November 1, 2021 ‐ Happy #ElectionHeroDay! To celebrate, we spoke with a number of our election heroes – our city’s election judges, coordinators, and poll workers ‐ in their own voices:
Louise W.
“I guess being an election judge just runs in my family. My mother always worked at the polls each Election Day, and when my oldest son told me he was going to be an election judge a few years back, it reminded me of my duty to keep the tradition alive. If a high schooler can wake up that early and do it, I can do it too. And for a few elections, I got to work side‐by‐side with my sons! Being a judge is a great way to participate in and appreciate our democracy in action. I highly recommend becoming a judge in June 2022 – you will be amazed if you do!”
Josefina S.
“I have enjoyed working as an election judge since I was old enough to vote. My neighbors that come to vote at our precinct all recognize me at this point, and my mom also volunteers as a judge so we have been working together on election days for almost 20 years! We love to work with the new election judges and help them through the process, and I am trained to help voters with disabilities and answer their questions. It is important to me that everyone who can vote does vote!”
Kevan C.
“I started out as an election judge in 1976 after a neighbor said to me ‘try it, you will like it.’ And they were right! It helps if you are a people person, and because I love meeting new people and working with voters, it suits me well. It is important to me to let people know that their vote really counts. It can be a little rough to get yourself up that early on Election Day, but it is good work that I enjoy doing and you end up learning a lot about our democracy.”
Constance H.
“I am a retiree who wanted to stay interested and involved in my civic duties. As a union representative, I always had an interest in helping other people ‐ being an election judge gave me the opportunity to assist voters with the election process for over seven years!”
Evangelina M.
“As an election coordinator, I am there to help things run smoothly as possible on Election Day. We troubleshoot any issues that can come up at polling places and we double‐check that the voting process is working the way it is supposed to. Often, we can be the first ones at the polls and the last to leave – we are there to make sure all of your ballots are counted and delivered securely. Plus, I love that you get to meet and greet a lot of Chicagoans along the way!”
A big thank you to all of our election heroes across the city of Chicago – we cannot do it without you!