Poll worker pals look forward to election day

BANGOR - Election day wouldn't be possible if not for the hundreds of poll workers from around Maine that give of their time and efforts to assist voters. We met up with two poll worker pals in Bangor that have decades of experience and neither of them are showing signs of slowing down.

"I don't know what I'd do without her," said Yovanne Stevenson while hugging her friend Jan.

Eighty-seven-year-old Jan Budden and 90-year-old Yovanne Stevenson are long time poll workers and friends who spent election day at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.

"Seeing people. Seeing people I haven't seen in a long time and I just love doing it," said Stevenson.

Budden said working the polls runs in her family.

"My father was an assessor, and my mother worked the polls and so I kind of thought that would be fun to do," explained Budden.

Turns out, Budden enjoyed it so much she's become a regular fixture at the polls. These two retirees combined have more than 42 elections under their belts.

"On election day, I do 15 hours. I go from 6 a.m. and I'm a stamper, so I stay a little later, which I love doing," said Stevenson.

While most voters want to get in and out of election booth as quickly as possible, these Maine seniors say there's no other place they'd rather be on election day.

"It's a chance to give back to the city what the city has given to me," said Budden.