Voting looks pretty simple from where most of us sit.
We drive to the polls, which are always located within minutes of our homes, give our names to the poll worker, show our ID, then proceed to the voting machine to cast our ballots.
We are typically in and out the door in a matter of minutes.
But behind the scenes there are countless hours of thankless work performed by a small army of workers over the weeks leading up to our arrival at the polls.
Tuesday is election day, the culmination of all the hard work performed by election commissioners, circuit clerk employees and poll workers.
Presidential elections such as Tuesday’s always present a challenge for election workers because of the increased volume of voters, but this year the challenge has been even greater.
Projections indicate today’s election may be the largest turnout for an election since 1908, even at a time when a pandemic heightens fears of safety. That means election officials have been challenged to plan and implement safety protocols at polling places while making every effort to reassure people that voting is safe.
But new challenges emerged long before the opening on the polls Tuesday morning.
The fear of being exposed to COVID-19 has led to an unprecedented early voting. Nationally, more than 150 million people have voted early.
Mississippi is the only state that has not allowed people to vote early. Even so, Mississippians have found a way to avoid going to the polls through absentee voting, which allows people to vote if they are over age 65, disabled or are working on election day.
In the Golden Triangle, indications are that twice as many people have voted via absentee ballots as in 2016.
For weeks, circuit clerk offices have been inundated with people casting absentee ballots in person. On Saturday — the last day for in-person absentee voting — circuit clerk offices were opened from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. In previous elections, circuit clerk offices closed at noon on the last Saturday before the election.
Then, of course, there are all the mail-in absentee ballots that had to be processed.
On Tuesday, the focus shifts to poll workers — many of them over age 65 and thus more vulnerable to the worst effects of COVID-19 — who will put those fears aside as they come into contact with thousands of voters over a 12-hour period.
So, as you prepare to head to the polls, pause for a moment and consider the herculean efforts that have gone into making the voting experience safe and easy.
We all owe a debt of gratitude to our election officials, circuit clerk employees and poll workers.
Theirs is a thankless job, but an important one.
Tomorrow, let’s be courteous to those working the polls by wearing masks and being respectful.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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