The ACLU’s national Election Protection coalition is a year-round, national and non-partisan effort to protect the right to vote. Tuesday, the coalition was actively monitoring voting activity in Fresno and Tulare counties. Fresno consulting firm, Cid & Macedo, managed a network of volunteers on Election Day.
Those volunteers included Kathryn Forbes and Roan Gordon, a mother-daughter team who spent the day working as poll observers.
“It’s great and we get to spend all day together, which may not be her ideal, but it’s great for me,” said Forbes.
Even though she’s too young to vote, 16-year-old Gordon said she felt compelled to take action.
“Just knowing that I can’t vote so I need to do my part a different way and I need to make my own impact through a different form of civil service,” said the University High junior.
The pair started at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, making stops until 9 p.m. at polling centers to verify that election laws and local guidelines were followed. They also kept an eye out for voter accessibility, making sure the ballots were in several languages and that there was parking and accommodations for disabled and elderly voters.
Forbes, 50, a women’s studies professor at Fresno State, was inspired by her daughter’s dedication.
“It gives me hope for the future because she absolutely has a political consciousness and also is ready to move on it,” she said.
Meanwhile, Gordon says seeing the process in action makes her even more eager to vote when she turns 18.
