From an anonymous election volunteer in Nevada

So here is a story about one of the experiences I had yesterday as a poll monitor at Precinct 611, 627, 628, and 696 in Sparks, NV. The voter's name was Francisco. He was about 35 years old and spoke broken English.

When he arrived at my polling place at 7:30 in the morning, he had to wait over an hour to vote. When he finally got to the front of the line, he was told his name was not on the list of registered voters at the site. He insisted, using broken English, that he was registered at the polling place, at which point the poll manager gave him a provisional ballot. However, that ballot only included the Federal races (President and Senate) and not the long list of Nevada state initiatives or state office holders. He cast the provisional ballot and left the room dejected due to concern that his provisional ballot would not be counted and due to the fact that he wished to vote the entire ballot.

He was walking away from the polling place when my colleague and I saw him and asked if he had had any problems voting. We explained we were a non-partisan group that could assist him. He seemed very surprised that we might be able to help, but we assured him as we called the attorneys with the Election Protection Coalition.

It turned out that there was a simple misspelling of his name on the voter rolls. They informed us that indeed he had the right to vote the entire ballot, but due to the fact that he had already voted provisionally, he would not be able to re-cast his ballot.

During this phone conversation, the Republican Poll Watcher approached us and told us we should stop wasting the time of the Precinct Manager, as the ballot was cast and there was nothing more we could do. I stood the guy down, but he succeeded in making Francisco uncomfortable. Due to this intimidation, one of the election protection attorneys visited our poll site. He filed a complaint against the Republican Poll Watcher and then spoke further with Francisco. He also was able to ensure that the Republican Poll Watcher did not say word one the rest of the day (he knew that if he did he would be kicked out of the polling place and possibly prosecuted).

Francisco, meanwhile, spoke further with us. It turns out it was his first time ever voting anywhere. He wanted his voice to be heard and asked why it was that the Poll Watcher was so antagonistic towards him. I explained that some people wanted him to be able to vote and others did not.

At this point he said he was going to go down to the Central Registrar's office (which I heard was a complete zoo all day). He returned with a letter from the registrar stating that the poll workers should rip up his provisional ballot and let him vote the entire ticket.

As he left the polling place, he was beaming. He seemed so proud to have been able to cast that ballot, and I felt that I had helped to empower him.

There were several other stories like this that happened throughout the day, but I will never forget the look on Francisco's face as he walked away at about 11 am.

There is so much that we can do as engaged participants in the system. Of course it looks bleak today, but I imagine there were innumerable stories like Francisco's that happened yesterday due to our work. We are making a difference. We need to keep the faith....