although only 7 percent worry about errors at their local polling places

was sent out to pick up signs in the parking lot. One of the women stopped and asked if I could take their photo. “That’s my mother,” she said, then gestured, “And that is my daughter — and she’s pregnant with a girl.” I took their photo, exclaiming “Four generations!” They walked toward their cars, and I kept on picking up signs. Vote Here. Vote Aquí. No Campaigning in 150 Feet. Vote Today. I thought about that baby on the way and all those future voters.

But my mom said I could vote here,” more than one student pleaded. Your mom is right about so many things, we recited. But when it comes to election law, in Georgia, you have to vote in the county where you’re registered. We encouraged them to go home by election day. You have time. We want you to vote. That assurance didn’t always prevent teary outbursts or mild cursing.

y first assignment was early voting for the 2024 presidential election on the University of Georgia camp

The watchers I’ve encountered have been a mixed crew. One looked like the restaurant critic from Ratatouille — tall, cadaverous, with sunken eyes and a perpetual frown. He jotted in a notebook all day, using what appeared to be a system of ciphers or shorthand. His counterpart from another party stood against the wall, wearing Vibram shoes. She bounced on her rubber-sheathed toes and smiled beatifically. I never saw her take notes, but she would leave from time-to-time, make a phone call, do some calf stretches, and return to keep watching

Georgia pollworkers — required to be “judicious, intelligent, and upright citizens” — swear oaths not only when they join the election workforce but at the start of each shift. The importance of complying with the law is drummed into us. We are acutely aware of the legal requirements to administer the election properly.

“Voting has always been so important to me. I think about people who fought for my right to vote,” she says. As an election clerk, she strives to “make people feel welcome, to let them know we want them to come vote, to create a good environment.”

We are briefed on any changes in laws and policies. In 2024, when Georgia elections officials warned us that we might have to hand-tally ballots on election night, we even practiced counting sheets of blank paper, going through the most efficient ways to arrange counted stacks and put double and triple safeguards in place.

“Zooming out a little bit, one of my main thoughts about the political morass we are in is: America, we need to talk. I mean to each other,” says Horne. “Back in high school, I was taught that if you shout fire in a crowded theater, you have to pay a price. If you shout a lie on Facebook, you should have to pay.”

“That sort of confidence came from the work and seeing the reality of what happens,” Horne says. “The real impediment to election fraud — the same as any humungous conspiracy theory like debates about the moon landing — is keeping a secret among tens of thousands of people. The results of the election are publicly posted on the wall of every precinct. Exactly what the count is. There are many thousands of poll workers across the country — somehow we conspired to steal an election?”

Horne said that since witnessing the work from the inside, his faith in election fairness and accuracy has increased “vastly.”

“It’s turned my life upside down,” Moss testified during a 2022 Congressional hearing. “I second-guess everything that I do. It’s affected my life in a major way — in every way. All because of lies.”

A survey conducted this year by the Brennan Center for Justice revealed that, nationally, almost a third of election officials have experienced “threats, harassment, or abuse because of their job,” while more than half worry about the safety of their coworkers and 23 percent are anxious about the threat of being physically assaulted at work or home.

We learned how to use software to check in voters, going through a host of scenarios for confirming identity. We learned how to format the chip cards used to cast ballots in Georgia’s voting machines. We troubleshooted every worst-case scenario from power outages and natural disasters to handling drama when people show up at the wrong precinct or refuse to put away their cell phones. We talked about diffusing conflict — again.

Heading to my first orientation session, I anticipated deep dives into voting law or esoterica relating to Georgia’s ID requirements. Instead, seated in the public library auditorium, we spent most of our time talking about what to do in case of confrontations at the polling place

joined this army of everyday citizens who step up for a few days or weeks during each election cycle to keep our democracy moving forward

To conduct elections, they bring in part-time election workers — more than 600,000 nationwide

I had presumed clerking was a volunteer position with cursory vetting, nationwide, pollworkers are paid, temporary employees. The hiring process varies from state to state and county to county. To become an election clerk in Athens-Clarke County, where I live in Georgia, I had to fill out an application, go through a background check, have an interview, and complete the bureaucratic process to become a part-time county employee (we earn between $15 and $18 an hour). Once hired, I started training. Lots and lots of training.Since voting in my first election (Bush-Dukakis), I have cast a ballot every time I could, and never doubted my vote would be counted. After working within the system, that trust has grown into an iron-clad faith.

I had worked at journalism organizations that forbade active participation in political campaigns or election work, so my interest had been theoretical

We saw rallies — “Count Every Vote!” “Stop the Steal!” Armed protests at election offices. The endless conspiracies about voting machines

To be honest, until I became an election clerk myself, if I gave poll workers any consideration at all, it was a little dismissive. Oh, look at those nice, earnest, nerdy people, I’d think while standing in line to cast a ballot. Sometimes I’d idly wonder: It must be fun to be the person who hands out those “I’ve voted” stickers — like the grown-up version of a kindergarten teacher doling out gold stars. Maybe I’ll do that when I’m retired, I would muse.

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