Dedicated Ada County election judge honored for decades of service
When her neighbor suggested, 55 years ago, that June Pack might want to consider working as an election judge, she had no idea that she was making a decades-long commitment. But back then, Pack packed her two oldest kids off to school and her youngest two to their grandmother’s house — and her course was set.
“I just liked doing it,” she said. “You meet so many different people.”
Pack, 91, decided it was time to retire and was honored Friday in a small ceremony at the Ada County Elections office for her work. She’s among a small group of dedicated poll workers with that kind of longevity, said Phil McGrane, Ada County Clerk.
“I think one of the most amazing things is just how many dedicated people serve in the polls,” he said. “Elections wouldn’t be possible without the work of people like June Pack.”
It will take 1,300 poll workers to run the November election.
When she started, Pack remembers tallying votes one at a time — and how long that took; and then the evolution to punch cards and machines. In the last several years, she joked that she had a well-trained and experienced group of poll workers who could get votes ready to be counted a half-hour after polls closed.
Although she won’t be working the election, Pack says she might show up at the precinct in Meridian — just to visit.
And as for who is going to take her place, Pack figured that out: She convinced her daughter, Carol Hutchison, to take her place.
“History has been very matriarchal,” McGrane said. “There’s a long tradition of exactly what you see here.”
