I keep hearing all this worrying and fretting over what's going to happen Election Day. Well people, luckily you still live in a democracy and there is still stuff you can do to help keep it that way!
If you're worried about hanky-panky at your local polling place, you can either bitch or you can become an election judge. Its easy to do, its all volunteer, and for most states all you have to do is be eligible to vote and speak English. Some require a 2-4 hour class, others don't. Some states will pay you for your time (expect a 6am-8pm day) and some states will even treat election judging like jury duty -- i.e. you can get a paid day off of work to do it if you give notice! (check your state to see the details, Minnesota for one does this if you give your employer 20 days notice). Pay is usually at least minimum wage, so college students or the unemployed may be interested in 60-90 bucks for a day's work.
Tricks to becoming an election judge: most states require you to state party affiliation to become a judge, and will only assign a certain number of each party to a polling place, so if you live in a heavily Republican district, volunteering as a Democrat could mean the difference between your polling place having a Democratic judge or none at all! Greens are also an eligible party in some states, as well as Farmer's party, Reform, etc. In a lot of states you can't become an election judge and declare yourself an independent, so if you are and are forced to choose, I'd recommend choosing whichever party is in the minority in your county to make sure you get assigned.
Training: Most states offer a training course that varies from 2-4 hours. You're not paid for taking this course, but it is free, its held multiple times during October (usually) and it may up your volunteer pay (if there is any) if you take it, and in some states may be mandatory. Its not brain surgery (can you read? Can you check off names on a list? How's your reading comprehension?) and will probably help make you more secure in knowing what's fishy and what's not (for instance, if people start demanding to see driver's licenses or asking if people have outstanding parking tickets, you can shut that noise right down by knowing they aren't legally required to answer those questions nor can they keep people from voting).
To find out about the rules for becoming an election judge in your state/county, do a google search for 'become an election judge' and your state or county name. If you're having trouble, ask for help in this diary.
Its your goddamn country and there are many ways to serve it, and this is one!