Are elections rigged? My election experience

Elections can be equal parts contentious and confusing for many residents across the US. Something I’ve witnessed and heard firsthand from my own experience with local clients, and as a fully qualified and trained polling volunteer. For many, there’s long been a misconception of rigging or some kind of favor working behind the scenes in the election process, pulling the strings and affecting the results one way or the other.

However, based on my personal experience, and my history working on the polls, I want to provide my own insight. Based on what I’ve seen, what I know, and the stringent policies and rules surrounding polling, the act of rigging is something that lends itself better to conspiracies and gossip than it does to the actual reality of how polling works.

Why can’t elections be rigged?

In essence, the act of committing fraud in polling is practically impossible. Thanks to a combination of specific rules, implementation of in-depth training, and no possible gaps or windows for rigging, it would be next to impossible to rig a local election through stuffing ballots. Whether that’s adding votes or other common methods many people are concerned about.

Besides this, people working on the polls complete complex, comprehensive training to work in their roles. As a result, it’s a significant number of hoops to jump through, without the fact you’re continually under the eye of other polling volunteers and workers throughout the day. There’s simply no opportunity or capability for fraudulent behavior to happen – and if it did, it would be spotted almost immediately.

My personal experience with elections

Since 2022, I’ve been personally involved working as an election clerk for local elections in Texas as an election clerk. I’ve seen with my own eyes just how much time and energy goes into ensuring fraud is prevented, from the complete in-depth training you receive to the fact that there are always eyes on you. From the number of ballots people can hold to the processes you follow as you go through the polling center, there’s no time for rigging to happen.

From my perspective, the typical experience of a polling station has been a fourteen-hour work day, from the early hours of the morning to the evening, with polling volunteers around at every point in the journey. While it’s easy to reach conclusions from spending time placing your own ballot, I can assure you that in the many hours I’ve spent supporting our polling system, there has never been an opportunity yet for election rigging to occur.

As someone who is passionate about doing things the right way, my experience working within the political system as a polling worker has shown me just how vital this work is to the others around me, as well. Much like I’m enthusiastic about doing everything for my clients, I’m equally eager to support a fair, measured, and legal voting system – and that’s what I plan to continue to do.