Desert Messenger

P��� 6 Guest Column By Jeannia Barnett Community service? Civic duty? Selfless acts on behalf of other people? This is what makes up the desire to “work” an Election - and I DO mean WORK. We choose to set aside an en- tire day of our lives to; 1.) Rise at 3:30 to arrive at the Polls at 4:45 AM. 2.) Hustle. Hustle! HUSTLE!! to get all organized and ready. (Not to men- tion two previous days of Training and Preparation.) 3.) Open the Polls promptly at 6:00 AM with a welcoming smile! 4.) For the next 13 hours, do every- thing humanly and legally possible to accommodate EVERY SINGLE VOT- ER WHO WALKS THROUGH THE DOOR. (Which, really, is the ONLY reason we are even there!) This involves the endearing process of enduring people who DO NOT have their ID Current - which is generally an Arizona Driver‘s License. (Altho… I have been shown other states.) To which THEY, the VOTER, get frus- ���.D�����M��������.��� A day in the life of a poll worker trated and upset WITH US (?@#!) because the process takes much lon- ger and they have to fill out forms containing their information, like, uh, NAME…BECAUSE their ID is NOT CORRECT. Hello? What were you expecting? If you live here, and want to vote here, you should be properly licensed here and as ADULTS it is UP TO US to make sure our info is correct. (I wouldn’t think that is too much to ask, or expect, but alas, after working numerous Elections…I am now, not so sure.) Issues like these are EASILY remedied. We offer a postage paid form for you to fill out and drop in the mail. Free. FREE! FREE!!! If your Driver’s License needs attention? Go to MVD (which I know can be a real “treat” sometimes!) or go to www.ser- vicearizona.com and for $4.00 GET YOURSELF A NEW UPDATED, CUR- RENT INFO LICENSE. And Wa-la! You have just made the voting pro- cess streamlined again! Easy, EASY, EASY!!! Which is as it should be! YAY!! Go, YOU!! Hurrah!!! Because, after all? We are your cheering squad! We WANT you to vote! We want you to exercise the privilege of casting your ballot. Help us help you. People have given their lives for the honor of voting. That concept is some- thing that we callously take for grant- ed, it seems. In my world, it’s said, “If you can’t COMMIT to vote, then you can’t COMPLAIN”. If you can’t, or won’t, take the time to vote - which includes getting your affairs in order, then don’t whine about this, that and the other! SHINE, NOT WHINE. Plus…I am ALL OF OUT cheese and crackers to go with your w(h)ine! And, while I am on the subject… whomever the Winner or Loser of this Election is? It is important to be- come unified under that Leadership. Any entity - whether it is a Business, Church or Home, can only go the pace of the Leader. Do you want the best for our Beloved Town of Quartzsite? Unify. Unity makes us STRONG. Let us NOT be like little children squab- bling in our sandbox about whose toys can, or cannot, be used or played with! We are NOT children, but the future OF our children depend on us and the decisions we make TODAY. Set your pride aside and let’s put our shoul- der to the wheel to make PROGRESS, which is a PROCESS. This will require compromise, but come, let us reason together… 5.) At 7:00 PM we begin the very Benefiting Quartzsite’s No Kill Animal Shelter See our newly remodeled gift shop & boutique Check out our new designer jewelry! 455 E. Main St. Quartzsite Open 7 days 9-2 951-764-6072 hectic, HOPEFULLY issue free process of balancing EVERY SINGLE VOTER TRANSACTION. (This number var- ies from Election to Election, but ir- regardless EVERY SINGLE BALLOT MUST BE ACCOUNTED FOR - and accounted for properly.) You see, we have to practice what we preach and have all of our fowl flying single file (or J��� 2, 2010 ducks in a row ;) to finish the process. Think of it this way…Imagine recon- ciling your checkbook and statement with over 450 transactions. You have, let’s say, 150 debit card transactions, 300 checks and 50 deposits. (For those of you who DO balance your check- book to the penny, you have an idea of what a monumental task we perform!) Add to that 8 or 9 people who have used your account, with some serious checks and balances, all in the space of approximately an hour…and that is a mere glimpse into the closing process. For those of you who can’t relate to reconciling your accounts? You think it is so easy? You should try it yourself. As a matter of fact, I encourage you to GET INVOLVED. There is ALWAYS a need for Poll Workers. Get online for Poll Worker info at www.co.la-paz. az.us or call the La Paz County Elec- tions Department at (928)669-6115 to put your money (and Time!) where your mouth is. Try it…you’ll like it! As Poll Workers we weirdly enjoy the long, hard day being of the best pos- sible service to You. Remember…No committing? No complaining! Now, where was I? Oh, yes… When balancing (or reconciling) AKA “Clos- ing an Election” not only do we have to do it to the penny, or ballot, but also to the tune of County Employees break- ing and taking down all of the equip- ment necessary…on top of a 14 hour day…striving to adhere to every single step in the complex process to assure a clean, clear problem free Election…all as QUICKLY and COMPETENTLY as POSSIBLE. Did I mention at the end of a very (usually) harrowing, long day of 14+ hours? Continually pushing ourselves to the “Perfection of Balanc- ing”, the ultimate state of every Poll Worker!! And why? For YOU, the  SEE POLLS PAGE 5 Pattie’s RV Park OPEN YEAR-ROUND ~ LARGE LOTS 455 E. Main St., Quartzsite ~ Walk to shopping! ~ Propane Sales ~ Laundromat ~ RO Water ~ Thrift Shop Pets & Children Welcome! 928-927-4223 Animal Refuge Thrift Shop

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