I just finished reading your email about local newspapers' roles in civil civic discourse and what the loss of local papers means to all of us, and to our democracy, really. I want to ask a favor of you. At our Waterford Democratic Committee meeting this past Wednesday, I volunteered to try to get some publicity as to the need for trained Election Inspectors for the coming election in November. Could you put something about the need for Inspectors on your "Ken Tingley blog", Please? In Saratoga, Albany, Schenectady, and probably in Washington and every other county in the state and country, hard working, dedicated, workers are needed to be poll workers. It is a long day, usually 5:30 AM to about 10:00 PM, on election day. One can do online training, but it is better to go to the in person training, because questions can be asked and answered personally. It can be a tense job if workers are pressed by unfriendly voters. Most voters do not realize that workers are volunteers. Voter security and access does not happen by magic. There are no elves behind the scenes to make things work. Dedicated volunteers, who get paid less than they are worth for a 16 hour day, make voting accessible, fair and secure for citizens. So, basically, could you write a blog about the need for workers and ask people who are interested in safeguarding democracy to call their county election board and determine if they would be a good fit to be an election day poll worker? Being a poll worker, an election inspector, requires dedication, commitment, honesty and an abiding love for our democratic system of government. In addition to the full 16 hour day of work on election day, the volunteer will need to do about two or three hours of training, possibly twice, for which they may be paid a varying amount depending on the county. Thank you.--posted by Mary Pliska
Mary, I would be happy to do that. If you could put together some contact information of where people can reach out in their local communities, I could include that as well.
I will get that information together. Sorry I'm taking so long to respond to your response. Some reason I didn't see it in my inbox. Shall I post the county election boards' contact information on this thread? Let me know. I received notification in yesterday's mail of the training dates and locations of the trainings for Saratoga County. There are 10 of them, running from Monday, Sept 12 thru Tues, October 4th. To reserve a spot for training in Saratoga County the number is (518) 885-2249.
I imagine each County will be having an appropriate number of trainings. I think in person training is better than online because it is not just about learning how to go through the process, but it is also about the face-to-face of how to relate to the voters. During the trainings people can ask questions about situations that may come up and how to deal with them. Thanks--Mary Pliska
I just finished reading your email about local newspapers' roles in civil civic discourse and what the loss of local papers means to all of us, and to our democracy, really. I want to ask a favor of you. At our Waterford Democratic Committee meeting this past Wednesday, I volunteered to try to get some publicity as to the need for trained Election Inspectors for the coming election in November. Could you put something about the need for Inspectors on your "Ken Tingley blog", Please? In Saratoga, Albany, Schenectady, and probably in Washington and every other county in the state and country, hard working, dedicated, workers are needed to be poll workers. It is a long day, usually 5:30 AM to about 10:00 PM, on election day. One can do online training, but it is better to go to the in person training, because questions can be asked and answered personally. It can be a tense job if workers are pressed by unfriendly voters. Most voters do not realize that workers are volunteers. Voter security and access does not happen by magic. There are no elves behind the scenes to make things work. Dedicated volunteers, who get paid less than they are worth for a 16 hour day, make voting accessible, fair and secure for citizens. So, basically, could you write a blog about the need for workers and ask people who are interested in safeguarding democracy to call their county election board and determine if they would be a good fit to be an election day poll worker? Being a poll worker, an election inspector, requires dedication, commitment, honesty and an abiding love for our democratic system of government. In addition to the full 16 hour day of work on election day, the volunteer will need to do about two or three hours of training, possibly twice, for which they may be paid a varying amount depending on the county. Thank you.--posted by Mary Pliska
Mary, I would be happy to do that. If you could put together some contact information of where people can reach out in their local communities, I could include that as well.
Ken,
I will get that information together. Sorry I'm taking so long to respond to your response. Some reason I didn't see it in my inbox. Shall I post the county election boards' contact information on this thread? Let me know. I received notification in yesterday's mail of the training dates and locations of the trainings for Saratoga County. There are 10 of them, running from Monday, Sept 12 thru Tues, October 4th. To reserve a spot for training in Saratoga County the number is (518) 885-2249.
I imagine each County will be having an appropriate number of trainings. I think in person training is better than online because it is not just about learning how to go through the process, but it is also about the face-to-face of how to relate to the voters. During the trainings people can ask questions about situations that may come up and how to deal with them. Thanks--Mary Pliska
Send it to me at tingleykenneth4@gmail.com