Election Day 5:59 am

Val and Pete, Election Inspectors, District 11, one Republican and one Democrat as required by law, sat at a heavy folding table in an upstate firehouse awaiting the health aides, Walmart shift workers, and DPW guys who always lined up to vote first thing. Val, Pete, and the team of volunteers from District 12 had completed the familiar drill of turning the room where volunteer firefighters met, pancake breakfast fundraisers were served up, and seniors played bingo, into a polling place. They’d opened the tables, dragged them to one side of the room, arranged red, white, and blue privacy screens, and posted VOTE HERE signs outside. They’d pushed two bulky, black voting machines into place, plugged cables into the correct ports and outlets, inserted security keys, and zeroed out the machines. They’d removed the plastic wrap from reams of numbered ballots, zipped open special bags that held official forms, and checked and rechecked every detail. Last of all, they’d moved the station’s parade-size American flag into position. <a href="https://medium.com/the-lark/election-day-5-59-am-399b582a16e2">Read More</a>