Keeping the Republic

I'm fairly certain that I have never woken up earlier in the morning to start my day than I did back on November 8, when the alarm I set on my phone sounded at 3:58 AM CST.

By 5 AM, I was over at a rather darkened Maze Branch of the Oak Park Public Library.  I frequented this library as a child, and got involved in my community by volunteering there in my middle and high school years during the summer.  This day, I would be working there, doing my part to serve not only the local community, but also the democratic process of the Republic of the United States of America itself, as an election judge.

For some time, I had floated the idea of being an election judge, and considered it seriously on a couple of occasions.  Back in September, with the 2016 presidential election on the horizon, I felt the time was right to seize this opportunity, so I made the arrangements.

Before Election Day, I did training, both in-person and online.  The Monday evening before, I met at Maze Library with my election judge team to do preliminary set-up of the equipment and materials for Oak Park's 16th precinct.  Leaving home to head over to Maze, sensing how close I was to Election Day, my eagerness and excitement built, and persisted even early the next morning.

In the hour between our arrival and the opening of the polls, we did more set-up, keeping ever mindful of following the proper procedures.  Upon arriving, we met the members of the 3^rd precinct election judge team, with whom we collaborated in some of the set-up, like the entrance signs, and the no-electioneering zone lines that were chalked out in blue.  (Those lines were still there, unaltered, ten days later.)  As we set-up, someone arrived at 5:30, ready to vote, but would have to wait, as would another person, who was even seeking hot coffee.

Then, the big moment came, at 6 AM, when I stepped to the entrance of the polling place, a side door facing Harrison Street, and called out to a sizable line of people waiting to vote, "The polls are open."

The long line persisted until at least 8:30 before diminishing.  After that point, the line never went much beyond the entrance doors, and there were long stretches of time after mid-morning when there wasn’t even a line. 

After announcing the opening of the polls, I lingered around the entrance, greeting voters and helping direct them.  The latter was an important task because Maze Library served as the polling place for both the 3^rd and the 16^th Oak Park Township precincts, with the respective poll equipment set up on different sides of the lower level Maze meeting room.  I spent much time studying a map of the two precincts, which paid off in helping me direct people to which of the two sides of the room they needed to go for check-in.  One statement I uttered over and over was that the 3^rd precinct is Gunderson Avenue and eastward, with check-in through the right door, while the 16^th precinct is Scoville Avenue and westward, with check-in through the left door.  (At one point later in the day, a woman leaving the polling place, hearing me call out this spiel, asked me how many times I had said that, to which I responded that I had pretty much lost track.) 

Even though I was serving as an election judge for the 16th precinct, I was readily helping direct people to the 3rd precinct, so that clearly, our two teams were in no way competing against each other, but collaborating in our important work.  This happened a lot, especially in that busy morning period, because there were so many more 16^th precinct voters who came by, and that side almost always had a much longer line than the 3^rd precinct, whose voters could, most of the time, head straight to check-in without having to wait in line.  This proved particularly helpful for some people who were headed off to work, like one person I know who teaches at Ascension School, who I whisked in immediately.

One aspect of this experience I definitely enjoyed was the interactions with the voters.  Even with the very early start to my morning, welcoming people really energized me, as I take great delight in engaging with people, even those I don't know, and helping them in some way, which makes me think of “Winning over Others” as one of my Top 5 Strengths according to the results of my Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment.  In this case, I was helping people participate in the democratic process of our Republic by voting.

Throughout the day, I enjoyed chatting with the people who came by, both as a greeter and then when I switched to sitting at the e-pollbook laptop computer at the check-in table.  It was certainly nice when people I personally knew came by, including people I knew from my Julian days and from my Confirmation class back in 2004-2005.  And since the 16^th precinct covers Ascension Parish and the surrounding blocks, I also saw many Ascension parishioners, some Ascension staff, and some parents of my Religious Education students.

It was so nice to see parents bring their children with them, so these young people could see democracy in action.  I can still picture the one man whose three children were all over him as he sat at a touch-screen machine, completing his ballot.  Then, in the evening, I was particularly delighted to see a woman come, who lived in the 3rd precinct, and brought with her two people, who appeared to be college-aged, one from Saudi Arabia, and one from Belgium, so they could see how voting happens in the United States.  Some people even asked me to take pictures of them and their children at the entrance, with the “I Voted” stickers, which were given out to the voters, as well as the children, and even the two international people I mentioned.

When serving as a greeter, it was great having the chance to be outside in the nice temperate conditions that prevailed from the late morning well into the afternoon, after a somewhat wet start to the morning.

I was still going with a lot of energy as the hours passed, even as we neared closing time.  At 7 PM, the closing announcement was made, and we started the process of tallying the votes, packing up the equipment, and signing lots of paperwork.  Because we ran into some major problems, we didn't end up leaving until 10 PM.  But I didn’t really mind the 17-hour day, because of the importance of what happened that day.

I have a list of experiences that made me feel proud to be a US Citizen.  They include watching Liberty's Kids in my youth, especially the scene in the final episode when George Washington was inaugurated President of the United States.  They have also come on trips, like when I'm traveling through the United States on a long road or train trip, taking in the heart of the country.  They've also occurred when I've watched a tour video of the United States, and recently the National Parks Adventure IMAX film.  They've come when I've visited historical sites, most especially this past summer when, after a long wait, I finally had the opportunity to tour Independence Hall in Philadelphia.  And to this list, I now add the experience of serving as an election judge on Election Day, November 8, 2016.  I say this not because of what happened at night as the election results were reported, but because of what happened during the day, as people came to vote, doing their part to make this country what it is.  It was so exciting for me to be there to facilitate the democratic process of this Republic.

Furthermore, I was reminded that the democratic process comes down to individuals going out to vote at their local polling places, making decisions that play out all the way up at the federal level.  Serving as election judge was a great opportunity to engage with the people in the local community, especially the many Ascension parishioners who I greeted and checked in, as well as other people I know from the community, and those I recognized from years past.

Regardless of who wins and loses elections, the United States government is designed to be all about the process of people participating, especially by voting.  So even when things go in a direction we consider unfavorable, we can turn again to the great and special reality that we are blessed in the United States that we get to vote.  And how fitting that just a few days after Election Day was Veterans’ Day, a reminder of the many who willingly sacrificed to maintain this way of life in our country, compelling us to do our part to carry it onward.

It was truly a profound experience serving as an election judge, especially from the moment when I signed an oath in the voter check-in label books, swearing to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and to faithfully discharge the duties of election judge.

The reference to the Constitution of the United States hearkens back to 1787, when a group of people gathered throughout that summer at the Constitutional Convention in the Pennsylvania State House to create the document.  It laid out the framework for a federal government, including a Congress and a President.  But it's not just about something that happened way back then, because the power of that document and the government it created persists today, giving us the people an important role to play in our own day.

In fact, there’s a story that at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention back on September 17, 1787, as Benjamin Franklin was being carried out of the Pennsylvania State House, he was asked about the kind of government that had been created, a republic or a monarchy.  Benjamin Franklin replied, "A republic, if you can keep it."  Certainly all the people who came out to Maze Library to vote this past Election Day, along with all the other voters, took those words to heart by voting as a means of participating in the process of keeping the Republic of the United States what it is.

At this time of year when we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, the democratic process of our government is one thing that I'm especially thankful.  And I'm so glad I had the chance to serve as an election judge, which makes me proud to be a citizen of the extraordinary United States of America.

Above is a picture I took of the Assembly Room at Independence Hall, where the Constitutional Convention met to create the Republic we have today.  Below, voters for the 16th and 3rd Oak Park precincts kept the republic by coming to Maze Library on November 8, 2016.  Behind a bare bush is the side entrance of the building that provided entry to the polling place.  If you look closely at the sidewalk toward the bottom of the photo, you can see a blue chalk line, marking the no-electioneering zone.  It was still visible on November 18 when I took this photo.