Volunteering at the polls can restore faith in democracy | READER COMMENTARY
Every person who is able should volunteer at least once to help run a polling place.
I humbly suggest that at some point in life everyone who is able, whether they habitually vote or not, would benefit from volunteering as a poll worker just once. Doing so is about as close as one can come to “touching” democracy (“Be kind to Maryland’s primary election workers today,” May 14).
Staffing a polling precinct is far different than campaigning for a candidate. It’s purer because it is a nonpartisan activity that puts you at the center of human-powered decision making. I learned this during the last election cycle when I checked voters in for about 12 hours straight. I returned home bone-tired, but with my faith renewed in the potential that a functioning democracy offers — if, as Benjamin Franklin said, we can keep it.
— Amy Bernstein, Baltimore
Add your voice: Respond to this piece or other Sun content by submitting your own letter.