We have all heard the stories about how hard they are to work, open, deal with, but I wanted to give some perspective that many of you may not have.  I came to New York from Illinois about 8 years ago. I voted from the time I was 18 and we had those wonderful punch cards that bring back cold sweat-provoking memories of hanging, pregnant, etc, CHADS.  Those were much different from what I saw the first time I voted in Syracuse. I had no idea what I was going to find. I heard about these big metal machines and they lived up to their name. I checked in, walked up to this Control Panel that made me feel like I was Tom Hanks in Apollo 13 and …I couldn’t figure out how to close the curtain.  In Illinois I went in the booth, turned around shut the curtain, put my ballot in the guide and voted, took it to the election inspectors and was done.  Here I was unable to close the curtain.  The nice man, “said pull the lever Honey” and he sounded sympathetic so I didn’t feel so bad about my obvious “clueless-ness” and pulled the lever.

The curtain is now closed and I was alone with the Control Panel. Now what? There were so many switches. What was I to do?  I took a deep breath, and focused.  Not voting was not an option; I was a Social Studies teacher for goodness sake! After the initial shock and the realization that I had no idea what I was looking at, I stuck my head out and said I don’t know what to do.  The man said, “I can’t tell you much” and I replied, “I know who I want to vote for but how do I know if I’m flipping the right switch.  He explained how to tell and suddenly this metal giant didn’t seem so scary.  I flipped my switches and pulled the lever. The curtain opened again and I went to work. From that point on, I was no longer scared of that machine. I had looked the beast in the mouth and voted.

I don’t think I could have done it without that Election Inspector who helped me that first time voting in New York. I don’t know what his party affiliation was and it doesn’t matter; he was helpful. He helped me tame the beast. That is what we are looking at this year when many of you will experience what I did 8 years ago. We will get “new fangled” machines that will make us feel uneasy and out of our comfort zone, but don’t say you aren’t going to vote or be inspectors this year. Your Town/Ward Chairs and the Board of Elections are working hard to make sure you feel comfortable both as a voter and a worker. Give it a chance. Think of all of the things that have changed in our lifetimes. Change is inevitable. But with helpful people at the polls willing to explain away the worries, we will figure out these new machines and they will become the norm. 

To make sure that we get through this transition we need more good people to help.  So if you are interested in becoming an election inspector, contact the Onondaga County Board of Elections. There are general qualifications to become an inspector which they will be able to explain to you. Or you can contact your local Democratic or Republican Committee Chair.  If you are a current Election Inspector, you may be asked to a meeting called by your local Party Committee Chair to discuss the new changes and your concerns and responsibilities before the new election season. The more we can work together to make sense of these new changes the better for us, our voters and our communities.  I look forward to working with you to help tame the new “beast.”

For more information on how to become a Democratic Election Inspector in the Town of Cicero, click here or call me at 315.698.1432.

Sheri Mitchell
Cicero Democratic Committee Chair
smitchell@cicerodemocrats.org