accessIndiana

9/1

I saw this posting at my school about making $80 to $120 by getting involved in working the polls. The flyer said that most poll workers are over 70 years old and I've always been curious about the voting process. I signed up using the online form at http://www.in.gov/sos/elections/college_poll.html

9/3

I received a response back from someone from Hoosier Scholars Helping Democracy who is in charge of the entire project. They said they are excited I am interested in participating and asked if I knew any friends who were registered voters in Indiana who’d be interested. I asked how much time the training would take because I have other commitments besides school. They said the training was just a couple hours long and they had various training sessions scheduled, so I didn’t have to miss any classes in order to attend. Wow, not only is this a great opportunity to get involved and show everyone we not only care about issues by voting but we also care about our political system. He told me we get paid, too!”

9/20

Since the passage of the Help American Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), there have been significant changes in the election process. We have changed from using the old punch card and lever machines (no more hanging chads!) to sophisticated electronic voting machines that help secure election results and provide accessibility options for those that need them.

10/10

I met for county sponsored training with a big group of students I met from the introductory session at my campus. There were about twenty of us there. Some had participated in the past and some, like me, were new to the procedure. The training consisted of a two hour class including written materials, videos, and question and answer session based on ballots, voting machines, common questions and answers from voters. We got hands on training on the new voting machines, but most of the stuff was very simple. A lot of the people there had been helping out with elections since before I was born. I guess it is time for the younger generation to step up and help out!