Want to protect democracy? Work the election. Be an election judge.

Elections are little messy. We do them on the cheap in the United States, depending on volunteer labor (not government employees) to conduct them. That means. . .you. So please consider taking Election Day off and running the election. Each precinct has five election judges (that's just the Illinois term for election worker). Lots of precincts do not have five judges, so the election authorities are looking for volunteers. You do get paid $150 (a token).

I've got forms in my office for judges to work in Chicago. Call my office at 312.867.5377 if you'd like one. Or call the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners at 312.269.7900. Otherwise you can contact your local election authority, and you can find the list in Illinois here at the State Board of Election's site.