The 2020 presidential general election was one for the history books, with the younger generation involved both in participating in voting and working in voting centers. Photo by Alexandra Burgess.
By Ruby Munoz, Staff Writer
When people walk into the voting center to vote for the 2020 Presidential General Election, they want to be a part of the voting experience.
Many people want to be able to vote and feel a part of something life-changing. They want to take part in something impactful and important to them.
This is why it was a significant working experience for me. It was my very first time working, setting up voting centers for the election. It was important for me to help prepare for the election by investing and contributing my time and effort for several communities.
I wasn’t a poll worker on Election Day, but I worked behind the scenes setting up the voting centers along with my fellow coworkers.
A couple of weeks prior to Election Day, I prepared several voting centers in different locations near my area such as El Monte, Monrovia, and Lakewood.
Many of my coworkers even set up voting centers at other locations such as my school, California State University, Dominguez Hills.
My team of five and I set up the voting machines, pollbook iPads, tables, and chairs. We also worked very hard on the cabling and making sure every ballot machine was connected to the router/internet.
We tried our best to prepare a neat and clean atmosphere that people would be comfortable to vote in. We also wanted the poll workers to easily use the pollbook iPads and work in a comfortable environment on Election Day.
I personally wanted the voting center to be a presentable place where people can have an accessible and easy place to vote without any problems occurring such as poor connection, horrible cabling, or unsanitary conditions.
Under unprecedented circumstances, the voting center had to be set up according to the COVID-19 guidelines such as staying 6-feet apart and social distancing.
Of course, while working, setting up the voting centers, my team and I wore masks and took precautions throughout our whole working process which made it a safe environment to work in.
This experience was amazing because I met people who were working for the same reasons I was, which was to commit and contribute to an impactful event by dedicating their brains and hard work to the community.
We listened to music while setting up the voting equipment and laughed at each other’s jokes. While working those long hours together, we got to know each other better. We learned one another’s strengths and weaknesses.
I also befriended someone in my team that I found out, lives literally down the street from me. I’ve received many great things because of this experience.
In the future, when I attend a voting center, I will acknowledge the poll workers but I especially will never forget the people behind the scenes who worked hard setting up the voting centers to create a comfortable environment for voters.
I want to acknowledge the hands that worked on each voting center in L.A. County and other counties.
According to 2020 US Presidential Election results and polls more people voted than ever before in the history of the country. As someone who was able to be a part of that impact is an amazing feeling.
