Janet Griffith is a photographer and retired teacher. She’s on a mission to make her Crown Heights poll site the fastest voting location in Brooklyn.
“When I was a voter, I didn’t think people were very efficient,” Griffith said. “I want to do it, because a lot of times, people are not that great.”
Griffith picked a perfect year to volunteer. Given the risk of Covid, voters are hoping to get in and out of the polls safely and quickly. Her fellow volunteer, Tammy Moore is helping her make that goal a reality.
“She is really efficient,” Griffith said of Moore. “She’s excellent and she came up with this idea to keep it moving.”
Griffith and Moore walk down the line and call out voting district numbers. The voters with that number on their voting card come to the front of the line. The system looks elusive from the outside, but whatever their doing works.
Griffith arrived at the poll site at 5:00 A.M to set up. By 7:35 A.M. they had gotten through their first wave of morning voters. Their small team is a diverse one. Seniors like Griffith are working alongside young first time polls workers. The fast moving poll site is a little microcosm of Crown Heights.
