I volunteered as a precinct worker for SLO County’s election. The distrust I saw saddens me

I love the process of voting.

I first voted as a 19-year-old college sophomore following the passage of the 26th Amendment that lowered the voting age to 18. I routinely host proposition parties so my friends and I better understand the issues on our ballots.

So, when I had the opportunity to be a precinct worker during the recent primary elections, I jumped in with both feet.

This wasn’t my first time at the polls. I’d volunteered once before in 2014. But while the tasks and setting felt similar, the distrusting attitude of some the voters was drastically different.

For instance, many were skeptical about the integrity of the voting system. They refused to send in the ballots they’d received in the mail. Instead, they chose to exchange those ballots at the polling site in favor of new ones that were supposedly more secure. In each case, the ballots were the same — only the delivery method was changed.

They also seemed to question the honesty of the people working at the polls. When these same folks exchanged their ballots, they often crossed out or ripped up the originals, implying that someone might cast them again.

To make matters worse, at the end of the night, an observer from the public sat on the sidelines to ensure no vote tampering took place.

Of course, these actions were legal. Each of the participants were well within their rights.

Still, their suspicions were unsettling and indicative of a much larger issue. Voting has been undermined.

Now, we’ve been voting all our lives. The very act is embedded in our psyches. Parents ask children, “How many of us want pepperoni on the pizza?” We vote for milk monitor in the first grade, Most Likely to Succeed in high school and later President of the United States.

We learn quickly how to deal with the frustration of not getting what we want and to be gracious when we come out on top.

Challenging the notion of voting is as foreign as second-guessing maternal love.

Then comes the issue of democracy. Our country is founded on free and fair elections, which implies trusting the institutions that support it. When that system is eroded, democracy crumbles.

That’s why I was shocked and saddened by the changes I observed.

The poll workers I encountered were saintly and worked tirelessly to support the voting process. Their singular goal was to enable each voter to cast their ballot. Many spent more than 12 hours performing their duties. None exhibited a hint of political partisanship or underhanded motives.

And the other voters? Most were delightful. They were happy to perform their civic duties and appreciative we were there to assist.

Being a precinct worker was a rewarding and eye-opening experience. I’m already committed to volunteering again in November. If you’d like to join us, contact the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder. Please consider participating. There’s too much at stake to sit by.