I thought our poll workers were volunteers too, but I could be incorrect.
I think thatâs part of the âfunâ here⊠meandering here and there, with some interesting side topics.
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In NJ, the observers are called challengers (at least in my county, others may be different) and there can be one from each party Democratic and Republican. They have to submit paperwork to the county and be approved. They are, theoretically, there to challenge someone looking to vote if they believe they are not eligible. They really are there, as so many have already said, to cross of who has voted and provide info who has not voted to the campaigns. They do this by name. In NJ whether you voted is public info but not who you voted for.
Iâve been both a poll worker and an observer.
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OK, moving on to other things that annoy meâŠ
When my sonâs new GF was coming to meet us, my son said she shouldnât wear any perfume and she should eat all of the food she ordered. That pretty much summed it up. I canât stand over-perfumed people or places, and it drives me crazy when someone habitually orders food they donât eat (when Iâm paying for it). I get that sometimes something just isnât as you expected it to be or you donât like it, but Iâm not OK with someone ordering an appetizer and eating a couple of bites, then an entree and eating half of it, then a dessert (usually fully consumed) and wasting all that food and money on a regular basis. Yes, I have a relative that is known for this.
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Yes, most in our town are retirees as well. I have been asked if I would work the polls when I retired and declined. BECAUSE, I worked for the local govt prior to my retirement and all of us had to donate 1 day to work the polls during the 2008 presidential election - it was so disheartening listening to the retirees sit and talk out loud in discussion everything they were not allowed to say - I would politely remind them they were not to discuss political views or candidate issues, etc but they said they didnât care. I will be 69 in a few months and honestly have a bias against old people, soooooo many have entitlement issues. Donât get me started on the millionaire widows who take over the county senior center and demand others donât play in âtheirâ card group - and why do they have to pay to reserve a room when they pay taxesâŠughhhhh, these people!
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My mom was a challenger in NJ too.
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Not permitted in our polling places. Candidates cannot be discussed at all within 75 feet of the polling place. State regulation on electioneering.
Iâve been a moderator since about 2012. We have a great team of poll workers of all ages. We have high school seniors who are allowed to work a half day shift if they are old enough to vote. Our poll workers are a huge variety of ages. Our registrars and the current poll workers have done an excellent job of spreading the word about how important it is to have reliable and good poll workers when we vote.
As a moderator, I always bring my team a lunch treatâŠsoup, Mac and cheese, chili, pasta faguile. Sandwich fixings. Itâs the least I can do.
We get snacks, water, coffee and tea, and a nice dinner provided to us. And we rotate so folks have a break to eat.
I donât find this annoying at allâŠso maybe this doesnât belong here. The polls need workers. Consider doing this.
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DSâ BS had a sign saying âTake all you want
Want all you take.â Sums it up perfectly.
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Sounds like you didnât have to deal with the same kind of people who really donât like to be told what to do.
In our town, poll workers are volunteers, but if you are a low-income senior, you can âworkâ for a tax credit. We recently had an over-ride initiative, and seniors were complaining about their taxes going up, so I looked into it. It comes out to much less than minimum wage for our state.
Wow, youâre giving me too much of a platform here. Basically, people annoy me.
Today, my biggest annoyance was that my insurance company wants to practice medicine by telling me I donât need the medication my doctor ordered.
Maybe thatâs how all of us curmudgons should start our posts, since we are always annoyed. Today, my biggest annoyance wasâŠ
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Today my biggest annoyance wasâŠ
that stupid âpoop shyâ commercial. 
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Things that annoy meâŠ. The CC servers donât have the bandwidth to support even my partial list.
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Things that annoy me: slow drivers in the left or, worse yet, carpool lane on the freeway. Just move to the right if youâd like to drive more slowly than the flow of traffic!
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For me, itâs the spray deodorant commercials that promote the need to spray stinky nether regions of the body. They even have theme songs that name each nether region. I donât want to hear about sinky nether regions. What happened to good ole showering with soap & water?
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Things That Annoy Me!
Do children and spouseâs count? 
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Yesterdayâs thing that annoyed me - I found out - the hard way - that one of my employees has admin rights and was able to view her annual evaluation before I presented it to her. Itâs not a great eval and itâs going to be a hard discussion that Iâve mentally been gaming out and prepping for to try and keep it focused and going in the right direction. And i found this out because one of her subordinates was all âdid something happen? [Midlevel boss] has been really weird the last two weeks.â Uh, yeah. Two weeks ago I input her eval.
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Annoying: hypocrisy
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Things that annoy me - tailgaters that think âleft laneâ drivers can do whatever they want, as if there is no speed limit. I too need to get around the slow guy in the right lane but I canât because the left lane has turned into a race track.
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