Why can't I be a poll worker?

(my news story for class next week)

Here is the story that is the main downfall to my day yesterday. Thought everyone would like to read it as I backed off (thanks to Blaine all those years ago as my supervisor), regrouped, and am killing them with the logic of wanting to know why I can't be a poll worker?

So, here goes. It's a news column that I think is really good. Whether it gets published or not, I think it is a good story. At least it will be out here for everyone to read.

Why can't I be a poll worker?

By Cathy (removed)

This year, students are getting their opportunity to help the political process, and earn some money along the way. CSU and the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections have a program that recruits CSU students to be poll workers.

But, just because someone is a CSU student doesn’t qualify them of having an opportunity in the political process.

I decided I was interested in helping with the process, and would be an excellent candidate to help constituents have a smooth process in voting on Nov. 7. I picked up the paperwork in Career Services and proceeded to call the phone number listed. I felt I didn’t want to waste their time and my own by applying, only to be turned down because of time constraints.

A woman answered the phone and spoke to me in a very unprofessional tone of voice. I asked her if they were still in need of poll workers and that I would like to apply.

The first thing this woman asks me is if I am Democrat or Republican because they had filled all the spots for the Democrats and were only looking to hire Republican poll workers.

What does that have anything to do with the fact that I wanted to work? I explained that I was an independent person. I will vote for the person who I feel is most qualified for the job, based on the information I have read and heard.

Then, she asked me if I lived in Cuyahoga County, which I do not. Finally, she asked if I was a registered voter, for which I am currently not. All of these questions seemed to be inconsequential at the time, especially when you’ve got someone who wants to work.

So, I did a little research on the board of elections Web site. There are a few different brochures regarding the hiring of poll workers. The general brochure only stated that you needed to be registered as a voter in Ohio. Hmm, seems to me that one of her questions was inappropriate.

Then, there was a brochure regarding student poll workers, which meant high school workers. For those workers under 17, special forms need to be on file with the elections office for those people to be employed. Again, seems to me that the question regarding whether I was registered or not was inappropriate as well.

I decided I wanted to look into the numbers of students at CSU, who are not residents of Cuyahoga County. It seems that this process was missing a large majority of the students who might want to be part of this process.

This opportunity would be give students “networking opportunities,” “job experience,” and “possible extra credit for a class,” according to the application taken from Career Services.

How can someone get this experience if they are stopped even before attempting to start the application process?

According to the institutional research Web site for CSU, in fall 2004, there were over 15,000 students. The Book of Trends 2005 stated that there were 11,721 students from Cuyahoga County, but there were almost 4,000 students for everywhere outside of Cuyahoga County. That means that 25% of the student population at CSU doesn’t even have a chance to serve for the board of elections.

That seems very unfair to have a program like this, but to stop people who want to apply because they don’t live in Cuyahoga County or are not a registered voter. I just decided to late that I wanted to be involved in the voting process to register.

The bottom line is 1. Any student should be able to qualify for this opportunity when a program available at a college that admits students from all over; 2. Always remember to get the person’s name on the other end of the line; and 3. Ask questions.

These brochures can be found at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Web site at: www.boe.cuyahogacounty.us. Institutional research can be found at Web site: www.csuohio.edu/iraa.