One would think that working as a student election judge from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Election Day would be torture. Long hours and crabby voters mixed with a multitude of people trying to push their political views on me was frustrating. And while all these things did happen throughout the day, I would still recommend this experience to anyone and everyone that’s interested in politics. Honestly, it was a blast.

I started my day at Valley View (precinct 15) setting up the room and prepping for the voters. The polls opened at 7, and by that time we had a line out the door and down the corner. I was given the privilege of checking in the voters with last names A-G, and it was truly an experience. Some voters were extraordinarily friendly because I was a student, whereas some immediately assumed I knew nothing and tried to take the book from me. In addition to that, I needed to help voters that weren’t registered yet, and if they were in the completely wrong precinct, I looked up their address and directed them where to go.

My next job was helping voters insert their ballot into the machine. And while this sounds easy, there were some troubles. Voters would get mad if it got too close to them, because “they needed their privacy.” However, I needed to step in when the machine started beeping, because they had no idea what they were doing. It was a testy process.

However, my favorite part of the day was just working with the people. From grandparents, to parents with kids, to Edina students, an election judge definitely needs strong personal skills. In fact, over 1200 people voted in my precinct. The day wouldn’t have been as enjoyable without such a great team behind me though. We all got along, and I actually made a new friend, who was the other student judge. The hours flew by, and were mitigated by the constant laughs with the other judges. It was a long day, but it was worth it.