By Andrea Gaul
When I made the decision to major in journalism at Baylor University, a consequent interest in politics never really developed for me. That is, until I decided to take JOU 4398, Reporting Public Affairs with Dr. Brad Owens. I chose to take this class for two reasons: 1) I had already taken Dr. Owens for an editing class and highly respected him as a professor, and 2) I wanted to sharpen my reporting skills by covering this unprecedented presidential race.
This class is not entirely what I expected. We have not been and will not be required to write any kind of news story in this class. Rather, the bulk of our course work has been centered on the close following and study of Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and everything relating to Election 2016. While this excited me, it also terrified me. I had little confidence in my understanding of politics, and was initially very intimidated by the class and concerned by the contribution, or lack thereof, I felt I could make.
Overall, I am pleasantly surprised with this course and what I’ve gained from it. I have learned so much in a very short amount of time by just listening to the input of both my fellow undergraduate and graduate classmates. I feel lucky to be in this class during what has been a historic election season.
A quarter of our grade in this class comes from our participation in Election Day activities. This requirement can look very different for different people, as the parameters are loose. If we felt drawn to contribute to one of the campaigns, for example, we could do so. If we wanted to cover an election-related story, we could do that as well. Because I did not feel drawn to one campaign and wanted to try something completely foreign to me, I served as an election official for McLennan County. This experience was absolutely invaluable.
The wonderful irony of this experience is that I worked two days of early voting before I had ever stepped up to a polling booth to vote myself. Here I was, helping seasoned veterans cast their vote before I had ever done so for myself. And in hindsight, I am so thankful that this odd situation was my reality.
Unlike other first-time voters, or even most experienced voters for that matter, I was able to understand the “behind-the-scenes” aspects of the voting process before ever approaching the booth. I learned how to analyze an ID for name, birth date, address and photo confirmation, how to prompt the voter to produce their signature, how to scan a different label that would generate a unique access code that they would use at the machines, and how to answer any questions that they might have while at the booth. I was able to help other voters move through each of these steps before I had ever experienced them myself. Therefore, I developed a unique appreciation for the time and effort required to make a polling station successful that I never would have developed otherwise. I felt extremely confident walking up to the polling booth myself during early voting last week.
Based on my experience, it is safe to say that residents really “showed up” at early voting. The differences between my days working early voting last week and working Election Day are night and day differences. On Monday of last week alone, we had more than 1,600 voters move through the polls. By contrast, at the end of Election Day I believe we had 700 or 800.
Throughout my first day on the job, I didn’t stop moving. I was first placed doing one job, and when I got good at it, was told to move to another seat and to learn how to do something else, all while voters were flooding through the doors. Though the jobs were simple, the environment was fast-paced and exhilarating. I was presented with both mock (created by senior election workers) and real-life challenges at the computers that I had to think on the fly to address.One of my favorite moments was checking in a 99-year-old man, wearing camouflage suspenders and a pineapple shirt, who was incredibly sharp. The entire experience was invigorating.
Election Day, though no less fulfilling, was different. It was very slow compared to my early voting workdays, most likely because many voters voted early. I mostly spent my time walking the floor and making myself available to answer questions. Some voters enter the polls with skepticism –- either that the machines are “rigged” or faulty based on stories they’d seen from their friends and family on Facebook or on the news.
What has been happening is that people choose to vote straight ticket, but then unintentionally “uncheck” their choices as they continue through the pages. Helping others understand how to use the “wheel” and the machine overall was very beneficial to me personally when it was my turn to approach the booth. It was in situations like this that I felt like I was actually making a positive impact for voters in Texas and therefore in the election itself.
If I had to decide right now, I would like to serve as an election worker in some capacity during every presidential election for the rest of my life. The pride that I felt serving my country in this way is something I had never felt before, and is a feeling I believe I will crave from this point forward. I think this conclusion holds especially great weight considering the fact that this presidential race in particular is one that has generated great discouragement and cynicism among first-time voters and experienced voters alike.
At the end of the day, this is our country, and voting is our right and our voice — I want to empower other Americans to take advantage of it. My fellow election workers, who were both my classmates and older individuals that I had never met previously, became something like a family.
Regardless of the outcome of this election, I have gained something invaluable by spending time working as an election official. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity through Reporting Public Affairs that I would never have pursued otherwise.