Explore the Archives
A Journal of the Plague Year Arizona Collection Australia Boston Bronx Community College New York Brooklyn College New York Canada Las Americas Lockdown Staten Island New Orleans Oral Histories Philippines Sacramento Community Based Organizations Southwest Stories Teaching the Pandemic The City College of New York

Collected Item: “Covid-19 Polling”

Give your story a title.

Covid-19 Polling

What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?

Photograph

Tell us a story; share your experience. Describe what the object or story you've uploaded says about the pandemic, and/or why what you've submitted is important to you.

During the Covid-19 shutdown in Wisconsin I volunteered with my Air National Guard unit to assist with local polling during the elections. Our unit was deployed to various locations around Wisconsin, we conducted 2 days of training and swore in as public officials. During polling operations, we assisted voters, sanitized voting stations, and ensured that proper social distancing was being adhered to.
During the voting I was able to observe the many ways people handle the epidemic. It was difficult not to express my opinion with the people who believe that Covid-19 is a hoax. Luckily for most of the people who visited the polling station the type of person who disobeyed social distancing was few and far between. Almost all the people did believe that voting should have been postponed and so did I, unfortunately being in the position I held I was unable to voice that opinion.
Once Polling had closed, we turned over all our ballets to a team devoted to counting and relaying the information. We each conducted a Covid-19 test and patiently waited the next day for our results. A negative test allowed us to return to our normal jobs, whereas a positive test resulted in a 2 week stay in a hotel the city uses for temporary shelter for the homeless.
The experience was humbling after seeing how many people Covid-19 has affected and the fear that people have of the disease. I would gladly volunteer again to help my community, and it looks like I will have my opportunity once again with the Democratic National Convention in Wisconsin where we have been asked to help once more.

Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your story. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?

#REL101

Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)

128th Air Refueling Wing

Give this story a date.

2020-04-07
Click here to view the corresponding item.