Voters across the 27 countries of the European Union elected 720 members of the European Parliament on 9th of June.
This year I participated as an election day official in a local district.
It was a great experience to take part in the election this way. To see how something as abstract as a political organization covering 450 million people becomes tangible as individual voters in one district in one country cast their vote. How the ideals of free and fair elections are implemented in such detail as placement of voting booths, sealing of ballot boxes, and deciding if a vote is invalid.
The youngest voter in our district turned 18 last week and the oldest voter who showed up in person to cast a vote on election day was 89.
As many had cast their votes early and as participation rate in our district was low — only around 34% percent — we had amble time to help those who showed up and to smalltalk between us.
In a business organization you automate to have as few employees around as possible. Here, by including more people and by using pen and paper, you strengthen the ideals of participation and transparency.
It didn’t take long for our team of eight to check and count the few hundred votes. A single person could have done it in the same time. But doing it as a diverse group of citizens and knowing that similar work is done everywhere across Europe in the same manner, creates a unique confidence in the result. The foundation for people to trust and comply with legislation and regulations that emerge down the line.
A great insight into how our democracy works and a great feeling to help create and recreate democracy. All in a single working day from 7 am to 10 pm.
