Serving the community 

This article was written by BenitoLink intern Camille Mattish. Lea este articulo en español aquí.

Poll volunteers put in a lot of hours for the March 5 primary election. Those who spoke to BenitoLink said volunteering is a way to help others.

Diane Rodriguez has served as a poll worker for five years. “I enjoy working with everybody,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve met anybody that I didn’t enjoy.”  

Antonia Vargas has volunteered for nine years and said it’s worth it because she is serving her community.

“I know it’s long hours, but you go home rewarded, knowing that you help give back to the community,” she said.

Jackson Curro has served as a poll worker for six years. He said he likes to volunteer to help the San Benito County Elections Department.  

“I just want to do anything I can to help my department, I feel like it’s my department because I’ve been here a while,” he said.

Many of the poll workers said through their volunteering they learned how important elections are to democracy.

“Voting is a privilege that everyone should take seriously,” Rodriguez said.

Vargas said that by volunteering, she has become more informed and enjoys meeting residents and seeing “that parts of the community are very involved.”

The March 5 election was Giovanni Stotler’s first year as a poll volunteer. Though it involved long hours, it’s a great experience, he said.

“You get to meet a lot of cool people and just connect with the community.”

Curro said he learned about responsibility and accountability “because you are responsible for making sure that the process of elections is going through.”

The poll workers said they encourage people to volunteer and help with elections. 

“You’re not only doing this for yourself, but you’re doing it for the community,” Vargas said. “And we need people to be there and support our Election Department.”

Voter Turnout

The election’s voter turnout is estimated to be around 35%. Ballots are still arriving to be counted, so the percentage could increase; however, the current count is 4,030 ballots, but 8,750 ballots still remain, according to Francisco Diaz, County Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters.

Diaz said the 2022 primary election had a voter turnout of 33.85%, while the March 2020 primary, which was a presidential election and is more comparable to 2024 primary presidential election, was 53.53%.

Of the 8,750 ballots, 146 have unresolved issues, such as no signatures, and 19 are provisional. Once these ballots are processed, San Benito County election office are scheduled to release more results on March 7, 9 and 13.

Scenes from Election Day:

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