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Oakland Pollworker - Four Decades and Counting
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"Being a poll worker makes me feel proud to be in a country where there is a democracy," said King, a retired administrator who grew up in a small town in Mississippi and moved to Oakland as a teenager. "I think about the times when blacks couldn't vote and why some of them don't vote now that they have the privilage. It really bothers me. We've come a long way, we should be glad to go out and vote." King said she set up until 9 last night, picked up voter materials in East Oakland early this morning, and arrived at the Methodist Church on Shattuck at 7am. The line of voters wrapped around the building, said King. According to King, although she has worked the polls in Oakland, Berkeley, Albany, and Emeryville, today is busier than usual because it is such a close race. This morning, King, looking younger than her age in a navy sweater, a long denim skirt, and a hat, stood behind a wooden table filled with various lists and rosters, smiling as she took the names and addresses of Oakland voters. King, a former census taker and a poll worker in Alameda County since the 60s, said that although polling is hard work, it is never boring. "I love every minute of it," said King. "I love working with people. I never get bored. You stay so busy you don't have time to get bored." But King said she feels most rewarded when the process if over. "The best part of the job is at the end of the day when I start counting up the ballots and completing my work," said King. "I feel tired, but I come home and I want to know how the election came out. I don't go to sleep. I stay up until I find out what happened. I think about the day and the work I've done. Sometimes I even think about mistakes I've made. I want everything to be correct." King laughed as she told a story about the year Reagan won the presidency. "I was working at the polls all day and I hadn't voted yet," said King. "When I went to vote, they told me that Reagan had already won. I said, 'How could he have won? I haven't voted yet.' So I voted anyway. My one vote could have made a difference." King said she tells her children and her grandchild that every vote counts and insists they vote. "My granddaughter thought she would get away from voting. She came home from college and said she wasn't going to vote. I kept telling her how important it is to vote. She registered to vote and she's so happy she's voting now." As the morning wore on, King said she was tired, but remained enthusiastic as a diverse crowd of business men, bicyclists, and students filed into the room behind the church. Greeting voters with friendly smiles, King was precise, answering the questions of voters and other three poll workers such as what to do with absentee votes and what time the polls close. Although at noon King had not had time to eat, she still had energy, greeting several voters by name, joking with children, and making sure each voter left with a little red and blue sticker commemorating the event. When the flow of voters slowed down, King took a few minutes to vote and placed one of the little red and blue stickers that said "I Voted," on her sweater. Then King, who had been on her feet all morning, sat down for what would only be a few minutes. After a brief conversation with the church's minister, King was greeted with the after-work crowd of voters who climbed the rickety steps into the room that will serve as a Sunday school classroom. As the sun set on the small American flag outside the door, a line of 12 people waited for voting booths. King said she probably won't get home until 9 or 10 tonight. But despite the work, this grandmother said she will do it again next election. "Absolutely," Ms. King said as the stream of voters began to increase. "As long as I can see, I'll be doing it."
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