How to take charge and volunteer

THREAD

In a maelstrom of confusion from this Administration, you can feel hopeless, lost and led astray. That happens to me sometimes. My eyes remain on the prize of registering and educating others and getting them + others to vote.

How to become a volunteer voter registrar

It is actually very simple. I live in a Maryland suburb, and I called my county Board of Elections to schedule a meeting. Once that was done, I spent about two hours going over the laws, rules and regulations.

After successfully completing this course, you will receive a certificate indicating you are a volunteer registrar! I keep mine with me whenever I am registering people to vote. You will also get blank applications and a book of instructions.

I registered over 300 people the last cycle. After calling management, a local strip mall let me set up a small booth outside a movie theater to register voters. Once I established regular hours -- 2 - 4 PM Saturdays -- people started looking for me, and telling others.

The other thing I volunteered to do was become a poll judge. This is significantly more involved, and required a half-day of classes. A poll judge monitors a voting site for the accuracy of a vote and to ensure that people are able to vote.

Poll judges sometimes get paid; they do in my county (although I have yet to get a check!). I didn't do it for the money, though. In my county, and I would assume in others, call your local Board of Elections. They're always looking for and need poll judges.

Poll judges work during early election periods, or if you're working your neighborhood poll, the day before and election day. On both days I worked, I was there at 6PM - 10PM, and election day 5AM - 11PM. It's a long day.

Poll judges who speak other languages (including sign language, which I know enough to help somebody) and how to deal with people who are differently abled are desperately needed. There is always a Republican and Democratic master poll judge to avoid partisanship.

Poll judges also ensure the integrity of the site. Among other things, there's no campaigning inside the voting area, and there are lines that cannot be crossed by campaign workers or volunteers. That's your job too. Bring your food because you can't leave until closing.

FIN/Do it today. I have, and will do this, until I am no longer able to do so. THanks @Teri_Kanefield for asking how I do this. Next -- why it is important to volunteer in other human service areas.

Register yourself and others.
Educate yourself and others #ReadTheMuellerReport is a great start!
Vote and get others who are newly or already registered to #Vote