 OCTOBER 22 • 2020 | 19

position, but election workers 
are paid — generally about 
$230 for training and Election 
Day work.
“I wanted to do my part to 
make sure that this is safe and 
fair. I needed to be part of it. 
I didn’
t want to be passive,” 
said Nancy Silverman, 69, of 
Bloomfield Township. She 
was initially hesitant because 
of COVID but was reassured 
by safety precautions at the 
precinct during the primary. 
Poll workers were spaced out, 
given masks and face shields 
and there was a “sanitation 
station” along with masks for 
any voter who didn’
t bring 
one. Pens were wiped off after 
each use. 
West Bloomfield has many 
returning poll workers who 
consider their efforts to be 
both enjoyable and worth-
while. Bruce Sitron, 65, 
of West Bloomfield is an 

Election Day chair who has 
worked the polls for about 15 
years. “I enjoy doing it. I’
m 
doing something good — it’
s 
a mitzvah. Voters like to see 
continuity — they like to see 
the same people every time,” 
he explained. 
During the August pri-
mary, Sitron said that there 
were two voters who refused 
to wear masks so “we got 
them in and out as fast as we 
could.” On Nov. 3, “we’
ll be 
prepared and ready for it as 
we always are. We’
ll be safe,” 
Sitron said.
Mimi Markofsky, 64, of 
West Bloomfield is also a 
returning chairperson for the 
township’
s polls. Because of 
family health issues, she had 
some concerns about work-
ing this year due to COVID. 
However, Markofsky said 
that the state, county and 
township provided extensive 

protective equipment and 
that only one voter out of 194 
in August refused to wear a 
mask. The precinct had a sep-
arate area for voters without 
masks.
“I love it. I’
ve been a politi-
cal junkie since college. I feel 
like I’
m doing my civic duty 
and helping my community. 
It’
s a long day but fulfilling,” 
she said.

DON’T DELAY 
MAIL BALLOTS
Binder urges absentee/mail-
in voters not to delay so that 
there is time for notification 
if there is a problem with the 
signature on their ballot enve-
lope. A considerable number 
of absentee ballots in the 
primary election lacked signa-
tures or had other issues.
Oakland County will pro-
vide absentee voter tabulation 
for 16 local municipalities; 

other townships and cities in 
the county handle their own. 
County Clerk Lisa Brown said 
that the county has a high-
speed scanner and tabulator 
and as a result, their tabu-
lation of more than 50,000 
absentee ballots was com-
pleted early for the August 
primary. She anticipates an 
increase in absentee voting 
in November — perhaps as 
many as 125,000 absentee 
ballots. All ballots are checked 
against the qualified voter 
file and “nothing touches the 
internet,” Brown said, both 
of which strengthen election 
integrity. 
A video with tips for voting 
is available at oakgov.com/
clerkrod/elections/Pages/
default.aspx. 

For information about where and how 

to vote, visit mi.gov/vote or call the 

clerk for your city or township.

J

oin Jewish Family 
Service’
s 24th annual 
Fall Fix Up, when the 
community serves home-
bound older adults by prepar-
ing their homes for winter. 
Now, more than ever, it’
s 
important for everyone to be 
safe at home and prepared 
for the winter months. For 
everyone’
s protection, this will 
be an outdoor-only event and 
COVID precautions are being 
taken.
There are two options to 
help out. All ages are welcome 
to head to Congregation 
Shaarey Zedek in Southfield 

Nov. 8 for drive-through 
contact-less supply pickup 
by appointment starting at 9 
a.m. Young adults are asked to 
head to B’
nai David Cemetery, 
9535 Van Dyke, Detroit, 
where community service will 
begin at 10 a.m. Nov. 8.
Register for either of these 
opportunities by Oct. 30 as 
worksites are pre-assigned. 
For more information, contact 
Sarah Strasberger at (248) 
592-2267 or sstrasberger@
jfsdetroit.org. If you would 
like to make a donation to 
support Fall Fix Up, call (248) 
592-2339. 

JFS

i J
i h F
il
N
Fall Fix Up

Limmud Goes Virtual on Nov. 1
COVID has transformed 
Limmud Michigan’
s annual 
conference from a daylong 
gathering to a pared-down 
all-Zoom program with 16 ses-
sions. Limmud welcomes every-
one from the “Jewish-adjacent” 
to the Talmud scholar.
 Limmud 2020 will be Sunday, 
Nov. 1, starting at 11:30 a.m. 
Jacob Spike Kraus of Temple 
Israel will introduce it with a set 
of songs. Individual 50-minute 
sessions, on Arts/Culture, Text/
Thought, History, Social Justice, 
Identity, Israel, Current Events, 
and Body and Soul, start at 
noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.
 Special guests include 
MaNishtana from Brooklyn, 
N.Y., a nationally known African 
American Orthodox rabbi, 
activist and writer; and Renana 
Ravitsky Pilzer from the Shalom 
Hartman Institute in New York. 
Also featured are a panel on 
Jews of Color led by Detroit 
Jews for Justice’
s Kendra 

Watkins; Rabbi Mitch Parker 
on barely mentioned Bible 
characters with big stories; Ruth 
Bergman on the Holocaust in 
graphic novels; Saeed Khan 
and David Polsky on distorting 
religious passages for bigoted 
use; Howard Lupovitch on 
white nationalism and how to 
respond to it; Justin Sledge on 
the apocalypse in Jewish litera-
ture; Rabbi Tamara Kolton on 
connecting to the power of the 
feminine divine and more.
Register at $18 per person at 
www.limmudmichigan.org any 
time until the program starts. 
Sue Birnholtz is chair of this 
year’
s Limmud. Working with 
her are Leslie Black, Nicole 
Caine, Nancy Goldberg, Irv 
Goldfein, Sandy Lada, Rabbi 
David Polsky, Rabbi Steven 
Rubenstein and Mira Sussman.
The event is sponsored by the 
Ravitz Foundation, Barbara and 
Dr. Ed Klarman, and Sue and 
Dr. Sandy Birnholtz. 

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