Voters wait in line in Pompey

People wait in line to vote in Pompey c) 2022 Ilana Epstein

Southern Suburbs

Voters and Volunteers show up at the Polls in Pompey

By Ilana Epstein

Audio

Among the many voters at the polls this morning, there were also volunteers.

ILANA EPSTEIN: It’s election day and local residents are up bright and early voting in the midterm elections. Voters at the Pompey Hill Fire Department were able to enjoy something sweet this morning. Pompey Hill Fire Department Auxiliary Member, Elizabeth Epstein, has volunteered at a bake sale on election day every year.

ELIZABETH EPSTEIN: “It’s just one of those things that has always been going on so.”

I EPSTEIN: 40 years.

E EPSTEIN: “It is a scholarship fund for the Pompey Hill fire district.”
 
I EPSTEIN: That’s how long this bake sale has been going on. But why election day?

E EPSTEIN: “It brings people in and gets them aware. Giving back to the community is very important.”

I EPSTEIN: Epstein is not the only one who enjoys giving back to the community on election day.

MICHAEL IRWIN: “I think it’s exciting to see, uh you know, you have a guess as to how many people will show up.”

I EPSTEIN: Election inspector, Michael Irwin, has assisted voters at the polls for four years now.

IRWIN: “I find it very very rewarding.”

I EPSTEIN: One thing Irwin understands after working at the polling station.

IRWIN: “How voting is the reason that we’re uh able to maintain a democracy.”

I EPSTEIN: Irwin says each election day is exciting, but especially this one.

IRWIN: “As people say, local politics is where it’s at.”

I EPSTEIN: Irwin and Epstein believe it’s important to volunteer at the polling sites, but they also stress the act of voting, itself.

E EPSTEIN: “I have voted every year since I was 18. I feel our rights are slowly sliding away.”

I EPSTEIN: Epstein hopes the act of voting can bring people together. She says people who vote today can feel empowered, accomplished, and maybe even full.

E EPSTEIN: “Mostly it’s pies and breads and cookies and things that they could carry home.”

I EPSTEIN: In Pompey

E EPSTEIN: “Um, I have a cake that I’m going to bring up later.”

I EPSTEIN: For Democracy in Action, I’m Ilana Epstein. 

POMPEY, N.Y. (DIA) – Many local residents went to cast their votes at the Pompey Hill Fire Department early this morning. While many of the people voting quickly went in and out and headed to work, two of the people were there to stay. Elizabeth Epstein, a member of the Pompey Hill Fire Department Auxiliary and also a local resident has been volunteering at the bake sale every year. The bake sale, which has been around for 40 years, is a scholarship fund for the Pompey Hill fire district.

Epstein says that she loves giving back to the community and sees the sale as a way to raise money for the scholarship that has had a positive impact in her town. She also sees the sale as a way to encourage people to come vote, and get their sweets, of course.

The bake sale offers cookies, cakes, pies, and more. Epstein said she’d be going home throughout the day to get more.

Also volunteering at the polls today, is Michael Irwin, who lives locally. He is now in his fourth year of assisting voters at the polls as an election inspector.

“I think it’s exciting…you have a guess as to how many people will show up,” said Irwin.

Irwin went on to say that he enjoys seeing both familiar and unfamiliar faces at the voting sites all over Central New York. This was his first year as an election inspector in Pompey.

Both Epstein and Irwin enjoy what they do, and agreed that they are giving back to the community, especially on a day like today.

The volunteers are encouraging everyone to vote in this year’s election.

“I feel our rights are slowly sliding away,” said Epstein.

The polls are open until 9 PM tonight, and Epstein will hold her bake sale until the end.

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