President's Page by Carolyn Steffl

The New Front Line Workers and Creating Your Election Safety Plan

It’s the time of year when leaves are falling and our thoughts turn to . . . taxes, constitutional amendments, and County Clerks. Yes, it’s election time again. Election day is more exciting to me than the Super Bowl.

This year, we had an awesome family dinner out at Azul Fuego in Louisville (I recommend the mole), where we spent the entire dinner debating ballot initiatives and talking through the Blue Book, explaining pros and cons of direct democracy to our 15-year- -old. Interestingly, the teen was a huge supporter of ranked-choice voting, turned off by both political parties.

A huge part of my career centers around elections, helping run elections, drafting ballot questions, TABOR notices, Blue Book content, and more. Because of my career focus, I have utmost respect for election workers and municipal and County Clerks.

One of the saddest outcomes of the last Presidential election was the hostility, threats and pure vitriol hurled at Clerks and Election Judges. Seriously? You guys, these are regular citizens, in it to benefit their communities, not to make money, and just trying to do their best. Sure, there are exceptions, Tina Peters’ conviction among them, but most Clerks and Election Judges are unsung heroes. Regardless of the outcome of the election, we need to support and lift up, our Clerks and Election Judges. Clerks and Election Judges are the new Front Line Workers.

As we march towards November 5th, it would seem irresponsible not to address the elephant in the room – the Presidential election. Ultimately, the outcome of that one race will have more direct impact on us than most of the ballot measures put together. Especially, as lawyers, with the US Supreme Court setting the law of the land, and a national debate about whether there should be reforms to the Supreme Court.

Personally, the Presidential race is overshadowing all else for me and consuming mental and emotional resources of myself and my family. Both sides of the race have used rhetoric posing an existential crisis if their opponent is elected, so regardless of the outcome, there is likely to be anger, sadness and fear for many Americans on November 6th.

Although I want to be home, surrounded by my loving family, I will be attending a planning commission meeting on the night of November 5th and surreptitiously checking my cell phone for updates. But, I’m making a personal plan to help cope if the result is not as I wished. First, I’ve scheduled myself as “Out of Office” on November 6th, to allow myself to take a mental health day if needed, probably a hike in the mountains. Second, I am planning to work out almost daily leading up to the election to help keep my anxiety under control. Third, I am planning to take comfort from my community, knowing that I can impact state and local policies, even if I can’t control national politics.

Finally, I’m planning to be there for my children and help them through anxiety about what the race will mean for them by creating a safe space – which will probably involve a lot of tea and “feel good” TV, like Ted Lasso, romantic comedies, etc.

In the run-up to November 5th, please consider making your own election safety plan to ride through this storm with grace, patience and wisdom. We are leaders in the community and also need to look out for ourselves.