What's it like working as a Stark County poll worker? Columnist Charita Goshay found out

Editor's note: With concerns about the security of voting, safety of elections workers and the need for more poll workers, the Stark County Board of Elections agreed to allow Canton Repository staff writer and columnist Charita Goshay to train to be a poll worker and work Election Day. She wrote about her experience. This is her final column on the subject.

Whether you are celebrating the results of Tuesday's historic election or you're reeling from the shock of it, the American people have spoken.

We know what was said, thanks to the ordinary citizens who devoted their time and talents to ensure a fair, transparent and safe election by serving as poll workers.

The day for poll workers starts at 5:30 a.m. It doesn't end when the polls close at 7:30 p.m. It's not over until every piece of equipment is accounted for, properly stored and made ready for delivery or pickup.

Many staffers work much, much longer until the job is done.

Perhaps Stark County is a unicorn. Reports of bomb threats, assaults and incorrect ballots being issued were reported in other communities, but did not take place here.

What I did experience at the Plain Township precinct at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church was voters who were friendly, engaged, and proud to take part in their civic duty as citizens.

In other words, no one walked in looking for a fight.

They were people who wanted a say in their government, served by a cross-section of volunteers who included veteran workers, retirees, a high school student and a newspaper columnist.

No one does it for the money, certainly not for 15 hours of service, in addition to training and setup, all for $130.

Tuesday's voters included young first-timers who were a little wide-eyed in response to the moment, and parents who brought their young children to witness the day.

The first arrived even before the polls opened at 6:30 a.m. The last voter, a young man who had just gotten off from work and still thought it important, walked in at 7:28 p.m., two minutes before the polls closed.

For at least one family, bringing their four sons has become an Election Day tradition. Every year, the boys present the workers with a bag of candy.

Every voter who needed assistance or who had a question was served by a bipartisan team of poll workers.

For those of you who suspect that voting machines are being manipulated, you're digesting too much social media and conspiracy theories.

No such thing is happening, or is even possible, in Stark County.

To dismantle one stubborn myth, voting machines — which contain paper receipts that record the results — are not connected to the internet. Nor are they controlled by Hugo Chavez, a German satellite, a secret cabal or Martians.

Not even Harry Houdini could pull a fast one because everything, every moment, every single act involving the machines is performed out in the open before bipartisan teams of poll workers led by Board of Elections professionals who are experts at their jobs.

Nothing is left to chance. There isn't enough ink or daylight to detail every step, but they include marking and printing out multiple reports from each machine, then bagging and sealing those reports; bagging and sealing every lock used to secure the machines; bipartisan teams assembling, then dismantling the machines; and a bipartisan team hand-delivering the results to the Board of Elections within a specific time frame.

With the patience of Job, the supervisors had the solution for every problem that arose and answered every question asked by poll workers, particularly from rookies like me, who were terrified of making a mistake.

Everyone should consider becoming a poll worker, at least once. There are very few places in the world where average citizens are not only encouraged to participate but are needed.

Serving will give you a hands-on opportunity to see for yourself that in some parts of our shared experience, integrity still matters.

It is a point of light we all should celebrate.

To learn more visit https://starkcountyohio.gov/government/offices/board_of_elections/.

Charita M. Goshay is a Canton Repository staff writer and member of the editorial board. Reach her at 330-580-8313 or [email protected]. On Twitter: @cgoshayREP