CSULB
students work the polls
By Jill S. Thomsen
On-line Forty-Niner
Election
day began at 5 a.m. for some Cal State Long
Beach students. Last Tuesday 184 American
government students experienced democracy
at the ground level by serving as pollworkers
throughout Los Angeles County.
After
the pollworker shortage in March’s primary
election, Sen. Betty Karnette, D-Long Beach,
contacted political science department chair
Charles Noble about recruiting students
as pollworkers.
“I
hoped students would learn by participating
in the process. It’s a good way to experience
democracy in action,” Karnette said.
Students
were offered extra credit in exchange for
their services, in addition to the $55 paid
to pollworkers by the county. They were
also required to participate in a one-hour
training class which paid $25.
Undeclared
sophomore Marilu Luna said the money and
extra credit were enough incentive for her.
Second year liberal studies student Emily
Brydon noted that a lot of her classmates
did not want to participate because the
job takes the whole day.
With
polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., the long
workday was also a factor for Karnette.
“College
students are perfect pollworkers because
they are quick and have a lot of energy.
They don’t need as much sleep as other people.
Well, they need it, but they’re used to
not getting it,” she said.
Karnette
herself acted as a polling place inspector
and said the experience was very tiring
but also very worthwhile.
“Being
part of a process makes you feel better.
Being a passenger is different than being
a driver,” Karnette said.
Sophomore
psychology major Tracy Simmons agreed and
said, “I definitely have a better respect
for the polling system and the way elections
are run. I am much more conscious of the
people at polling places and what they do.”
Grace
Chavez, spokeswoman for Los Angeles County
Registrar-Recorder, said the county received
about 300 applications from Cal Students
Long Beach students. CSULB is serving as
a “test” campus for the program, which could
spread to other campuses based on its success.
Karnette
hopes that the pilot program will spread
to all Cal State University campuses and
California colleges as a whole. The decreasing
number of pollworkers is forcing the nation
as a whole to seek out new sources for the
voluntary position.
Professor
Larry George had about 25 students working
at the polls on Tuesday. He said students
were pretty excited about it and that those
who were interested at the beginning of
the semester followed through responsibly.
Professor
Marcia Godwin offered her students a choice
of either volunteering for a campaign, working
as a pollworker or analyzing a campaign.
Student Angelina Palma said she chose pollworking
because it seemed the easiest to do.
Godwin
said one student told her the experience
was a lot more fun than she expected.
Karnette
encouraged participating students to share
their election day experiences with local
community service organizations.
“I
think people who work in the polls are heroes,”
the senator said.
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