My Experience as a Volunteer Election Judge

Flip phones and Scantrons.

My experience voting in the April primary was not a great one. For the last presidential election, I was living in Virginia, an open primary state which lets voters choose which ballot they want. When I moved to Maryland last year, I was registered as an Independent and that caused confusion for the volunteer checking me in. It took me a long time to be able to cast a provisional ballot (they didn’t even have pens handy for the paper ballots).

When a postcard calling for election judge volunteers arrived in my mailbox a few weeks later, I decided to sign up to be part of the process to support democracy and assuage my guilt for complaining.

In Baltimore City, election judges are called volunteers, but are paid between $165 and $225. I assumed the price range reflected the number of hours a volunteer worked. Volunteers were required to apply online and attend one of several training sessions at a local university downtown. At training, an auditorium full of potential volunteers was told that judges were required to stay the entire day, reporting as early as 5:45 am and working past the polls closed at 8 pm (or later if the Board of Elections decided to keep the polls open longer due to problems like inclement weather). I later spoke with friends in other states who had the option to work a half day shift as an election judge. Several people left as soon as they realized we would be responsible for such a long shift.

After the auditorium portion of the training, volunteers were sent to a series of smaller classrooms for hands on practice with the electronic poll books (used to sign in voters), the ballot scanner (to collect and record the Scantron-style paper ballots) and the ballot marking device (a touch screen assistive technology device). At training we were given a large manual full of important information about our role including step-by-step instructions for setting up and using the various pieces of technology. While I was in one of these classrooms, a Board of Elections official came in to ask if anyone was interested in being a chief election judge. The chief election judges would get the $225. All other judges would get only $165.

I hesitated to volunteer as a chief, but eventually decided to step up. A 19- year old college student also volunteered, along with an older women who had just completed her associate’s degree. Most of the volunteers were in their 50s or older. With my multiple degrees, and experience managing a team under stressful conditions, I figured I was just as qualified as anyone else. I was worried about my stamina though, since chief judges would have to stay after the polls closed to complete a folder full of paperwork, and then drive the provisional ballots and other important materials downtown to the Board of Elections headquarters. If the polls stayed open past 8pm, or we had a long line, we could be working until 11 or 12 pm. Election judges were required to stay at their assigned polling place all day and not even allowed to leave to pick up lunch. The chief judges would be responsible for certain technical duties, resolving problems, and managing their volunteers.

Three weeks before the election,I still had yet to receive my location assignment or confirmation of being selected as a head judge. I called the Board of Elections and asked when I would expect to hear back. The woman who answered the phone told me they would mail out info in three weeks. “But three weeks is election day!” I frantically explained. After some time on hold, the woman came back on the line to tell me I could expect something in the mail by Nov 2. My apprehension grew.

I finally received an envelope on Nov 1. I had been assigned to the polling location next door to my apartment, which was a huge relief. The letter confirmed that I would be a chief judge, and stated the hours were 5:45am — 8pm.

The Board of Elections held a supplemental open house on the weekend before Election Day. It took me a lot longer to get there on the bus than I had hoped, and I arrived an hour before it closed. Unfortunately I didn’t get as much practice with the different machines as I expected. The open house was mainly a classroom Q&A, with the various stations set up around the room. I got to look up a name in the electronic pollbook, went over how to sign the voter authority card that each voter received at check in, and the different folders depending on if the voter was provisional or traditional.

At training, chief judges were encouraged to bring snacks for our volunteers. I spent $12.17 on huge box of Goldfish crackers and two cases of bottled water to share with the volunteers. I planned to pack some snacks of my own and order pizza for everyone for lunch. My roommate suggested I bring a drinkable yogurt for breakfast, as I might not have time to deal with spoons. I borrowed a shopping cart from my apartment building and loaded it up the night before Election Day. I showered, laid out my clothes for the next day, took a sleeping pill to encourage an extremely early bedtime, and set my alarm for 5 am.

On Election Day, I woke from a dream where I met Michelle Obama and her daughters at a performance of Hamilton. I was anxious, but feeling okay. I rolled my noisy shopping cart over to the church hall that would serve as my base of operations for the next 16 hours. Each polling place is assigned two chief judges — one Republican and one Democrat. Luckily, my fellow chief was already there and beginning to set up the polling place when I arrived. We ended up with seven volunteers total.

Overall, the day went much better than I anticipated. I had psyched myself up so much, bracing for the worst. We had a line forming 30 minutes before the polls opened, but everyone was nice and patient about the process. Our precinct had under 900 eligible voters, and we ended up with just over 50 percent turn out. We were lucky to have a great group of volunteers who worked hard all day. I paid $25 for two pizzas to share with everyone.

I had to use the provided flip phone to call down to the Board of Elections a few times throughout the day. The biggest headache was waiting for a police officer to come by at the end of the night to collect the memory stick from the ballot scanner. That happened an hour and a half after the polls closed. By then, I was so exhausted, I felt like my brain was oozing out of my ears.

Another perk of living so close to the assigned polling place, was that my roommate was willing to drive me and my fellow chief downtown to drop off our election materials. This was a huge help, as neither of us were great candidates for operating a vehicle after such a long day. She waited with the car while we proceeded through 6 different stations to deposit our materials.

Cell phones (aside from the provided flip phone) are prohibited in polling places in my precinct. This meant I spent 16 hours away from the news cycle. I was able to ensure over 400 people participated in democracy. I gave stickers to dozens of children who accompanied their parents to vote in a historic election. I went to bed exhausted, but glad I volunteered.

Carly Medosch is a chronic illness advocate who has been stressing about money since adolescence. You can read her blog at or follow her on Twitter.

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