Election Section

If politics is comparable to making sausage, then I was placed in a meat grinder last Tuesday—my first time working as a clerk at the polls. 

The process was rather mundane and the whole day seemed uneventful. I arrived at 6 a.m. and, with three others, set everything up just in time to open at 7. The flow of voters was slow but steady. The line was rarely longer than three or four people, and not once was a person told to wait because a voting machine was unavailable. 

By 8 p.m. the polls were closed and we began packing away the equipment and signing off on various receipts the machines printed out. Two people are required to take the electronic cards, which store the voter information, to the drop-off station and so I accompanied the inspector. 

The overall mood of the election was cheerful caution. With only a few exceptions, people were polite, made jokes, and were excited to receive their “I Voted” stickers when they were done. Also prevalent was a sarcasm that masked their legitimate reservations and fears about voting on machines that leave no paper trail. “That sticker should say ‘I think I Voted’” was a common remark. 

I expected these reservations before I took the job, but two things I had not predicted. Firstly, I was surprised at the number of people who used  

provisional ballots. The reason for the provisional ballots included people either losing or never receiving absentee ballots, changing addresses, going to the wrong polling places, or registering to vote through the DMV—an organization with a well-deserved reputation for delay. 

There were about 50 provisional ballots used, compared with approximately 400 electronic and paper ballots submitted. One in eight may not  

seem like a lot but when you consider the number of potential voters who believed themselves to be disenfranchised for the reasons above and simply did not show up to the polls, the number rises much higher. 

Secondly, I was surprised at how many people told stories about why their friends, neighbors, or family members were unable to make it to the polls.  

Everyone seemed to know someone who was not showing up for good reasons—contingencies they had no way of anticipating. Being stuck in traffic or held late at work is something that is difficult to plan for and a situation undeserving of blame. 

Though not all contingencies can be avoided and some people will not go to the polls no matter how easy, an annual poll holiday would resolve a lot of the difficulties. What better way to honor veterans, for example, than to help democracy work on the second Tuesday of November in their honor, while keeping Veterans’ Day celebrations on Nov. 11? 

Voter registration should be the responsibility of the state and not the individual. Berkeley, in particular, is home to a large student population and housing prices that keep people on the move. The need to re-register is common enough that we must find a public solution for it and not simply assert it as a matter of personal responsibility. There is no reason why anyone qualified should ever not be registered to vote—casting that vote is the matter of conscience. State registration of voters is already practiced in many industrialized countries, and there is no reason for the United States, especially California, to lag behind. 

Instructions to voters must be clear: “No matter your status, go to the polling place and vote.” Virtually all of the people using provisional ballots will have their votes counted, so long as they were being truthful, and everyone using a provisional ballot will be automatically re-registered. This will save a lot of confusion their next time at the poll. 

With a few simple changes, we can raise turnout rates and help many exercise their rights. 

Gene Zubovich is a North Berkeley resident. 

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