Cheering in the Library
By Joan Dalusung
It is October 2020, and I’ve been a librarian for 23 years now. Libraries nationwide frequently host early voting or are sites for primary and general Elections. I've had the pleasure of working with election workers many times, including meeting them at 5:30 am on Election Day for voting machine setup and staying until the last votes are cast and the machines are picked up that same day. I’ve always been so proud and honored that our libraries prioritize hosting voting opportunities.
But this year, 2020, has been like no other. For seven months, we’ve all been on extended alert because of the coronavirus pandemic. Along with keys and a cell phone, many no longer leave home without a mask. This year’s elections have been impacted, too. Large gatherings have been limited to varying degrees for months, and we are strongly encouraged to wash or sanitize our hands frequently, especially after touching communal equipment. As an alternative to in-person voting, registered Nevada voters had received ballots at their homes, which could be mailed in or returned to a ballot box.
For many, the importance of voting in person persists, and physical early voting locations have been provided throughout Washoe County. Seven Washoe County libraries have been hosting in-person early voting for a week and a half. As in previous years, dedicated poll workers staff the booths from 9 am to 7 pm, daily for two weeks. They are cheerful, knowledgeable, and efficient, taking temperatures and ensuring safety through social distancing. They meticulously clean voting machines after each use. Their sincere smiles behind their masks reach their eyes as they wish each person a great day and thank them for voting.
But this year, in this year that is already so different, this year that is so contentious for so many reasons—this year’s poll workers at all our libraries have taken it up a notch. I experience this phenomenon while working at my desk in the Downtown Reno Library one floor above where voting is taking place. Many times a day, I’ll hear sounds of a celebration, sounds that puzzled me and many others on our library staff when we first heard them.
The revelries always start the same way. There will be a loud call of “First time voter here!” followed by prolonged clapping and cheering that resonates throughout the building. At first, my colleagues and I were a little confused because we could only make out the closing happy shouts. But word spread quickly, and we all talked about what a lift it was to hear those celebrations. As the days progressed and the intermittent festivities continued, it was no longer enough for me to just listen. Nowadays, when I hear that call of “First time voter here!” I find myself at my desk, clapping and smiling, too, participating in the recognition of this person that I can’t actually see and probably don’t know. In my years working with elections workers, I’ve never heard anything like it.
I imagine it will be a great memory for these first-time voters. Someday, they may have a conversation about their memory of their first time voting, and it might go something like this: “I voted for the first time in 2020. It was during the pandemic when so many places were shut down. They took my temperature before I could enter and we all had to stand six feet apart. We were encouraged to wear masks. And when I voted, they stood up and cheered for me!”
Bravo to the 2020 Washoe County election workers. This year is filled with so many uncertainties. We don’t know when there will be a vaccine. We don’t know how long we’ll be wearing our masks. We don’t know when we will not have to consider every detail if we visit loved ones. But today and through the election next week, we do know that first-time Washoe County voters will be honored out loud, and I, for one, am thankful for this. I look forward to the next time I’ll get to clap at my desk and remember that there is still a lot of good in the world. I’ve already heard one this morning, and I’m sure the next is coming soon.
Joan Dalusung is the Assistant Director for the Washoe County Library System. Prior to starting her Northern Nevada adventure in April, 2016, she worked for Henderson Libraries for 18 years. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to live in Northern and Southern Nevada. She loves exploring rural Nevada and is proud to have her Highway 50 Passport stamped and certified. In her free time, she can be found running, hiking, or reading works from our prolific Nevada writers.