YDR Insider

Thousands of voters around York County will hit their polling places this month.

Some will go before or after work, and others will find time during the day whether on a lunch break or day off. But East York resident Brenda Bahn will be working on election day. All of election day.

“We start at 6 a.m., cannot leave, and don’t get out of (the polling place) till 8:30 or 9 p.m.” Bahn said.

She serves as a Minority Inspector of Elections in Windsor Township. She greets voters, checks to see if they are registered correctly, and also helps with tallying votes and packing up equipment at the end of election Tuesday.

Bahn must attend a class two weeks before every election to get updates on the voting process and provide feedback for the state on any problems the polling center encountered. 

Bahn described the last election as a “nightmare.”

“People kept coming in and trying to vote and they were not registered there. Windsor is a small town and we know the people. We weren’t allowing fraud there,” she said.

Bahn explained that the judge of elections and the majority inspector will visit the polling center Monday night to set everything up for the big day. However, the machines aren’t allowed to be turned on until 7 a.m. the day of the election.

“Even though the little town doesn’t count for many votes, those people get up and are proud to come in and vote,” she said. “They ask what number voter they are and how many people have come out to vote. I’m sure you can’t get that anywhere else but a small town.”

Bahn says she is glad people come out to vote because “so many people don’t.”

“What I always say, ‘If you don’t vote, don’t complain about who gets elected.'”

For complete coverage of the May 21 primary election, click here.