Monday morning the facility director met me to sign out keys. She had been on vacation the week before. Friendly, professional and organized – she was a noticeable and welcome change from the security staff who had been hard to find some mornings. By 8am enough workers had shown up to open and function; not everyone scheduled but enough. Voter activity was again light, making time drag a bit. Lois and I were both tired and got on each others’ nerves somewhat.
We shared an L-shaped work area and sometimes bumped into each other, both physically and administratively. I tried to keep my side neat and organized but her side stayed messy with a chaotic array of papers, paper clips, pens and post-it notes cluttering the neutral zone between us, repeatedly encroaching into my space. No matter how many times I sorted and straightened, the clutter returned. At one point we were so annoyed with each other that I took a long break to avoid saying something I would surely regret. I sat in my car to calm down and reset. Seriously considered driving home and/or quitting but didn’t. I moved my car to a quiet area of the parking lot, reclined my seat to be more relaxed, and contemplated how to make the best of our situation.
Lois was sugar sweet when I came back into the voting room 2 hours later. We discussed a few options and ultimately decided to split up the long day, divide and conquer, to avoid burning out. Neither of us wanted to continue working 13 hour days. Lois isn’t a morning person and wasn't yet comfortable with computers or end of day reporting so I offered to take the morning shift to start up all the equipment and manage the morning crew, take a long break after she arrived, then return to help her close out until she felt confident she could close out alone.
From home to the voting site is a 20 minute drive for me, one way. Splitting my day into 2 shifts meant twice as much time wasted driving, but I convinced myself it would be worth it to spend a little more time with Greg, to eat a meal together, and to take a short nap before returning to help Lois.
About an hour after our detente, Lois burst into tears when she received a call from her husband with news that his sister had died. I attempted to comfort her and told her to take as much time as she needed. The team echoed their support for her. I notified the BOE and prepared myself for the possibility of becoming a solo lead without Lois or anyone else to help. Monday night, without Lois in the room, I completed the end of shift checklist and reconciliation report in 30 minutes, less than half the time it took working with Lois by my side. Being a solo lead might have some advantages after all, I thought.
Tuesday morning I texted Lois to check in on her, and to let her know all was well at the voting site, no worries. She did not text back. Actually, all was not well. I lied so Lois wouldn’t worry or return to work too soon. One of the workers quit Tuesday morning because she didn’t want to do curbside anymore, even though curbside was only 2 hours of her 7 hour shift. Another worker called out sick. The remaining workers and I adjusted to cover for each other as needed. We were less than a skeleton crew but voter activity was light so we managed. Around 1pm Lois arrived to work. She appeared agitated, which was noticed by several workers. I approached her cautiously, expressed condolences for the loss of her sister in law, and encouraged her to take the day off, the entire week if she needed it. She said she was at work because her husband, Rudi, needed time alone to grieve without her in the house. After spending several long days with Lois, I think I understood how Rudi felt. After a brief period of transition between morning team and afternoon team, I told Lois I was going home for a long break as we had agreed, and that I would return to help her with end of day tasks.
At home Tuesday afternoon Greg and I ate linner together (late lunch / early dinner), then I took a 2 hour nap before driving back across town to help Lois. We finished our close out checklist in 45 minutes, just 5 minutes longer than my 40 minute round trip driving time.
Wednesday and Thursday were much the same, except the facility director wasn’t there to greet me Thursday morning. I noticed a police car in the parking lot and parked next to it. Also saw 2 men in the shadows (before sunrise) so I quickly sprinted into the building. Couldn’t find security staff on duty. Calling the emergency phone number and pressing the emergency call button did not help so I called 911. When the dispatcher answered I told her there was no emergency, that I was an election worker and needed assistance from the police officer on site to enter the locked voting room. She put me on hold for a moment, then told me there was no police officer on site. I assured her there was, that I had parked next to a patrol car, and I offered to walk back to the car to note the vehicle tag number for her. As I walked out of the building, the 2 men walked toward me: 1 uniformed police officer and 1 security guard in a polo shirt. They chastised me for not greeting them outside when I arrived. I wanted to scream that they should have met me inside the well lit building but I restrained myself, ended my call with the 911 dispatcher, and politely apologized for inconveniencing them. Friday morning I carried pepper spray with me, as a personal safety precaution and to help myself feel a wee bit less vulnerable.
We were short staffed Friday, more so than usual since 2 workers didn’t show up; 1 expected and 1 unexpected. It was a light day so I took my long afternoon break anyway. I told Lois to call me if she needed help before close out. I fell asleep for a nap at 3:30pm. She texted and called at 4pm. Bless her heart.
When Greg annoys me, which isn’t often, I sometimes call him Gregory. If I call him Lois next time, he will know precisely how much he is bothering me.
Weekend shifts are shorter and typically lighter than weekdays so Lois and I agreed to give each other a day off, sort of. Lois worked Saturday while I was mostly off, and I worked Sunday while she was totally off. She asked for help with the opening checklist Saturday so I drove across town to assist her. Two scheduled workers did not show up, including a curbside attendant. Lois and the rest of the team assured me they could handle it without me so I drove home with mixed feelings; glad they urged me to go home but worried they might need me. Greg and I didn’t do anything special that day, though it felt nice just to relax and watch tv together. Instead of driving back that evening, Lois called at 5pm for telephone tech support style assistance with the closing checklist.
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