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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