I was a poll worker for the first time this election, in San Mateo County, and while I don't know the final numbers, the more experienced poll workers all said this was the highest turnout they'd seen since 2004.

There was a lot of fear of the single electronic voting machine, even though the county uses something called E-Slate instead of the Diebolds everyone's been hearing about...and many complaints about the length of the ballot, and the lack of information about incumbent judges...and I was surprised at the number of requests for partisan literature (can you imagine?)

I'd strongly encourage everyone to become a poll worker. Part of being an informed voter is understanding how everyone's vote will be counted. You won't get that from the Secretary of State's press releases or even gootubed Schoolhouse Rock videos, and you sure as hell won't get it by harassing people over the phone in the name of your favorite candidate (however important that may seem at the time.)

The real elections process, the part that actually matters on Wednesday, is that real people cast real ballots for the candidates or issues they'd intended. The process, however cumbersome and broken, can run smoothly -- and in my precinct, it did. Take a vacation day -- you can spare one -- and help your neighbors vote.

Though this is only my second election in San Mateo County (in less than a year), I decided to sign up to be a poll worker -- and, since I'm writing more, blog about the experience.

This morning I opened a letter, purportedly from Warren Slocum, which read:

You are hereby notified, pursuant to Elections Code Section 12307, that the Chief Elections Officer has appointed you to serve as JUDGE of the precinct board for the CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL GENERAL ELECTION to be held on TUESDAY, 11/07/2006

Looks like "judge" is the title they give to generic precinct workers; other titles are "inspector" (clearly the person in charge) and "student PW" (probably a bored high school intern.)

Since I'll be in Toronto all next week, the only training sessions I'm likely to be able to get to are either tomorrow or mid-afternoon on the 30th, but I'm confident I can make one of those work.

Now...where's my absentee ballot? It should've arrived by now.

I was visiting friends in a crummy neighborhood in West Oakland this evening, and some time between 6 and 7:30 somebody broke one of the back windows of my car. They got in, rifled through my stuff (I hadn't entirely finished unpacking after my long trip), clearly saw some CDs -- but only stole my iPod, which was in the glove compartment. Nothing else appears to be missing. Maybe a couple burned CDs, but I can't remember where I left 'em.

They also tried to start the car with a screwdriver -- most likely the same screwdriver which had been left in my '87 Mustang when somebody broke into it in San Francisco in 1999 or so.

My friends already sold that house, and won't be living there much longer. Oakland is a very big place -- it's not all like that.