So for context, I helped process absentee ballots in NH. You have to open the envelope, take out the affidavit w/ signature, compare that to the signature on the INNER envelope with the ballot in it, & place the signed envelopes to the side with the unfolded ballot. Rinse, repeat

This whole process needs to be done carefully so you don't damage the documents or ballot. The signature comparison takes a moment too. Overall, roughly 2 minutes per ballot minimum I'd guess since it took what felt like an hour to get down a list of about 25 ballots.

Do the math. 2 min/ballot with maybe 5-10 (average for where I was in a small city, probably more in big ones) poll worker VOLUNTEERS (~$200/13 hour day in NH/NY). Multiply that by thousands. Or millions. That's why it takes DAYS.

Frankly, the state legislatures that didn't permit pre-processing of the ballots and/or starting to count absentees before the polls closed were either totally ignorant of the work involved or deliberately cruel and negligent. These election volunteers & officials are heroes.

Btw, this doesn't include actually SCANNING the ballots. BUT, before you can do THAT you have to go to the voter sign-in desk, wait your turn if there's a voter or more waiting to sign in, THEN go through 1 by 1 and check off those names.

This is to make sure you don't scan the ballot of someone who has already voted & so if they come in later, they know their ballot has already been cast. THIS is why claims of mail-in fraud are SO ignorant. We don't allow double votes & there'd be an investigation for ANY attempt

THEN you have to scan the ballots. Ballots folded for mailing tend to jam the scanner as much as 1 in 4 times. It's exasperating! But they do get counted. It's just annoying. You have to pause if a voter needs to vote. 25 ballots? Probably took me almost 25 minutes to get through

Now, post-election day, you don't lose time waiting for voters. But cities have THOUSANDS more voters than my mid-sized town (we have about 2.5k on average in our Ward). The scaling up of this process boggles my mind. These poor people must be exhausted. Be PATIENT.

If this thread didn’t make you run screaming for the hills AND you’re a US citizen aged 17 or more, you should consider helping to reduce this burden by signing up to be a poll worker in your area! https://www.eac.gov/help-america-vote