Referendum Watch:

A Long Day Is Just Part Of The Job

Tuesday morning came early for Olga Paproski. The longtime Newtown resident usually rises to start her day at 7 am, but on this day, referendum day, the alarm clock sounded at 4:40am.

Close to 20 Newtown residents worked Tuesday’s referendum, filling a variety of roles from voting list checkers to moderators and machine tenders. It meant a 15-hour day for all involved, some spending that time period on their feet, while others remained glued to chairs.

Of course, they had breaks and opportunities to eat breakfast and dinner, which was provided for them. And there were part-time workers kept in reserve to step in to fill vacancies caused by workers taking much needed breaks. Although workers are paid for their time, as much as $100 for their efforts, the fact remained that it was still a long time between the day’s beginning and its conclusion after the polls closed.

But Josephine Watkins didn’t mind.

Manning one of the teal-colored voting booths, she said that the long hours on her feet didn’t bother her. “It’s all in your head,” she said. “You know you can do it, you know you can sit down for a little bit, then you stand up. You have to be there for the voters.”

And if nothing else, being at the polls as long as Mrs Watkins was allows one to examine the electorate and make some observations. “It’s such a happy day,” she mused. “I haven’t seen anybody with a grouchy face.”

Ellie Sturges has been manning the polls at the town’s referendums for the past 25 years, so she too is accustomed to what the day entails. “I’m used to being on my feet, so it doesn’t bother me a bit,” she said.

But Tuesday was John Aurelia’s first referendum. Acting as a “traffic director,” as he explained it, Mr Aurelia made sure people got to open booths as quickly and efficiently as possible. As the hour neared 7:30 pm, he was still at it. “It never gets tiring,” he said.

Typically, the town’s registrars office draws from a regular list of workers to staff referendums and election locations. One worker in the registrars office says that usually the workers come from women’s clubs around town, or they walk into the registrars office and say they are interested. “Some feel that it is their civic duty,” she says.

Olga Paproski had her own way of fighting fatigue Tuesday night, as the polls neared the closing hour. Standing next to a voting booth, Mrs Paproski shuffled from one foot to another. “You sit down, you jump and stretch, you try to keep the circulation moving,” she explained.

“The reason I like [working] is that I see all these people I don’t see as the year goes by,” she added.

How many referendums has Mrs Paproski worked? Concluding that she as worked her fair share, she smiled trying to give an exact number. “I don’t think even the town knows.”