It was a process that got started not that long after the presidential election campaign season concluded, with petition filing, with the campaign season following in short order. I think of local politics as an interesting kind of creature, as the focus of the hot button issues zooms in on issues like business development, efficient operations of the schools, and community's quality of life.
The big take-away I got from my time serving as an election judge back in November was that even elections for the federal government offices all comes down to people coming out to vote at their local polling places. As such, politics has a strong local component. Furthermore, local elections have a larger impact on a municipality, because the municipal officials are so close to the people they serve, and the decisions they make have a more focused impact on a community.
Municipal elections have special meaning for me, because the first election I ever voted in shortly after turning 18 was for local races. I still remember how excited I was to vote, and the election judge at the Oak Park Conservatory polling place noted the "gusto" I displayed as I entered.
Ever since then, I've made it my business to attend forums during the local election campaign season, engaging in the discussions about how to maintain a good quality of life in the community. I enjoy meeting the candidates and conversing with them about our community, and that was certainly the case during the campaign season, as I attended forums at Irving School hosted by SEOPCO and at the Buzz Cafe, hosted by co-owner Laura Maychruk. The hosts did a wonderful job with these forums.
In addition to offices up for election, the ballot on April 4 in Oak Park included two referenda for District 97 that would increase property tax values significantly, which the district said were needed to gain sufficient funds for operating expenses and work that needed to be done on buildings. There was clearly a lot at stake, and it became the talk of the town. The campaign even included a rally at Scoville Park, leading into a march along Lake Street headed into downtown Oak Park. Pretty much everyone realized that passing the referenda would be an onus regarding property tax amounts, and some were adamant that such pain needed to be stomached. Later on in March, however, some people vocally sought to make the case that District 97 didn't need the extra money to avoid a doomsday scenario of cuts to non-core classes and arts programs, and overcrowded, lower-quality facilities. Someone even created a webpage detailing how District 97 administration's case didn't measure up completely--which made me think of "fake news": It was hard to say if this person really had a legitimate counter-argument, or if this person was trying to steer people away from the factual reality.
It all came down to the voters speaking their minds at the voting booth. I decided that the circumstances were just right, and so I brought it full circle by signing up to be an election judge once again. I was especially interested in seeing what it would be like to run the polling place during a municipal election, which tend to have lower voter turnout than the presidential election. So I went in ready to see if the presidential election set a high bar in comparison to the municipal elections.
I was assigned to the 16th precinct's polling station at the Maze Branch of the Oak Park Public Library once again. I was in a smaller team for the 16th precinct than the November 2016 presidential election, but everyone on the team this time around had been there in November. We were also in the same room with the 3rd precinct, and the people on their team this time had all been there back in November. We did set-up on the Sunday before, and made a few changes to the layout of the equipment that we had back in November in the hope that there would be more efficient traffic flow.
Then, once again, Election Day came and started early for me, when my alarm sounded at 4 AM. By 5 AM, I was over at Maze to get everything set up and ready for voters at 6 AM. There wasn't nearly as long of a line at opening time as back in November, but there were a few people waiting to go in right at 6 AM. I started out at the station handing out the paper ballots and the "I Voted" stickers for a couple of hours, and then moved to one of the check-in stations, where I stayed until closing time. This time around, we had just two e-pollbook computers for checking in voters, and unlike last time, I had an ID scanner, so I could give voters the option to present a driver's license, which I could place on the scanner to more automatically check in voters.
There were never long lines at any point during the day, but we had a steady trickle of people all day long. Pretty much at every moment we were open for voting, there was at least one voter present, whether for the 3rd or the 16th precinct. We did get some longer lines in the after-work hours, between 4-7 PM, the reverse of November when the longer lines were in the before-work hours--and I'm fairly certain the lines this time around in April were not as long as back in November, though my vantage point at the check-in table was different, and so I couldn't see outside the room as well.
I did step out from time to time, to keep an eye on activity outside, including candidates handing out literature, and even one of my neighbors distributing literature to support the District 97 referenda.
Among the voters who came, I saw many people who live in the neighborhood, and many fellow Ascension Parishioners, including some parents of my Religious Education students. I had seen many of these same people back in November. Like last time, it was so wonderful serving these people at the polling place. It was also wonderful seeing voters bring children with them to the polling place. And in the after-school hours, it was also great seeing high school-aged voters come by.
A real highlight for both of our teams that day came in the morning: A woman entered, carrying an official-looking envelope bearing the words "US Citizenship and Immigration Services". She said she had been naturalized a citizen the day before, and was coming to register and vote for the very first time as a US citizen. And she came ready with all her paperwork, including her naturalization certificate, which was in the envelope. Excitedly, the 3rd precinct team got her registered, and after she completed her ballot, we cheered for her.
Later, around midday, a high school-aged gal approached me, and as I checked her in, I realized that she had just turned 18 within the past month, and so this was her first time voting. After I got her checked in, I congratulated her with a handshake.
Further along in the afternoon, a woman approached us and asked if her daughter, who had recently turned 18, could still register to vote, and asked if that could still happen. Since Illinois law was recently changed to allow for election day registration, we told her that she could have her daughter come by later with her paperwork, and we would register her.
Sure enough, in the after-school hours, that woman returned with her daughter, who was ready with her stack of paperwork and approached me for check-in, and I had the honor of registering the daughter to vote. This is the kind of thing we practice at training, but don't necessarily do all that much, and made for something especially exciting that day in the flow of usual voter check-ins. Like before, I exchanged a congratulatory handshake with her after I completed her registration.
Not too long later, the day of voting came to a conclusion when I stepped outside at 7 PM and announced the closing of the polls. Pretty much the only people around were candidates handing out their literature, and with my announcement, they knew their work of campaigning was done, and so dispersed.
We finished with the last voters, and then tended to the votes and got all the equipment packed up, finishing about 8:30, much earlier than in November, and encountered no major problems. I lingered for a while enjoying conversation with my team members before they headed to the receiving station at Brooks Middle School.
With that, I was done with another exhausting, but definitely exhilarating day. It was totally worthwhile to serve as an election judge, a great opportunity to participate in the process of government that happens at the local level, this time focusing in on local races and referenda. And it was so inspiring to see new voters cast their ballots for the first time. As a natural-born citizen, I know I'm unable to fully comprehend the excitement that comes when someone, after a long process, is finally naturalized, but it's great to feel the sense of excitement by being in the presence of a naturalized citizen. And seeing the 18-year-olds come vote was inspiring, too, because it took me back to the time when I first voted and took that step to engage more fully in the process of government. In that light, it was exciting for me to be there to facilitate the first time voters, especially the gal I registered. Seeing people experience something new is so amazing, and renews me in what it means to actively participate as a citizen. And it's something I will strive to continue to do as the newly elected officials take their seats, while we together, as a community, work to make this village a good place for all people who live here.
I realize that in the paragraph beginning with, "Further along in the afternoon...", the words after "could still register to vote" are not needed.
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