I've now completed a day and a half day of training on how to do some of the most fundamental #election jobs assisting voters at a #polling place during the election.
So-called "e-Pollbook Judge" work involves looking up voters in a registration system, registering them if they aren't currently registered, and printing and delivering various types of ballots to the voters.
The half-day "Tech Judge" training involved learning how to help voters who want to use the touchscreen "Ballot Marking Devices" (aka BMDs) including how to inspect the tamper-evident seals that are used to secure the various data connection points (eg, USB ports) that are vulnerable to tampering if a threat actor cared to mess with how it works. The BMDs include assistive technologies, which help people with a range of physical or visual disabilities fill out their ballot.
Most of what we'll be doing will involve helping voters who are not long term residents, who may not even be registered to vote in Colorado (the vote center will be located at the UMC at the University of Colorado in Boulder).
One of the services least well used is something called "Mail Ballot To Go" (#MBTG) which was more widely used in 2020, when the pandemic was in full swing and no vaccines were widely available to address COVID. Voters who use MBTG call a phone line and arrange to have a ballot brought out to them at their car at a time they schedule, not unlike grocery pickup. The clerk & recorder still allows voters to use MBTG though we would prefer it if you would just come inside to vote in person if you must come to the polling place.
I'm very excited to do my second presidential election as an election judge. It's going to be a busy one, even though most voters in Colorado will get their ballots in the mail sometime in the next week. I hope to see you at the polls! Don't wait until November 5th - polls open the week of October 21 in Boulder county.
#UMC #CUBoulder #Boulder #voting
