You must live in an area with a smaller population. I live in an exurb of a metro area. Used to be in our smallish town, you did know the poll workers. Over the past decade, those little old ladies have been replaced with a varying group of clearly liberal strangers. I have seen them put all the voting machines in a semi circle with one off to the side. Which machine do you think they took me to? Now we've got electronic machines arranged the same every time. Spouse anon, who is clearly conservative-looking, gets the same machine every time. Starting to freak him out. I usually get the same one, too, but on a different wall. Who knows, but definitely the poll workers are strangers, mostly minorities, and those who are not minorities seem extremely well educated for people who have the time to sit at the polls all day. Hardly see the same crew twice, either. I truly envy you knowing your poll workers.