About a year ago, I moved back to my hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with my family. At the time, there were more than 10 candidates vying for the Republican nomination for President. Conversations in the neighborhood however were focused on the annual block party, which pumpkin patches were the least crowded, and who was to blame in the breakup of Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner.
Fast-forward a year—Donald Trump and JD Vance are the Republican presidential and vice-presidential nominees, Kamala Harris is the new Democratic nominee, and Pennsylvania is predicted by many to be the decisive state in tomorrow’s election. To say the stakes are high is an understatement. Just spend 15 minutes (or even five) watching the TV here and you’ll realize that nearly every advertisement is related to the election. We have at least four door knockers a week and almost every house across the city has a yard sign.
As the panic and anxiety started to settle in earlier this month, I grew determined to channel my energy into something productive instead of doom scrolling till election day. So a few weeks ago, I volunteered to work the polls. When I picture an election day poll worker, the image of Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin comes to mind. In my own personal experience, I’ve never encountered a person younger than 50 working the polls. I figured I could do my small part to lower the median age, while having a very good reason to stay off my phone for the whole day.
I reached out to my county election office and after filling out a pretty simple form online, I was contacted by an election worker asking if I’d be willing to work a poll close to my house, but not at my precinct. Turns out, my neighborhood has plenty of volunteers! I was told that the hours were from 6 a.m.–9 p.m. (you don’t want a shift change when it comes to safeguarding the sanctity of the vote) and the job paid $150. My first question was, “How do I vote”? Will I get any breaks to go vote? The short answer: Maybe yes, maybe no. Breaks depend on how busy your polling place is and your clerk of elections. I wasn’t going to take any chances, so I opted for early voting. In fact, I’ve already cast my ballot in the 2024 Presidential election. Go, democracy!
