[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Debra Bowen
California Secretary of State

Each election, Californians see snapshots of what makes our democracy tick. Candidates. Initiative measures. Campaign commercials. Voter registration drives. Ballots and the machines that count them.

One crucial element that’s often overlooked is the contribution from the state’s largest one-day volunteer work force: the 100,000 men and women who serve on the front lines of democracy as poll workers.

Teenagers and senior citizens, professionals and retirees, people of all backgrounds come together to ensure all of the more than 23,000 polling places across California are staffed on Election Day. Poll workers make voting easier and they protect our ballots until they are delivered to county election officials.

For their valuable service, poll workers take home modest stipends. But they walk away with so much more – a sense of community, a chance to reconnect with neighbors and friends, first-hand experience with democracy, and personal satisfaction.

We couldn’t have made the February 5 presidential primary a success without poll workers. And now we need their help again, and yours too.

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Friday is the deadline for Secretary of State Debra Bowen to decide whether to decertify suspect electronic voting machines. Rick Jacobs of the progressive Courage Campaign has launched an effort to help rally support for Bowen's effort to prevent the hacking of electronic voting machines. County election officials have been making plenty of noise to keep the machines; they fear extra expenses and chaotic voting if they're ordered to get new machines. Click here to support the secure voting effort.