Tales From Real Life: Judging Absentee Ballots

In another of our Tales From Real Life series, I direct you to Luther Weeks’ account of a day as an absentee ballot moderator, which involves making judgements about whether absentee ballots should be counted, and when (and when not) to rely on the results of counting machines. Perhaps you didn’t know that this volunteer work was part of the absentee voting process? Then read Luther’s story to learn the other 90% of details of vote by mail that you probably also don’t know. The detail and intricacy of the process are humbling, both to the election volunteer, and to the technologist try to make systems that help, and save money, and deliver transparency.

— EJS