Point Reyes Light - November 4, 2004
Inverness trio travel to Florida, observe elections
By Jacob Resneck
With the presidential race focusing on major states where the vote was not predictable, some West Marin residents this fall headed off to states whose electoral college votes would decide the election.
During the presidential election, three women from West Marin worked as pollwatchers in Florida’s Duval County, working in Jacksonville’s metropolitan area.
Why did they do it? "When I first read in the newspaper about police intimidation of elderly blacks, I was incensed," answered Sandra Holland of Inverness, one of those who traveled 3,000 miles to Florida.
"At first I thought I could only afford to go to [swing-state Nevada], but then I felt like I had to go to Florida. I had missed the Civil Rights movement, and everyone had said Jacksonville would be the epicenter [of a contested election.]"
Holland made the journey with fellow Ellen Shehadeh of Inverness and San Francisco and with Susan Doelger, a former Inverness resident now living in San Francisco. The trio volunteered for Election Protection, a nonpartisan election-watchdog group that positions volunteers at polls across the nation. Volunteers are charged with making sure no eligible voters are turned away from the polls.
The trio expected to be placed in an inner-city area. Many in Florida have reported incidents of voter intimidation, especially in black neighborhoods. Instead, the trio was surprised to be placed in a rural area outside of Jacksonville that had a heavy Republican party presence.
‘Point Reyes but with Cheney-Bush signs’
"They put us kind of out in the boonies," Shehadeh said. "It was sort of like Point Reyes, but with Cheney-Bush signs. We were kind of geared up for some kind of nitty-gritty urban environment."
Shehadeh said that a pollworker, who identified himself as a Democratic Party operative, told her that when he saw their high-level of organization, their Election Protection van, and their t-shirt logos, he worried that an intimidation attempt might be underway.
When told who they were, he told Shehadeh that Democrats weren’t known for that level of organization.
"I explained that we weren’t Democrats. I mean we are, but we weren’t there in that role," Shehadeh said. Rather, she explained, they made sure everyone got a chance to cast their vote; they spoke with people as they exited the polls to make sure they were able to cast their votes.
The three volunteers reported that things went smoothly at their precinct and they didn’t know of any widespread foulplay in Florida.
No GOP mischief
"This time the Republicans were smart to not try any rough and tumble stuff," Holland said. "Or at least any blatantly stupid stuff," adding that it appeared that unlike the 2000 election, Bush had to campaign intensely in Florida to stave off an upset.
"The Republicans did get a lot of people out [to vote,]" Holland said. "Their evangelical operatives have been knocking on doors. They’ve got their technique down and their value issues well in hand."
Holland said that despite the trio’s disappointment with the election’s outcome, once she returns to California she will organize a drive for getting California to adopt a single-payer healthcare system.
"I’m going to get involved with the ‘Health Care for All California Campaign,’" Holland said. "Senate Bill 21, introduced by [Sen. Liz] Figueroa is really important. We need to get the troops out for that. We need to keep the momentum going."
Shehadeh wryly commented, "It’s interesting: the Republican cows here – you can’t tell them from the more-liberal West Marin cows. I mean, they’re practically indistinguishable until you stop to talk to them."