A few weeks ago a call for volunteers to answer phones on March 12th was put out by the Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s office. There was a jurisdictional election today in the cities of Litchfield Park and Tempe, but call volume was anticipated to be low so it would be good prep for later this month when call volume ticks up. I gladly agreed to help and had the most humbling, fun, rewarding day of work I’ve had in quite some time. I love what I do daily, but this was different and an opportunity to directly help people, which if you know me at all, you know that is all I really ever wanted to do in life (plus we were told there would be doughnuts).

Now mind you, I worked for years in call centers in high school doing everything from directory assistance (“Good afternoon, City and State, please?”) to renewing Time magazine subscriptions. But let’s just say it’s been a minute…

While I expected callers to ask where they can update their party affiliation, when ballots needed to be in the mail for them to count, etc, I wasn’t expecting, “where can I find the Notary Public application form on your website?” That one had me scrambling.

I found the info quickly enough, but in the time it took me figure out how to unmute, the caller was gone. I like to think they found the application at the exact same time and *that’s* why they hung up…

Two different callers absolutely made my day, though.

The first was a Mom, frantically trying to make sure her daughter’s ballot didn’t need an extra stamp if it was mailed from her school in the Pacific Northwest back to Arizona. She’d been reminding her regularly to mail it back in time and panicked thinking she should have told her to put a stamp on the green envelope. She was about to Venmo her $10 in gas money to drive to the post office to get stamps so it would make it home in time. I assured her that wasn’t necessary as the envelopes state no postage is necessary if mailed in the United States. “Oh, duh,” she laughed, then continued a few minutes more telling me about her daughter and how much they’ve stressed the importance of voting and staying on the active early vote list even though she’s away at college. What a great mom, I thought. I couldn’t help myself.

“That’s awesome! What a great mom!” It just came out. She sounded grateful for the acknowledgement of her efforts, and I wanted to say it reminded me of something my Mama would have done for me (despite my younger self’s tendency to lean towards ungratefulness).

I took a break and a couple of laps around the floor to stretch my legs before getting back online. I remembered my lunch in the fridge and went to retrieve some snacks but then I spotted a Crockpot brimming with our newly named State Elections Director’s famous election night lasagna. I quickly forgot my bagged salad, loaded up a plate and got back to work.

The second caller was a Daughter, calling from her mother’s hospital bedside, wondering if there was any possible way her mom would be able to vote next week in the Presidential Preference Election. I could hear her on the side relaying our conversation to her mom as I placed her on hold and messaged colleagues for help.

As I awaited a reply I again thought of my Mama, only this time I imagined her four years ago recovering from surgery as COVID was beginning to rage and lock everything down. She’d always voted by mail, so my Dad was able to bring her ballot to her in the PT rehab facility. I imagined how distraught she would have been not to be able to vote because she was trapped in a hospital bed. I began to tear up thinking about helpless it would feel.

Then the help came- and that’s when I learned about special election boards! I scrambled with excitement to take my caller off of mute, “Voters with a confining illness can request voter support from a special election board to assist with casting a ballot in the hospital. The Boards are made up of two members of different parties trained to support voters in a secure, confidential manner. “

I paused.

As she relayed this info to her mom I could hear how genuinely relieved they were to learn this news. I offered the email and phone number as well as the Recorder’s website with additional information. When I heard her ask her mom to hand her a pen and the Kleenex box on the bedside table so she could write the info down for her, I had to mute myself quickly and giggle. I couldn’t help myself.

I pictured all the random faded receipts and torn, used envelopes with “IMPORTANT! DO NOT THROW AWAY” and some random phone number in my Mama’s handwriting I used to find. I unmuted quickly again (by this time I was a pro) and offered to email her the information so she didn’t have to worry about the Kleenex box being thrown away. She was very thankful as she rattled off her gmail and promised her mom she would forward my email.

She then proceeded to write the phone number on the Kleenex box with the word “VOTE!!!” all down one side (just in case).

10. I ❤️ classic glaze and crullers

9. I 🧡 dog walks at lunchtime

8. I 💛 patio Hulu watching

7. I 💚 Zorro’s baby goat style bouncing

6. I 💙 the weather of late!

5. I 💜 baby Ryker’s pics from his first day of “school”

4. I ❤️ the dinner invite to Dad and Kubbye’s this Friday night

3. I 🧡 SEB’s and the people who serve on them!

2. I 💛 comfort food and potlucks.

1. I 💚 those who are doing everything they can to make sure their own voices are heard along with their moms and daughters in this year’s election.