First, they pick up their written instructions, extension cords, power strips and a Black Book of voters by precinct. Summerlin said the book is only used in emergencies, if there’s a power outage or the internet goes down, so that voting can continue “like olden days” without electronics.

As the clerks, who Summerlin notes, receive special training for running a poll location, move along the circuit the elections office has set up, which eventually leads them back to the front of the warehouse to pick up their signs, they receive tablets for voters to sign in on and boxes of ballots, sealed with orange security tape.

This last part is important. Summerlin said the boxed ballots are only to be opened Election Day morning with the other poll workers present “so it’s a fair process, to make sure it’s not tampered with, to make sure everyone has their eyes on it.”

If the seal on box of ballots has been opened prematurely, Summerlin said, those ballots would not be used for voting. “There’s always  more than one box,” he said. He added that staff would collect the box and do a physical check of the ballots to account for every one of them and then re-issue them.

“But I don’t think that ever actually happens. Our poll workers follow the rules to a T,” Summerlin said.

VoxPopuli asked Summerlin whether he was aware of any poll worker anxiety about working the polls, given former Trump administration official turned podcaster Steve Bannon’s threat to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and federal troops to surround poll locations to prevent voter fraud during the midterms.

The Brennan Center for Justice notes that it is a federal crime for federal agents to interfere in elections, intimidate voters and deploy to polling locations.

Summerlin said that there was more curiosity about whether the Supervisor of Elections had advance notice about a potential threat. He said even though there was a possibility, poll workers were undeterred.

“No one said they’re not going to do it,” said Summerlin.