'Absolutely essential': Volunteers help Orange County residents get to the polls

Orange County resident Kathleen Berdine knew she wanted to vote in the 2024 election, but she didn’t have a way to get to the polls. 

Berdine uses a walker and doesn't live close to any polling places. Due to her health, she said she can only walk about a block before having to stop. And, after past issues at the post office due to her address change, Berdine said she also worried about using an absentee ballot. She said she wanted to vote in person to make sure it counted.

On Oct. 19, Adam Wolk picked up Berdine and took her to curbside early voting. She said every little circle she filled in on the ballot was exciting.

“I'm 70 years old, and this is the most important election I've ever voted in,” Berdine said.

Wolk is an organizer and driver for a rides-to-vote effort in Chapel Hill, which he said he first began during the 2020 election with a group of volunteers, his cell phone, spreadsheets and flyers. 

Wolk said the effort was initially aimed at helping community members who traditionally face barriers getting to the polls, including elderly and disabled individuals who lack transportation. As a physician, he said he works with disadvantaged communities every day and recognizes the importance of giving people a voice.

“It's unfortunate but, in some ways, the harder it is to access services, to access the polls, the less likely you are to have your needs met as a constituency,” Wolk said. “So, it's really about getting people what they need through their elected representatives."

In 2020, he said the volunteers were able to get around 125 voters to the polls. This year, Jared Gallaher, another organizer for the program, said the group has increased the scale of operations to provide services to more people including acquiring an ADA wheelchair van and partnering with RideShare2Vote, an app that connects drivers to riders. 

He said the software functions similarly to Uber, allowing drivers to put in their availability and match with voters who they take to the polls and return home. RideShare2Vote requires volunteers to go through a short training process that covers appropriate election laws and safety principles, Gallaher said. Drivers must also show their license and insurance on their car before being certified. 

Currently, Gallaher said 20 drivers have been fully trained and the organization expects to have at least 50 more. 

Although the organizers are working in collaboration with the Orange County Democratic Party, he said the program is for anyone who wants to vote.

“Even though we have a particular political leaning, this is open to anyone, and certainly no one's going to be asked who they're voting for or anything like that,” he said. “We just think this is an important principle for the type of country we all want to live in.”

Instead of canvassing and calling, Gallaher said the group wants to do everything they can to reduce barriers for everyone voting.

Every year, there is a turnover of volunteers meaning they must teach everyone again. Wolk said he would love to see a bipartisan effort to spread this initiative across North Carolina in future elections.

For residents like Berdine, she said this initiative is the only way they can vote. She said citizens need to take advantage of their right to make a choice, and they need to ensure their choice is counted. 

“I wouldn't have been able to vote at all,” Berdine said. “It was absolutely essential.”

@mkpolicastro

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