In this episode, Adam and Christopher interview Brother Don Palmer (Jacksonville) a Commissioner for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. During the interview, Brother Palmer talks about his role with the EAC and how our brothers can play a critical role in helping their communities run smooth elections this November. August 1, is National Poll Worker Recruitment Day so join us to learn more about how you can get involved as a poll worker and get "Election Ready."
The Gavel Podcast is the official podcast of Sigma Nu Fraternity, Inc. and is dedicated to keeping you updated on the operations of the Legion of Honor and connecting you to stories from our brotherhood.
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The Gavel Podcast – Bonus Episode – Becoming an Election Poll Worker with Don Palmer
0:00:42.4 Adam Girtz: Hello and welcome to the latest episode of The Gavel Podcast. I'm Adam.
0:00:46.3 Christopher Brenton: And I'm Christopher.
0:00:47.5 Adam Girtz: The Gavel podcast is the official podcast of Sigma Nu Fraternity, and is a show dedicated to keeping you updated on the operations of the Legion of Honor, and connecting you to the stories from our brotherhood.
0:00:57.9 Christopher Brenton: To find out more from the fraternity, you can always check out our website@sigmanu.org. You can also find us on Instagram and Facebook at Sigma Nu HQ or by searching for Sigma Nu Fraternity.
0:01:07.8 Adam Girtz: Hello, Christopher. I hope you enjoyed my differing inflection on our intro that I try to do. I try to switch it up so maybe a savvy listener could figure out which words I'm emphasizing each episode.
0:01:22.1 Christopher Brenton: They might. I did not. So.
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0:01:24.7 Adam Girtz: I always think about...
0:01:27.7 Christopher Brenton: Hopefully our listeners are paying closer attention than I am.
0:01:30.8 Adam Girtz: Oh, yeah. I think about I've seen a video of every Joe Rogan intro layered on top of each other and the, like the differing, some words that are different I don't know. It might be fun to do that someday for us. But anyway more important things going on than my reflections on our intro. We have a really awesome guest today. You want to tell us about our guests?
0:02:01.5 Christopher Brenton: Yeah. Well, this episode's going to be a little bit of a special one. We've already released, one episode this month which is on our wills and estates. And kind of the planning process for that. I was not able to unfortunately join that episode, but you had a great conversation with, brother James Owens our Chief Advancement Officer from the fraternity. So I highly recommend listeners to go back and check that one out if you haven't had the opportunity to. But we had the opportunity to, or we received outreach from the US election Assistance Commission about an initiative that they were looking into, which was trying to connect with a lot of different organizations, including fraternities and sororities to get their members engaged in the elections process, specifically in poll worker recruitment.
0:02:54.2 Christopher Brenton: And so we just kind of happened to have a coincidental connection with the EAC. So brother Donald Palmer who is an alumnus of our Kappa Theta chapter at Jacksonville University is a commissioner for the EAC. And so it was an opportunity for us to connect with brother Palmer to talk a lot about his position, what he does and kind of how he oversees this process, he is I think a lifelong civil servant from his time in the military to his time in the government, working on elections matters. And so it was really cool to get to hear from him. And I'm excited to A, bring that conversation to our listeners. But then also, I had the opportunity to work as a poll worker myself back in 2020 when a lot of polling places were kind of under threat of being closed due to the pandemic and a scarcity of election workers. And so I had a really great, great time with that. You'll hear me talk more about it in the episode, but it just felt like it was an awesome opportunity to kind of pay that experience forward and to connect our brothers with that opportunity as well.
0:04:05.6 Adam Girtz: Yeah. The second most famous EAC after the East Australian Current. Yeah. Brother Palmer doing great work out there. And I do, I love that that we are... Their idea of trying to reach out to fraternity members and brother Palmer using his Sigma Nu connection to, you help reach our listeners here. I think it is great we talk about it in the episode, but yeah, like, fraternity and the organization that fraternity provides kind of connecting to the organization that our country requires in order to keep functioning, I think that is a really neat connection. And yeah. So I'm vamping too much about you hyping up our interview, but I think we just dive on into it and talk about it a little bit more on the backend. So alright. Well, let's get into our interview with brother Don Palmer and we'll see everybody on the backend.
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0:05:27.1 Christopher Brenton: Hello and welcome back to The Gavel Podcast. We are excited to introduce our guest for this episode. We have brother Donald Palmer on the episode. Brother Palmer is an alumnus of the Fraternity's Kappa Theta chapter at Jacksonville University. And we're excited to have him on to talk about his role as a commissioner for the US Election Assistance Commission and to talk about how our brothers can play a critical role in helping their communities run a smooth election this November. Don, welcome to the Gavel Podcast.
0:05:58.2 Don Palmer: Well, thanks for having me. It's good to be here.
0:06:00.4 Christopher Brenton: Yeah. Well, before we kind of get into the meat of the conversation that we're going to have, something that we love to do with each of our episodes, especially when we have an alumnus joining us is to talk a little bit more about their Sigma Nu experience. So of course we mentioned that you joined the Kappa Theta chapter at Jacksonville University. Could you share a little bit more about that experience of joining a chapter? You could get into, what brought you to the Legion of Honor as well as if there are any memories that you kind of cherish from that experience. And maybe also, what lessons you learned from that experience you've carried with you into your professional life.
0:06:35.9 Don Palmer: Sure. Sigma Nu was a really great learning and social experience. When you look back on it, it was fun. There was a lot of unforgettable memories and there, but there's also a level of seriousness that I took away from that experience. We had a lot of teamwork and comradery on different missions and sort of the purpose of what our chapter wanted to do. We had a great time with our murals. We were involved with student government, and we even had charity work in fundraisers. One reason why, when I thought about the National Poll Worker Recruitment Day and the need for poll workers, I was thinking about some of the work that we had done. It was really, I was drawn to the Legion of Honor be because of what I was seeing and sort of the comradery, the sense of purpose that they had, that the existing brothers, the success and the mission that was exhibited.
0:07:28.6 Don Palmer: They became good friends and advisors to me, and they invited me to pledge of attorney. And so it was really an honor to get that invited to become a member of Kappa Theta and the Greater Sigma Nu brotherhood. Some of the memories... There were some great memories too that I remember. It was just that day that your name in gold goes on that the Sigma Nu Wall. That was really a accomplishment from my part. I really, really remembered that. And that was taken seriously by the brothers. And so you could see the founding members of the fraternity there, and some would, they would come by occasionally as alumni. And so that was great. Another great memory I have is, people talk about going to the Holy Land who are, sort of Bible believers and I that's a great experience 'cause it brings it to life.
0:08:20.1 Don Palmer: I remember going in a convertible in November to Virginia to visit VMI and headquarters. And it was kind of insane when you think about it, but it was great memories of actually getting to go to the campus and go to VMI. And the last really great memory I have, I think was when I became Sentinel. I was a senior and we had been brothers for a number of years and a lot of the younger and older brothers asked me to do this, and they felt that I would bring stability to the leadership. And it's one of those things where you don't realize the impact you're having on other people until something like that occurs. And of course, that was a great memory to serve as leadership to guide the fraternity, put your last sort of stamp on it before. You're going to leave and go do things outside the university, and you're leaving it to the younger brothers. So this was a great opportunity to mentor people and brothers for that last senior year.
0:09:23.4 Christopher Brenton: Yeah. Well, it's great to hear about your experience there. And I would be remiss if I didn't add that Kappa Theta has become quite the regular, I guess chapter producing guest for our show. Not too long ago we had the opportunity to interview another alumnus from your chapter Dillon Basse, who's the lead singer of FlipTurn. Adam was, I think, particularly excited about that interview.
0:09:47.6 Adam Girtz: It was great.
0:09:47.7 Christopher Brenton: I had no idea how popular they were, and so when I was doing the interview, I was just like, oh, this, this young alumnus only to come to find out that they have millions and millions of streams on Spotify. But it's cool to get to meet another Kappa Theta alumnus.
0:10:01.6 Don Palmer: Well, absolutely. I'm so proud of our brothers. Many of them served in the Navy and the military, and they've done great things. Michael Boyle, one of our brothers, the founding brother of Kappa Theta, it was like the commander of United States Fleet and the Pacific. And there's no bigger responsibility in the world, in my opinion, with the pressure of the Chinese and the geopolitical. But we were so proud, and he actually took his time to come back to some of our reunion. We would have reunion parties and sort of weekends that we would have. And he would literally take the time to come all the way from Hawaii, back to Jacksonville and to other areas so we could talk about things. And so it was amazing to have that brother and all the brothers come back together periodically.
0:10:52.5 Adam Girtz: Oh, yeah. Absolutely. And I worked closely with Gabe Castro another Kappa Theta as well.
0:10:57.2 Don Palmer: Oh, yeah.
0:10:58.2 Christopher Brenton: So a lot of great guys coming outta that chapter. [chuckle]
0:11:03.5 Don Palmer: Oh, it's great. It's memorable.
0:11:06.0 Adam Girtz: So Don, tell us more about your role and your responsibilities as a commissioner for the US Election Assistance Commission. I'm sure our listeners would love to hear more about what that looks like and what you do for our country there.
0:11:21.3 Don Palmer: Well, on the commissioner is one of the four appointed members from the Congress and from the president. And it's a bipartisan commission to strengthen and assist our localities and counties across America who are the actual ones running the election and so. But their federal government does have a commission that supports, and staff almost 100 members that we work to support localities across the country. And you can imagine what it takes, logistics and the support and best practices that are needed to run elections. And we work together both Democrat and Republican for that greater purpose. And that is to make sure that our elections are secure and accurate and free and fair. And so that's what we do. And we put our differences aside. There may be a political differences, or we come from different, avenues and we come together for that joint purpose. And I learned a lot from Sigma Nu about that. It's like you come as you are and you become part of a greater purpose. And that's what we try to do at the EAC as commissioners. We sort of tried to lead and provide those goals where we can work together to help our country run its elections.
0:12:37.0 Adam Girtz: So I know you have expansive background, experience and education. And that includes your service in the US Navy and earning your masters at George Washington, your JD at Stetson. So obviously this passion for elections and for this civil service you kind of started early, what drove that passion for you?
0:13:00.8 Don Palmer: Well, I think it was... For public policy, I used to joke that I was sort of the Michael J. Fox on family ties. I was always engaged in political or policy discussions, and people are looking at me like, who is this guy and what did he eat? Where did he come from? And so, but that really helped me because later on, I went to school, a political science major, knew I wanted to go to the law but I also wanted to serve in the military. And so that's what I did. I went in the Navy, served as a lawyer and an intelligence officer. And that desire to serve my country. I served in the military and then I wanted to get involved in elections somehow in voting.
0:13:45.6 Don Palmer: Before I became an administrator and used some of the management skills that I learned in the military, I was a lawyer at the Civil Rights Division in the voting section. And they're there to basically try to ensure that the voting laws are enforced and followed. But I wanted to be part of the management of elections and that's one reason I went down and started in Florida and became... Started... I was a director of their elections for a while. So, that feeling of service and camaraderie that I had in the military and with Sigma NU, I've tried to engender that in elections. And ou do get a lot of that because it's like we're a community. We have a greater purpose than the ordinary job. We're all in this together to make sure Americans can vote. And it is like being a poll worker, it's like you're part of that mission to help the community and your neighbors vote.
0:14:40.5 Christopher Brenton: That's awesome. I know that when the EAC was able to reach out to us, there was kind of an expressed interest in, "Hey, Sigma Nu and many other fraternities have this foundational principle of preparing their members to be engaged servant leaders, to understand their civic duty and take that responsibility seriously. And so you reached out to us to talk a little bit about National Poll Worker Recruitment Day. And I'm curious, just from your perspective. Like why do you feel it's so important for brothers to be aware of the need for poll workers and then also to get involved?
0:15:21.6 Don Palmer: I think it's about being a good citizen and that's includes being aware of what is happening. I think it's important, obviously to register and to vote. To be a good citizen and to serve as a poll worker. There is a need for poll workers and election workers across the country. And that's why we set up this day, August 1st National Poll Recruitment Day and you can go to helpamericavote.gov and sign up in your county to be needed. I think if you step back, I think that we all take the right to vote seriously and we should exercise that. Many of our fellow brothers have fallen for the right to vote. Many serve today to keep us free. And so I think it's part of being an honorable citizen and that's my opinion. Serving as a poll worker is sort of that next step of civic engagement.
0:16:08.3 Don Palmer: It's an expression of love to your country and of service and to your community. And so frankly, without someone stepping up to be poll workers every year, every two years and facilitating the right to vote for the community, we couldn't keep polling places open. We need a million poll workers every election to run and keep this democracy moving, and so I look to my brothers. That's the thing that fraternities of men should do, is to serve others once they've cast their vote. And I truly think that's honorable service. And so the current brothers who may be listing, but we desperately need a new generation of Americans to service poll workers. The elderly population is moving on. They have done their duty. COVID impacted them dramatically. But when you go in and you see a 75 or 80-year-old poll worker is like, "God bless them." But someone's gotta be prepared to step in and do that. I think this is a way to serve others and to honor those who have served in the past and to keep this democracy running.
0:17:20.6 Christopher Brenton: Yeah. Adam, I don't know if you've had the chance to serve as a poll worker but, to Don's point, I think in 2020 there was... Because of the pandemic, I remember hearing about conversations about polling stations closing, because they were short on staff. And so I actually signed up to be a poll worker for that election and had a really fantastic experience. So this is a little bit of an endorsement Don, from my own perspective of...
0:17:47.9 Don Palmer: Absolutely.
0:17:48.5 Christopher Brenton: I had a really great experience. Of course it was a paid experience and so if people are incentivized by that, that's an added element of it. But I definitely resonated with the fulfillment of helping to further this really important need for our country, to be there to help make sure that things are running smoothly. I got a lot out of it and I would strongly encourage anyone listening to this, to experience it for yourself.
0:18:21.6 Adam Girtz: Yeah. I have not had the experience of serving myself yet. But I've lived in Des Moines here since 2020, and I've voted twice during that time. And I have had a great experience with the poll workers. I've gone to the same location both times. And they are very friendly and they make voting a fun and enjoyable experience nice and smooth. Definitely, especially after this conversation, something that I'll be looking into.
0:18:54.3 Christopher Brenton: Don, real quick, you mentioned the website resource where brothers can go. Can you repeat that one and are there any other resources that brothers should look into if they're interested in getting more involved as poll workers for the upcoming election?
0:19:07.8 Don Palmer: Sure. So helpamericavote.gov is a website that will direct you to the county in which you live, but I would encourage you to Google your county election website. They're going to have the most direct information on serving as a poll worker and how basically the options and voting and to serve as the trusted information. So, those are the two ways that I recommend brothers identify a way to volunteer and serve as a poll worker.
0:19:42.3 Christopher Brenton: And we'll put those links in the show notes for the episode for listeners who are trying to catch that, so you can click and go immediately to the web page to find out more information. So if you're hearing this and you're like, "Oh, I want to get involved," look on the show notes for the episode to find those links.
0:20:00.1 Adam Girtz: Yeah. So Don, any final thoughts or a route call to action for our guys here are people that are listening and your listeners, we've looked and it ranges from active college students or the freshmen and sophomores, juniors and seniors in our chapters, and young alumni, established alumni, older alumni, high council members, down to anyone else.
0:20:29.7 Don Palmer: Well, I would say that serving as a poll worker sort of a fundamental thing, the way that you can help your community. When I was a pledge and a brother at Kappa Theta, one of the things I noted immediately was the large number of congressmen and senators who had served as Sigma Nu's in the United States Senate, for example. And that was just amazing to me because that's exhibiting that public service, that desire to be a public servant. And so I would just encourage folks that this is one of those fundamental ways to help your community and to be a leader in your community. I encourage everybody to get election ready, to get registered to vote. To make sure you know where you're going to go on election day or at your early voting site. And if you're going to be out of town, have a plan, make sure you're able to get a mail ballot, review your sample ballot and get it done. Don't procrastinate, sometimes I procrastinated over the years. I served overseas in the military, so I know how important it is to get on that ballot immediately and it get sent back into the office because if you wait too long, you're endangering giving that ballot back in time.
0:21:46.3 Christopher Brenton: Okay. And you mentioned election ready, is that kind of an initiative or a slogan personal to you or where does that come from?
0:21:56.3 Don Palmer: I think it is a slogan, it's sort of to just to be prepared to vote and have a plan. I mentioned briefly, have a plan to vote. When I was in the military, you always talk about being ready. It's all about preparedness. I think that the brothers who are listening to this would understand it. If you're prepared to take a test or an interview or a job assignment it's about preparation. You want to make sure you put your best foot forward, and sometimes voting sneaks up on us and we procrastinate, we wait too long. Make sure you know what the calendar is and you're prepared to vote and you have a plan. And so if you're going to be out of time, like I mentioned, and so I sort of equate it to serving the military, you want to make sure you're ready for any circumstance and the same thing with voting. You want to make sure you know when the elections are coming and that you're prepared, and it doesn't sneak past you.
0:22:48.2 Adam Girtz: Yeah. Oh. Absolutely. And personally, I like to go drive past my polling station beforehand just so I know where I'm going, and I feel comfortable and confident when I get out there then. So I'll be using that slogan myself, election ready. I am election ready.
0:23:03.5 Don Palmer: That's right.
0:23:04.7 Adam Girtz: Well, Don thank you so much for being on the show with us here, and we look forward to a smooth and well-functioning election this November, I know we're all excited for it. So thank you for what you do. And for our brothers, you make sure that you are election ready, and get out there and either go vote, or go vote, and you volunteer and to serve as a poll worker yourself.
0:23:34.9 Don Palmer: Thank you very much. Love, truth and honor.
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0:24:02.2 Adam Girtz: All right. Welcome back, everyone. A great conversation with Don prefers Don over Donald as you prefer Christopher or Chris. I like that. Names have power, man.
0:24:18.9 Christopher Brenton: [chuckle] Yes. Well, it was a great opportunity to talk to someone kind of unexpected. This is an out of the blue conversation, but I think it's something that's incredibly important, and as many of our brothers know, when you go through initiation, you go through the ritual, like our conversations about a special duty to our country and to serve our communities and this certainly feels like an extension of that, of an opportunity for us to get directly involved in the elections process and make sure that people can do their civic duty. So I'm really glad to have this opportunity for folks who are listening, he mentioned it twice, but just to reiterate it one more time, if you are inspired by this conversation, you're like, "Hey, I think that being a poll worker or something that I might like to do," you can go to helpamericavote.gov, which we will of course put in the show notes.
0:25:19.6 Christopher Brenton: We'll make sure that people can very easily access that as well as some additional resources from the AC will include those as well. But yeah, you can go and find out more information on becoming a poll worker, available resources that are for you, and it may pertain to your state, depending on where you live, but certainly a great resource for those who are interested in learning more.
0:25:44.1 Adam Girtz: Yeah. Absolutely. And I think about this a lot, like the collective impact of our chapters, like we have chapters 150, 170 chapters across the country, and the collective individual impact of those chapters in their communities, and it makes me think about if we could get at least one brother from every chapter going up and volunteering and hopefully more. But the impact that we could have nationwide on our democratic process. It is so important and as he references we're reaching that point where the last generation is aging out of that and has done their time, has done their service to that and helping to inspire this next generation going in. So personally, I have the tab open, I'm going to go look into it myself and see if it's something that is going to work for me, but yeah, I encourage all of our brothers to go out and do the same. It is a great way to, you make a splash, and make an impact on your local community, and, yeah. So. Christopher, any final thoughts before we wrap up here?
0:27:07.1 Christopher Brenton: I don't think so.
0:27:08.3 Adam Girtz: All right. Well, as always, thank you all for listening, if you enjoyed our episode, please share it with a brother, and especially this episode, if there's a brothers that you know that would be a good fit for service as a volunteer poll worker, definitely sharing this episode with them, getting them inspired. So thank you all for listening. We'll talk to you again very soon.
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