two elections, notably in Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004. My day tomorrow will be devoted to ensuring that it doesn't happen in my wee district in a state that both candidates desperately need to win.
I am looking forward to the end of this, and to knowing who will lead our country for the next 4 years. I pray for the best possible outcome for all.
My evil twin wants to encourage McCain supporters to stay home tomorrow. But I know that's not right. I'm working for a principle - one man / one vote. If we lose an open election, we lose fair and square. So to all of you, whoever you are, whoever you favor for the Presidency, I urge you to go to your polling place and excercise the right that so many have died for. Excercise the right that women and people of color had to fight for. Stand in line. Tell your boss you'll be in AFTER you fulfil your civic duty. Get your ass out there and vote.