MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Waking up at 4 a.m., working until 2 a.m. that night takes something special. Rich Weingartner has that something.

Screeches of tables moving, the dropping of boxes, the mechanical clicking of gear are the sounds that fill Weingartner's morning. It's a task he's owned up to for well over ten years.

"Voting is such an important thing for people in our country," Weingartner said as he prepared to open precinct 20, where he serves as chair.

"The best reward is always brand new voters... You can tell that they're truly excited to have their voices be heard as part of the election."