The great work that was done

Today, Election Day, was amazing!

Before today, I had been told that you wouldn't be able to believe how cool election day can be until you volunteer for one. I had envisioned what the day would be like, and it was truly an energizing exercise of democracy.

The passion was amazing, and I'll share a few of the stories that I heard or witnessed.

At 7:00pm, I started my day as a poll watcher at the Dicken School in Ann Arbor. Both Ward 5, Precinct 7 and Ward 4, Precinct 7 would be voting here. The small elementary school gymnasium was divided down the middle by a rope divider. One side for Ward 4, the other for Ward 5. I met a democratic challenger who was content to spend most of her day talking with her neighbors and knitting a sweater for a local family shelter.

Most people didn't know what precinct they were in, only that Dicken was the place where they should vote, so I went to my car, got my copy of the Ann Arbor precinct map, and brought it in to help voters find the correct line. After a short while some Republican challengers had complained that we were harassing voters. No surprise there, but Vick, the election official there was happier to have some help, than worrying that we were "harassing" anyone.

Next, I moved on to help canvass and phone people. I received a phone call from a woman named Sarah. I had canvassed her earlier in the month, and I recall her telling me that she thought she might need help voting. Well, she called me around 10:00 am and told me she wouldn't be voting today, because she was sick.

I was able to convince her that she needed to vote and that we could help her get there safely. So, I called Precinct Leader-extraordinaire, Don Jones and here is how her tells the story...

"93-year-old Sarah Pezzoni has been inside her small apartment for a year, ever since her family moved her from friends in Florida so that they could take care of her here. She wasn’t feeling well this morning, but when she was offered a ride to get to the polling place, she said “OK.” She was beautifully dressed, coiffed and made up as she came down the hall toward me, but swaying a bit. She scoffed at the need for her walker, grabbed a cane and away we went.

She filled me in on her family, her upset at being away from Florida friendships, but acknowledged her family her for taking good care of her. When we got to the polling site, she walked into the long lines, willing to wait if necessary. However, two people at the front of the line said they would be willing to let her “cut in.” She wasn’t clear on how to fill out the necessary forms, and being legally blind, required some help on how to fill how the ballot. But after putting on her glasses, she read through all the proposals, made up her mind and voted.

On the way back, she commented on how many people were at the polls, that she had never seen anything like it – “so many young people.” She was very touched, and said often how glad she was that she had been able to experience voting on this day, that her family would not believe that she had been able to handle this without them.

She asked me to come back for a cup of coffee later and celebrate Kerry’s victory!"

Linda Diane Feldt did an amazing job with her work in an area of town where people really needed to be turned out. She estimates at least six people that they turned out would not have voted if it had not been for their efforts. One was a mother who wouldn't be able to vote, because she needed to take her daughter to school. Another was a daughter who was told by her mother, that as long as one person voted in a household, that was all that was needed. She voted for the first time and declared, "That was easier than I thought."

Lines were longer than expected, turnout was amazing, and it has left me with a most positive outlook for Michigan!

It was an extremely long day, for an extremely long campaign, and I am happy to now say that it has come to a close. There is a strange satisfaction that comes with seeing an election day that goes this well!