Karen Grooms, 79 of West Union, has not missed working the polls since the 1960 presidential election. (Photo by Patricia Beech)

By Patricia Beech-

For many poll workers, election season means giving up plans with friends and family on Election Day to work at polling locations – sometimes far into the night. But for one poll worker at Adams County’s West Union and Tiffin Township precinct, the day is just the opposite.
Karen Grooms, 79, of West Union, says election season is just another opportunity to visit with neighbors and friends.
“I’m a friendly person,” says Grooms. “That’s why I love to do this, I really enjoy being around people.”
With nearly six decades of polling work under her belt, Grooms has seen the West Union/Tiffin polling location move from the old high school gymnasium, to the village’s community building, then to its current location at the Adams County Fairground.
She has also seen numerous and significant changes in the way Americans vote.
“There’s a lot of difference in how we voted back then,” she says. “We had paper ballots and we had to count them by hand after the election was over. I even remember one time it was three thirty in the morning when we finished.”
Grooms worked her first polling job 58 years ago during the 1960 Kennedy/Nixon presidential race, and she hasn’t missed a single election since, including last week’s mid-term election that saw a record number of American’s go to the polls.
She admits to being surprised by the number of people who turned out to vote.
“We’re all surprised,” she told the Defender on Election Day last week. “There’s a lot more voting today than I’ve seen in the past and I’m not sure why. But it could be because of the way things are right now in our country.”
The way things are in the country, she says, could be improved if people weren’t so set on sharing their opinions.
“I think if you don’t agree with someone, just keep it to yourself,” she says. “I’ve got family and friends on both sides. They know who they are, they know who I am, and it doesn’t matter.”
She also doesn’t think Americans should despair over the current political climate.
“It’s not the first time we’ve have civil unrest in America,” she says. “And, it won’t be the last.”

Karen Grooms, 79 of West Union, has not missed working the polls since the 1960 presidential election. (Photo by Patricia Beech)