Most readers are aware of the difference between poll workers and poll watchers, so there is no need to get into the weeds much today. Indeed, there are not many weeds to get into. Succinctly put, poll workers work the election polls for the County’s Registrar of Voters, and poll watchers monitors the workers work. Easy peasy, end of public service announcement.
Not so fast. There are some important facts, timelines, and requirements for both poll watchers and workers that would behoove us to be aware of now. Let’s start with poll workers.
Poll Workers
We already know that poll workers are county employees, hired by the Registrar of Voters, but how does one get the job? Let’s take a quick trip to the Riverside County (RivCo) Registrar of Voters website to find out! No shovels needed for this trip, you can leave them behind for now. In fact, “Pollworker Info” is a top menu item on every page.
Hoovering over “the menu item”Pollworker Info” will bring up a sub-menu with five choices. Click on “Election Officer Opportunities” to view the page in the above image. To become an election officer one only need be a resident of California and be of age 18 by election day. RivCo needs about 3,500 volunteers to work a General Election, though they are paid $90.00 for election day and $20.00 for required training. According to the site, “Election Day begins at 6:15 a.m. and ends at approximately 9:00 p.m.” Long day, but who works the rest of the month? (Yes, it now takes a month to count ballots, due to the Idiocracy that runs California elections selections.)
Good question, but before we go there, let’s take note of one other fact of interest. Go back to the Pollworker Information menu and click on “County Employee Pollworker Application.” That link lands on a page for County employees. RivCo seems to have a problem recruiting enough volunteers and must resort to giving County employees the day off, with pay and stipend, to work the polls on election day.
“The Rats are in the Cornfield”
Did anyone catch it? I bet you did, but let’s check. According to Riverside County’s LinkedIn page, the County has over 10,001 employees, and this zoominfo page puts the number closer to 22,000. What labor union do you suppose Riverside County employees belong to? If you guessed SEIU (local 721) then you’re a winner and should make yourself a local-farm-sourced-chicken dinner.
In case any are unaware, SEIU gives the Teacher’s Unions a run for their money in the who is the most Marxist labor union competition. The SEIU has never seen a far-left protest they didn’t like, and participate in most.
The connection to make here is this: If America First Patriots do not volunteer to work the polls, the Registrars office can, and regularly does, use far-left union members to work the polls on election day. This should concern us all, but there is a remedy–apply to be an election officer today!
That’s election day. Who does the counting during the rest of month now that RivCo has adopted the Common Core method of counting ballots? Ah, excellent question. The actual counting is done by temp workers that the Registrar of Voter hires for that specific purpose.
The screenshot below is from an email sent by the Registrar in September of 2022 in preperation for the November election. In 2022, the Registrar was seeking about 900 temps to work the election– to count the ballots. There is both a job website and an email in the image below that can be used to keep tabs on the hiring process for the 2024 election. We should all probably be wondering where the applicant pool for these temp jobs usually come from?
Poll Watchers
That takes care of the poll workers, but what about the poll watchers? We all hear how important being a poll watcher is, but can you just show up and watch?
The short and long answer is no. But, if one is interested in being a poll watcher in 2024, there are some steps to start taking now to make that happen.
Browsing through California Election code, the vague phrase “open to the public” is seen a few times, though not really defined. See code 15204 below for an example.
There is a bit more definition in code 15004 that observers (watchers) consists of representatives for qualified political parties (five), representatives for “bona fide association of citizens“, or representatives for media organizations.
The “bona fide association of citizens” is generally defined elsewhere in California code to be determined by one of the following:
Thus, anyone, other than political parties and candidates, interested in being an election observer, would need to ensure the RivCo Registrar of voters recognizes them as bona fide. Get an invite! The RivCo Registrar release this “election observer panel plan” for the 2020 election.
Takeaways
The most concerning takeaway is the possible large numbers of SEIU members working the polls. Missing two days of work (one for training) is not an option for many, at least not an easy one. Maybe ask your boss and appeal to civic duty?
Secondly, Joseph Stalin and Joe Biden have both told us that who counts the votes is what really matters. We should listen. Does the SEIU also supply the temp workers? It’s a rhetorical question laced with sarcasm, but would anyone really be surprised? We definitely need good people in the counting room, but nearly impossible to do if one is already gainfully employed. Awake, not woke, college students perhaps? Retired folks maybe? Tell all you know the call usually comes three months or so before an election.
Lastly, if interested in poll watching (observer) make plans now. Join a bona-fide community organization now, or create one. The RivCo GOP takes an active roll in election observing, so give them a call. Individuals could even contact the Registrar of Voters to express an interest.
If you’re reading this in another county in California, things should be pretty much the same. Registrar of Voters is referred to as Election Officer in some counties I believe. If you’re reading from elsewhere the need remains the same: We must secure our elections from all angles.