Dear John,
We’ve been collecting stories all year from election officials that we meet around the country to help the public better understand their important role in our elections. In this installment of our Spotlight on Election Officials series, we’re introducing you to St. Louis County’s Democratic Director of Elections Eric Fey. Eric explains how his experience as a poll worker in college led him to work in elections, and how he continues to be drawn to the work of administering elections to serve every voter. Here are excerpts from his interview with us:
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As administrators of our democracy, election officials’ work is so important to carry out our democratic process. How does that responsibility shape your approach to your work?
I think I’m drawn to this work because I’m serving everybody. Although I’m appointed in a partisan capacity, I’m not here in my role to advantage one party over another. I’m here to serve all voters, and I tell our employees all the time that I think what we do in our office is the most important function of St. Louis County government. If we don’t get our part right, citizens don’t have faith or trust in anything else that’s running in county government. I have a great co-director, Rick Stream, and we emphasize a nonpartisan approach to our employees. Obviously there are a lot of challenges day-to-day, but we take them as they come and try to overcome them to serve our voters.
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How can Americans support election officials in their work to implement democracy?
First, anyone who has any interest in the process should sign up to be a poll worker or a ballot opener because we always need more help and it’s the best way to see the process up front. Second, poll workers should spread the word about what it’s like to work in an election and the processes that were observed and encourage their friends and neighbors to sign up to become a poll worker too. You don’t have to be a poll worker every year, but just give it a shot once to learn how the process works. There’s no better advocate for an election office than an experienced, well-educated and motivated poll worker.
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Democracy works best when we all participate. Check out our Get Involved page if you want to join the millions of folks who sign up to become poll workers – or if you’re looking for other simple ways to help ensure our elections run smoothly.
With thanks,
The Verified Voting Team
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