Let’s Talk About the Election

Hi, it’s Leslie. Let’s talk about the election.

I’ve been an election judge about six times. The first time I worked, I was really nervous. Tensions were high and people were bickering. All of a sudden, I decided I was going to bring some levity to the situation.

I started joking around with people, and just generally being as pleasant as possible. You know what? It made the stay a whole lot more tolerable.

So if you’re voting in person, either tomorrow or anytime in the future, remember, be as pleasant as possible. If the lines are long, I promise the election judges are doing all they can to move people through as quickly and efficiently as possible. It’s a long day.

In Illinois, election judges work from 5:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. or later, and they’re not earning a lot of money. Remember, they are there to support you in your right to vote, so be kind and pleasant to them, as well as the people around you.  You could even drop off a package of cookies to the judges, or send them some pizza. They will appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Let’s bring some civility to this process.