Election Day 2020
It was still dark at five o’clock on election day as I quickly combed my hair, shaved and grabbed a bite of breakfast. My car started up and soon settled down to a fast idle speed as the engine warmed for a few seconds.
I backed out of the driveway and drove into the town of Mead, OK, where I was scheduled to work at the polling place for Precinct 25 in Bryan County this day.
About halfway to town, I noticed a slight pull to the left and then my low tire alarm came on. I was just a couple of blocks from my destination, so I rocked the steering wheel to make sure there was still enough air to get me in the parking lot without rolling on the rim. After I stopped and looked at the tire, it didn’t look low at all, but I knew it would be flat when the day was over.
This year I requested a mail-in ballot due to COVID-19 concerns. When it arrived, I had other concerns about the attacks on the post office efficiency, so I took it into the Election Board office the first day that was allowed.
I had voted the ballot, sealed it in the white ballot envelope, signed the Yellow Affidavit envelope and attached a photocopy of my OK Voter ID to the outside of that envelope, put the ballot envelope inside the Affidavit envelope, and then inserted those envelopes into the return envelope provided.
The instructions were not easy to follow, as they were on three separate pieces of paper, some white and some orange. Nowhere was there a bullet list of the instructions and proper procedures to meet the detailed requirements of voting by mail. I am afraid many ballots may be thrown out due to failure to follow the instructions to the letter.
Not that it matters much in this state. I’m in Oklahoma, reddest of the red states.
When I turned in my ballot at the Election Board, I also volunteered to work at a polling place it they needed me. I have over ten years experience as a poll worker in Nevada, I told the woman behind the desk. She almost laughed!
“Boy, do we need workers!” she said. ”A lot of our regulars can’t do it this year. They’re all getting too old.” She swiftly got me a form to sign up, and asked me if I had a car and could drive to any polling place. I said yes, so she gave me my first assignment in the town of Colbert, about ten miles south of Durant.
I asked if the regular poll worker had decided not to work this year because of COVID-19. She said, ”No, she died of the virus two days ago.”
She asked again if I was still sure I wanted to be a poll worker, and I told her sure, I’ll risk it.
I’m 78 years old, I’ve had a marvelous life - most of those years with a wife that loved me greatly. She died two years ago with Alzheimer’s disease, but we shared many pleasant times exploring the country and taking care of each other. If I die tomorrow, it’s been a hoot!
A week later, the lady from the Election Board called me up and moved me to Kiamichi Tech Center, near the Durant Airport. She asked if that was OK, and I said sure. I know right where that is. I’ve flown into the Durant airport many times on family reunions here. And it’s a little closer than Colbert.
After about a week, I got another phone call from the Election Board. She wants me to work at the polling place in Mead, OK, just a couple of miles from my house. It’s at the Baptist Church on Main street, Hwy 70.
After I agreed, she called Jean, the lady that has been working that poll place for years, and we introduced ourselves, and looked forward to working together on election day, starting at six in the morning, so we could set up and get ready for opening at seven.
I helped carry some of the boxes of voting material inside, and since I was now a Judge, my job was to check for valid ID, and look up their name in the big book of registered voters, and have them sign in. No signature for comparison as in Nevada - this was just to ensure you only vote once.
Once they have been found in the book and signed in, I direct them to the next person, who hands them the paper ballot, and instructs them on how to mark the ballot properly, by filling in the box beside your choice. No check marks - no exxes. The ballots are fed into a scanning machine to be counted, and it is critical that the box looks black to the machine.
From seven until seven I checked IDs and found the names for over 790 voters. As the day wore on, the book loosened up, and I got familiar with about where the alphabetical names were located, and it got faster and easier. Except that sometimes my eyes would glaze over, I guess, I couldn’t see the name right there in front of me. A couple of times the voter would point to their name as I scanned the page, so I thanked them profusely for the help. Several people thanked me for volunteering to do this. It’s amazing how good a simple thank you makes you feel.
I also had some that had to remove their hats, cover their shirt with a coat, or turn their tee shirt inside out before they could vote. The rule is campaigning is over, this is a voting place, and no candidate or party name are allowed within 300 feet of the polling place. Most of them complied without too much grumbling.
As for IDs, that was interesting, to say the least. I had already studied the list of acceptable IDs, which included valid driver’s licenses, Voter ID cards (best), University student ID, (must be from a state school), Firearm Permits issued by OK. Two people used their Choctaw Tribal ID card. I also had two Passports and one Oklahoma Medical Marijuana card with a picture on it, which seemed good to me.
We only had two or three people of color that showed up to vote. That is to be expected in Mead, where there are few of them living out here. In Colbert I bet there were many more, since that town was largely populated by black people when Durant warned them to be out of town by sundown sixty years ago. Colbert was close to the Red River, where they could support themselves by fishing and hunting if nobody would hire them.
That is the only problem I have with the voter ID requirement. If you are black, over sixty years old, and can’t drive anymore, it will be almost impossible to get a valid ID, since when they were born, the white hospitals wouldn’t allow a black to enter, so subsequently most black babies were born at home, many with no record of birth or government certificate. How do you prove citizenship? You can’t, even though everybody knows you’ve lived in Bryan County, Oklahoma, all your life.
At the polling place, a line was already formed before we opened the polls, and the line went around the block and across the street at one point. There was not a break in the line of voters until late in the afternoon. We covered each other, for quick bathroom breaks during the day. One of the workers brought in a crock pot of black eyed peas and vegetables, so we all got to break for a quick lunch, one at a time. It was a delicious break at noon.
That was probably the first time anybody saw my face, since we all wore face coverings all day.
After we closed the polls at seven it took almost an hour before the last voter got his ballot completed and scanned, and we picked up the voting materials, boxed and sealed the ballots from under the scanning machine, and took down the signs we had posted on the wall for voter directions.
It was late and dark, and my tire was now completely flat. But I always carry a small 12 volt air compressor in the trunk. (That’s from many years of living far from town in the Nevada desert.) So I hooked it up and stood there waiting for the tire in inflate, and talked to the pastor of the Baptist Church, who was very friendly. He explained that the old voting place was old and small, completely inadequate, and he convinced them to use the back rooms of his church. It worked well.
As far as separation of church and state issues go, he didn’t offer any prayers or curses, and I didn’t even see an invitation to come to church on Sunday, so I guess we’re all good. In Nevada, it’s all done in schools or convention centers.
When I had 25 lbs. of air in the tire, I disconnected and drove home. I went to bed and slept like a log.
I got up late, did not turn on the radio, and did not turn on the TV. There will be no change in my life no matter who wins the election. There will be no help with medical bills or drugs, and life will go on for me as it did before.
I’m checking my temperature morning and evening, and I’m still running low, so far.
It’s been a good week.
