58-Year Election Judge Says Local Precinct is the Social Event of the Season

For Laurette Froelich, the local election precinct is more than just somewhere to cast your ballot: it provides a sense of community, a place to watch kids grow older and a chance to catch up with neighbors.

Froelich, of River Forest, was sitting at her table at Village Hall in River Forest today, just as she has done for nearly five decades in River Forest. She's seen a lot of elections since she started working as an election judge in the late 50s, and maybe not surprisingly, little has changed, she said.

"The biggest change is the River Forest is more Democratic now," Froelich said of years on the job. "It used to be a Republican stronghold."

With curly grey hair and wide smile, she joked with the other election judges in the 5th Precinct today and talked with neighbors and old friends as they arrived.

"They're teaching me these days," Froelich laughed when I asked if she was something of a mentor to the younger judges.

"River Forest is a great town to be in," she said. "Everyone is so helpful [with the election process] here. We have great judges and we're a great team."

Froelich said she couldn't quite remember what her first year as an election judge was, but said that the 1960 election between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy has always stood out in her mind.

"That was a busy one," she said. "It was very exciting, [Kennedy] had such energy."

Still, she said, today's election may rank as one of her most memorable as well.

"Everyone is just dying to know what the outcome will be," she said. "I think it's very important to see who will lead us through this recovery."

Being an election judge is no cakewalk, she said, but she loves the job. Judges have to stay late the night before to get the tables and voting booths prepared, only to rise again at 4 a.m. so they can be at the precinct by 5 a.m. 

"I had four kids," she laughed about how she got involved in the election process. "I just wanted to get out of the house."

While the voting process may not have changed much in her time as a judge, Froelich said she couldn't say the same about the neighborhood.

"I love seeing all my neighbors, and you get to know people," she said of working the position. "After all these years, you start to recognize people and know them. It's a great social event."

According to Froelich, being an election judge gets you a front row seat to watch how the community grows and changes election after election from her seat behind the voter rolls.

"You see families grow up," she said. "Little kids who used to come with their parents suddenly show up and are voting. You know when people have passed on and you meet new families.'

'I'm looking forward to watching for many more years."