The Unveiling
Friday, June 24, 8:05 am, and I am heading up to the Abrams Building for the Pima County Elections Department mock election. The mock election will run from 9:00-11:00 and give Pima County Elections Department and County Recorder an opportunity to demonstrate to their residents the new ePoll books and voting process. Promptly at 9 o’clock they came out and announced the process. Each of us would be given a “celebrity” voter registration card, and we would be admitted three at a time to the voting room. I am number 11 in line and became MARLIN BRANDO, born in 1924 and living in Tucson, Precinct 14—that is the celebrity voting card I received. My card has a note next to my name MAIL BALLOT RECEIVED. My excitement grew as I realized I was going to be a test case.
First Stop, ePoll Book
The ePoll books look just like your tablet, but they put my MARLIN BRANDO card underneath to scan but nothing happens. It turns out they had not populated the database with the “celebrity” voter registrations and so they were just going to use driver’s licenses. But I have lived in the same house for 15 years, check my registration quarterly, and knew that they would not be able to evaluate the MAIL BALLOT RECEIVED status, so I insisted on using the new alias—MARLIN BRANDO. He pointed me to the Special Issues table—where the line had grown because none of the ‘celebrities’ were in the database—and they were hoping I would just succumb and pull out my license. I moved forward to my new line.
Next Stop, Special Issues
I patiently waited my turn surrounded by so many masked individuals it felt like a surgical suite. When it was my turn, I handed my MARLIN BRANDO card over to be told it did not work. So, I said I knew that, but I really wanted to vote. To accommodate my request, I was asked what party affiliation I was. With my name tag in full site, I pointed and said REPUBLICAN. Very carefully, all of MARLIN BRANDO’s information was typed into the system, and I was a newly registered voter. I waited to see if I would have to show a photo ID and knew I could google a photo of MARLIN BRANDO, but was never asked for a photo ID. How perfect! Right on election day I was able to register.
A form was filled out, connection was made between the ePoll book and the printer, and I received my ballot (it was the 2018 primary), a red sleeve that said PROVISIONAL, and a yellow sheet that I signed that said I voted provisionally.
Voting Station Stop
Stepping over to the voting booths, I was ready to cast my ballot. I knew Precinct 14 was in LD 11, so I quickly checked to make sure that my ballot was correct, and it was. I made my selections and went to drop my ballot in the ballot boxes. It was a little difficult as there was media all over the room—cameras, people, tripods. There were two boxes for ballots. I had the red sleeve for a provisional ballot, so I was going to put my ballot in the blue box. When I went to put my yellow sheet in too, I was told not to—but I was confused because at my last stop they told me to put them in together. After some checking, sure enough, they go in together.
The Exit
As I exited the room, Nicole from the Arizona Daily Star asked me about my experience. I shared everything with you that I shared with her. Interestingly, she was using a steno pad (if you do not know what that is, 🤣) and a pen. Contrasted using all this recent technology to vote, but still using the old steno pad and pen to draft stories.
Talking to Others
It was interesting to hear other people’s experiences as they came out of the “voting center” as well. Here are some comments I heard:
- Woman shows her driver’s license (she went in after me, I was the last “celebrity voter registration”). She is from Maricopa County. Poll Worker scans the license and says, “here you go Sylvia” to which she responds, “I am not Sylvia.” She gets sent to Special Issues.
- Gentleman shows Concealed Carry Permit with no photo and is issued a ballot.
- Gentleman is in one of the thirty new precincts that have been added since 2018 so there is no ballot to give him. They were not prepared to address these new precincts.
- Woman scribbles her name which gets compared to the driver’s license and is accepted.
This was intended to be a mock election; a demonstration of what the equipment could do. Instead, it was a test, and we were able to identify the vulnerabilities in the process and the training requirements still needed for the poll workers.
Next Steps
The county and the poll workers were aware that the mock election was not going as they intended. Those who came to participate knew as well. There are a couple of things to remember. The last day to register to vote in the primary is JULY 5, not the day of the election. Photo ID will be required for the general election on November 8, be prepared.
Hats off to the Pima County Elections Department for holding a mock election. Now they know what they need to fix–and, so do we. Next, we have to remove the vaccine mandate for our poll workers and then on to getting our Republicans elected. Join me.