Election Lessons from the Elderly

On November 2nd I get to miss school. “Lucky!” is probably everyone’s first response, and
you would of course be correct. So let me first tell you what I’m doing next Tuesday and
then why I’m fortunate to be doing it.

Just over a week from today I get to be a student worker at the general election. This is an
experience that I am absolutely pumped for. Along with a few other students from East,
I was fortunate enough to work the primary election last August and learned a bundle of
information. Not only can I program a voter card, work the registration table, and hand
out “I Voted” stickers (okay, so that last bit isn’t too difficult) but I also learned how to work
well with a group of people that are far older than myself. Because each voting location has
only one student election worker, the remaining six workers are comprised of people that
have the time to work a full 12-hour shift – senior citizens. And let me just say, the people
I worked with in August were some of the nicest, most intelligent and fun people I have
spent time with in a long while! A woman who reminded me of my grandma brought donuts
and watermelon and even offered me her lunch when I forgot mine. Everybody worked
together to make sure I got the full experience and that I learned everything they had to
offer, including mentioning a gardening emergency hotline (I’m not making this up) that
a few women had found very helpful in the past. I’m not sure how we got onto the topic of
shrubbery crises, but one lady mentioned that one of her bushes had gotten infected with
some type of tree disease and she had gone into a wild panic about this tree possibly dying
and somehow discovered a tip hotline that saved the tree’s life. The ladies then rejoiced and
began a lengthy discussion about their various plant-involved emergencies. It was a great
time.

Though the day is long, it and the conversation, is worthwhile. I had a lengthy talk with an
older woman about the benefits of cars with automatic brakes and steering. I had doubts
about the new technology, but to my surprise she seemed very gung-ho about it! I realized
through this experience that just because someone is older it doesn’t mean that they’re
closed off to new ideas like some people think! This whole experience opened my eyes to
more than just working machines and I truly wish that more students would go through
the process of being a student election worker. I believe that just as I did, teens will learn a
ton about the democratic process as well as valuable information about older members of
society that we don’t interact with much on a daily basis.

Oh, and you eighteen-and-older folk, don’t forget to vote on November 2nd -get informed
and become a proactive member of society by heading to your assigned voting location and
casting that ballot! You can visit http://jocoelection.org to find your voting location, see a
sample ballot, learn about party affiliations, sign up to work the next election, and a whole
lot more.

I’m excited to go back and see some friends from August as well as to meet more amazing
people and to learn a bunch of other new things. I look forward to handing out stickers
proclaiming that some of you did your awesome civic duty on November 2nd!