Election Day help

Democracy doesn’t just happen. It requires what Jefferson called “eternal vigilance,” it often requires sacrifice, and mostly it requires hard work.

Citizens have the hardest, most rewarding work: shifting through the politicians’ claims and counterclaims, taking their measure of each cause and candidate, and then casting ballots to shape the future of their community, state and county.

There is, however, a vital behind-the-scenes role to be played. Jackson County, like other places, always needs election judges, and Nov. 4 is just three months away.

Want to help? An election judge has to be a registered voter in the county. You have to be “a person of good repute and character,” and you need a good command of English. You can’t be an office-holder or be on the ballot at the poll where you work. And it helps to be an early riser: You have to be at the polls at 5 a.m. on Election Day – voting is from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Missouri – and you have to stay for the day.

This is some of the hard work of self-government that is too often taken for granted. Call the Jackson County Board of Election Commissioners at 816-325-4600 or go to http://jceb.co.jackson.mo.us/ to find out more.