Top Ten Reasons You Should Sign Up To Be A Poll Worker!!!

You know how passionate I am about Workin’ the Polls! This will be my sixth election (and my FIRST in my NEW DISTRICT eeeeEEEeee!!!!)

1. everybody thanks you for what you’re doing. The long hours, the early wakeup time, the nonstop stream of voters. Everybody THANKS you for your service, but they don’t realize that…
2.  you get paid!!! It’s NOT a volunteer position, you ARE getting paid for your time! Not MEGABUCKS, but if you’re a freelancer, it’s a good gig to lock down. If you can spare two days’ work plus four hours for training, you can make a couple hundred bucks
3. it’s like running a marathon, but you get to sit down. in case you want to test your endurance, but also like sitting. You’re working from 5am-after 9pm, and it’s exhausting AND exhilarating but also, there’s chairs. The secret is to ONLY sit down when you ABSOLUTELY need to and not an INSTANT before that!
4. you can get to know your neighbors which is not a think New Yorkers normally do, but being the one person that every voter in your neighborhood has to talk to has some perks! You become known in the neighborhood… as the altruistic, civic-minded person who gave them a sticker. RIGHT???
5. you can see, with your own eyes, that people really do care about local politics. Just in case you’ve gotten jaded about politics lately. Can’t imagine why. But when you see your neighbors (see above) coming out in droves to impart REAL CHANGE on your local area, it will warm the cockles of your political heart.
6. extroverts get to extrovert all frickin’ day if you’re into that sort of thing! And I can be really into that sort of thing. If you have a LOT OF ENERGY, your country needs you! Your state needs you! Your city needs you! Put that pep behind the polls because…
7. you’re doing something good for your community by making the process move faster/suck less/be fun. It’s sooo easy to complain about the process and roll your eyes at the necessary evil. But for two days out of the year, you can take matters into your own hands and actually be the change you wish to see.
8. feel that rush of authority that comes with a badge and a moderate position of power. YOU’RE IN CHARGE! Wield that power benevolently.
9. unfettered access to the “I Voted” stickers and the power to make children smile by bestowing the aforementioned upon them. Every Election Day is surprising and funny and wild and different. It’s a looooong day and you bond with your fellow poll workers instantly because of it. You all come away with fun stories and a great rush of adrenaline. Last election, I got to play with a puppy while her human voted! Priceless memories!
10. you’re already there, it’s the easiest way to vote! Like, you had to go to the poll site anyway! You might as well go there before the sun comes up and leave after it goes down. That way, you definitely won’t forget to vote.

Speaking of DON’T FORGET TO VOTE, New York, tomorrow is Primary Day! Look up your poll site and ballot here and do the damn thing! This one’s a biggie, and there’s a real opportunity here to make change on a local level. Make good choices, New York!