I worked as an official "Clerk of Elections" for Pennsylvania's primary election. It was a long day - 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. - and interesting. My district still has a Republican majority, that is, over half the registered voters are registered as Republicans. (I live in a suburb just outside NW Philadelphia.) We had 1022 registered voters for this primary election, more than half Republican. With McCain being a lock for the Republican Presidential nominee, only about 60 Republicans voted in the division where I worked, of a total of 535 voters (nearly half of the registered voters - very high for a primary election). People were lined up at 6:45 (the polls open at 7:00 a.m.). In the division where I actually vote (not the one where I worked), my son voted around 7:20 a.m., and he was the 79th person to vote at that time - can you imagine 78 people voting between 7:00 and 7:20 a.m.?

Highlights - parents presenting their first-time voting children. That was great to see. A couple from Israel who had applied for citizenship specifically to vote in this election, were granted citizenship 2 months ago, and voted yesterday. A woman who had applied for an absentee ballot because she expected to be in the hospital, but came - in a wheelchair and with an oxygen tube - to vote in person.

All in all, a rewarding day. I have come to realize that there is more optimistic excitement in this election (even with a campaign that has run over 15 months so far) than I have felt from people since John Kennedy was the candidate.

By Conni on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 - 08:56 pm:

How interesting! Sounds like even though it was a *very* long day you really enjoyed yourself! I loved the *highlights*. Thanks for sharing!

By Happynerdmom on Thursday, April 24, 2008 - 08:15 am:

That is a long day! In our primary, (Ohio) my precinct ran out of Democratic ballots because so many Republicans were voting in the Democratic race. Thanks for doing such an important job.

By Texannie on Thursday, April 24, 2008 - 08:21 am:

It is an interesting experience being 'close up' to the election process. My mother was a Precient Chairman for many years, and I often worked for her.
Glad it was such a rewarding experience for you.

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, April 24, 2008 - 08:25 am:

Wow, that's a lot of people out to vote! That is a LONG day! I don't know if I could sit that long!