HEART OF STEELE

Over 30 years in the news business, I’ve written about elections in two states, five counties, eight cities, four school districts, and one very small township. But I didn’t really understand how elections work until I signed up to work the polls.

Even before Election Day, I witnessed the security measures that surround the process–including official tests, open to the public, on every piece of equipment.

Along with other workers, I sat through several hours of training. Our small Michigan town implemented a computerized system that replaced paper registration books. A driver’s license swipe automatically populated each voter’s information on a laptop that operated off-line and was protected by a virtual private network.

The only piece of equipment that connected with the internet was the ballot machine, and then only after we closed the polls.

But the real education came when I moved up to precinct co-chair and learned about the detailed opening and closing processes that ensure security. Before 7 a.m., we checked numbered seals on the ballot counting and voter-assist machines. After 8 p.m., we locked up the ballots and started running detailed reports that all had to match the numbers on our laptop.

Every envelope with voter information got a separate numbered seal, and those items went into a locked canvas bag, also with a numbered seal.

We delivered the bags to the city clerk’s office, then waited until staff could go through the precinct’s election materials to ensure we’d done what we were supposed to do and that all the numbers added up.

What gave me the most confidence in our system of elections, though, wasn’t all that security. It was the people I met during my five years as a poll worker.

They were neighbors who became friends as we worked side by side for more than 12 hours. Half of us were Republicans, half Democrats, but all we cared about was helping people vote and making sure we did our jobs well.

Election workers are just people who care deeply about fair elections. And believe me, they’re not doing it for the money.

They do the work because they have a heart for it. And that may be the best election security of all.