Last winter Loyola University Chicago's Division of Public Affairs partnered with the Cook County Clerk's office to recruit Loyola students to work as equipment managers at polling places on February 5. Interest in the opportunity was very high, as 150 students, from all areas of the University, participated.
The Cook County Clerk has recently posted a video on its Web site featuring Loyola students speaking about their experiences. Click here to view the video.
Blognotes: This is what Rogers Park Voter Club should be doing instead of stroking Harrington's ego. Maybe we wouldn't have looked like the laughing stock of the nation last election?
3 comments:
The Magic Pen.
The County Clerk's office is also using this experience to apply for a "Best Practices Award," and the University has also applied for a grant from the U.S. Board of Elections to expand our partnership this fall.
They trained for TEN HOURS!?! That's amazing. If only they would train the judges as thoroughly. I served as a judge once and we were only trained for TWO hours, it was a lecture and they took it for granted that most of the people present had already done it before so they rushed through the lecture. When I raised my hand to ask a question, I was treated as if I was "stupid" for even asking.
The reason I'll never serve again is because of the incompetence I observed and the lack of support from the Board of Elections when I called in the report. One judge in particular, a long time vetern, forever ruined my faith in the election process by insisting that we count the absentee votes the way it had always been done before - in spite of the fact that both the "training lecture" (such as it was) and the reference instructions said otherwise. They were instituting a new process but she didn't want to go along with it because it would take too long and she was tired and wanted to go home.
I still vote but let's just say I'm not at all surprised when incidents arise such as the 2000 Presidential Election or the last 49th Ward Aldermanic Race. Perhaps if the Board of Elections put as much time and effort into training the so-called "vetern judges" we could avoid some of what I saw take place during that primary election back in 2004.
- PEACE -
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