By: Tiffany Whitfield
During an election, "We the People" vote and help carry out elections. For 20 years, Gabriel Franke, assistant to the Dean of College of Sciences, has been an active participant in civic life in the city of Norfolk. She has held various positions during elections starting off as an election poll worker. After four years she became Assistant Chief and held the position as Chief in Norfolk for the last 14 years.
A poll worker sets up the polling place, verifies voter information, assists voters, and safeguards voting equipment and the polling place for citizens. Also, the poll worker assists the Chief and Assistant Chief with tabulating the results for the polling place. "As an Assistant Chief, I answered poll worker questions about what do to in unusual situations, assisted the poll workers with using the equipment and keeping the equipment going, and I helped the Chief with putting together the precinct's election results," said Franke.
Leading up to election day on November 3, much preparation takes place. Typically, on the day of election, Franke's day along with her fellow poll workers, starts at 5 a.m. "The polls are open for 13 hours and the work of setting up and breaking down the precinct and getting the results to the Elections Office make for a 15-hour day at a minimum," said Franke.
She's seen election results from a different perspective than most voters. "The first election I worked as a poll worker was during the 2000 Presidential election, Bush v. Gore, which came to rest on less than 600 votes," said Franke. "I don't think that anyone alive at the time will ever forget the Florida recount and "hanging chad.""
Franke feels a deep sense of obligation to not only vote, but to ensure others' votes are counted as well. "Many of our ancestors had very little say or voice in determining the course of their lives," said Franke. "They knew that having the right to vote would give them a voice, and they fought very hard for this right." She finds it inspiring and hopeful. "The actions of election workers can have immense consequences," said Franke.
This year record numbers of voters are set to turn out. "My two most important reasons to vote are margins in election results send a message and can have major consequences; and secondly, there is much more to voting than the Presidential race," said Franke. She said, "local and state elections really have a major impact on your life."
If a candidate or an initiative wins by a wide margin or large percentage, the election results are rarely questioned, even by people who aren't happy with them. In contrast, if an election is very close, there could be a recount like there was in the Presidential race in 2000 where a Supreme Court opinion ultimately decided the race. In the 2018, 97th House of Delegates race, the recount was a tie and the two candidate names were put into a bowl and the winner's name was picked out of a bowl by the Virginia Election Commission. "This race decided which party was in power in the VA House of Delegates for the next two years and these were big consequences," said Franke.
"This November, unfortunately, I am unable to serve as Chief because the Chief must complete the results paperwork and oversee the entire process," said Franke. "It will likely take many, many days for this process to be completed, and I just cannot take that much time away from my job." When the polls close at 7 p.m., workers leave after the election equipment is broken down, the precinct results are called in to Circuit Court and the paperwork certifying the results are signed. "It can take an hour to close out a polling place or many hours because it depends on how many voters there are," said Franke. With the high voter turnout already seen across the country and in Virginia, poll workers could be in for a long road.