OBJECTIVES AND JOURNAL

Mr. Jonathon T. DiPietro

IM1-4 : ENGL12H

------------------------------| 7 December 2020 |------------------------------

Objectives:
● Research Project
○ Expand the final essay and begin writing the bulk of the analysis.
● On-Site
○ Due to the end of the election period, and an order by the Governor to limit the capacity of
government facilities, I will only be attending the onsite internship (at most) once a week,
from this point forward.
○ Adapt to a new work schedule.

Journal:

Election clean-up is complete and my on-site workload is practically non-existent.

For the past few weeks, I have consistently been going into the Board of Elections to
assist with several tasks to assist with the after-election protocol. This includes the
organization of Provisional Ballots, additional return-ballot research, and more ballot
accountability measures. Due to the increase of COVID-19 cases throughout the state of
Maryland, Governor Hogan has ordered a limited capacity (of two persons) in all
government facilities. Because of the concluding workload, and new health and safety
protocols, my onside internship will be significantly limited from this point forward. I
will, at most, be able to go on-site once a week until the conclusion of the internship in
January. With the change in schedule I plan to heavily work on my research paper, and
hopefully have a substantive amount done before winter break.
My organization has been very successful lately, with all in-school and
out-of-school activities being completed in a timely manner. I am optimistic that this will
continue throughout the rest of my Intern Mentor experience.

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 OBJECTIVES AND JOURNAL
Mr. Jonathon T. DiPietro
IM1-4 : ENGL12H

------------------------------| 16 November 2020 |------------------------------

Objectives:
● Research Project
○ Record Collected Data
○ Interview Expert
● On-Site
○ Discuss internship after the election period.
○ Interview Mentor

Journal:

Election day has passed, and the onsite work is significantly different. For the
next couple of weeks, I will still have a significant workload to help ‘clean up’ after the
election. There is still additional quality assurance that must take place (mainly on
provisional ballots) before state-wide certification takes place. There is also matching
that must take place for ballots that were sent out but never received by the voter.
I have developed my research topic, and it is now very statistics focused. This is
not new, but it is definitely more present. My workload is still very high, although a
majority of college applications have now been submitted. My assignments for the most
part have been on time and I am optimistic about the continuation of my intern mentor
experience.

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 OBJECTIVES AND JOURNAL
Mr. Jonathon T. DiPietro
IM1-4 : ENGL12H

------------------------------| 2 November 2020 |------------------------------

Objectives:
● Research Project
○ Collect data on Election Participation by Party.
○ Collect data on Party Loyalty when it comes to elections.
● On-Site
○ Assist on election day and throughout the canvassing period on ballot quality assurance.
○ Discuss internship after the election period.

Journal:

Tomorrow is election day and my onsite work is definitely reflecting that.

Through the past week, I have spent a plethora of hours assisting the office prepare for
the upcoming election, by helping match ballots and continuing quality assurance. Due to
the COVID-19 pandemic, mail-in ballots are at their highest ever turnout, which has
resulted in significant stress on local election offices. Accountability and security of the
election are at their all-time highest, but the bureaucratic functions of the administration
of the election are significantly multiplied. I have successfully built strong relationships
with my colleagues at the Board of Elections, and have been very successful at
maintaining all of my commitments.
I have learned much about my research topic, including how pre-election
predictive polling has changed significantly throughout the years. Modern polling rarely
relies solely on telephone conversations but on statics from third-party sources like
Google search patterns and other means to calculate a specific interest in a candidate.
This has shifted my attention towards polling administration.

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 OBJECTIVES AND JOURNAL
Mr. Jonathon T. DiPietro
IM1-4 : ENGL12H

------------------------------| 19 October 2020 |------------------------------

Objectives:
● Find Sources and compile an annotated bibliography
● Continue work at Board of Elections
○ Ballot Quality Assurance
● Develop my research topic

Journal:

My onsite internship is well on the way in preparation for Election Day, and my
overall workload is at its greatest. For the past few weeks, I have successfully integrated
into the new work environment, and synchronously attended the in-person commitment.
On-site, I am responsible for assisting with ballot quality assurance, where I am opening
the outer security flap of mail-in ballots, and checking the signature. My research topic
has also been modified to include the historical perspective of party ideology, and how
that affects faithless voters. I have learned that the most important part of a predictive
poll is the estimation of if the eligible voter will actively participate in the election.
The past week has been my busiest of the year *so far*, with late hours
on-site and a significant homework responsibility from my high school coursework.
Although heavily stressed, my organization has held up, with minimal impacts on grades
or outside commitments. Through my on-site experience, I have learned many important
lessons regarding the administration of local elections. I have a significantly better
understanding of what happens once the ballot is cast, how voters can ensure their vote
was counted, and begun researching my essay topic. At this point, my organization is
entirely based on ‘Google Calendar’ and has been relatively effective. I am very busy and
have practically no personal time.

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 OBJECTIVES AND JOURNAL
Mr. Jonathon T. DiPietro
IM1-4 : ENGL12H

------------------------------| 5 October 2020 |------------------------------

Objectives:
● Formalize Internship (HC Board of Elections)
○ Mentor Documents
● Prepare Research Proposal
○ The affect party affiliation versus political ideology affects election projections and
statistics

Journal:

Research is well on the way, and my topic has been going through significant
changes. The progression of my research topic stems from my acceptance as a Research
Intern at the Howard County Board of Elections. At the beginning of the semester, I was
planning on researching “modes of Constitutional Interpretation”, or developing my brief
about legal protections for public school students’ right to demonstrate in school.
Although I am confident I would have been able to successfully conduct research on
these topics, they had very little correlation to my on-site internship. I have come to the
conclusion that my final research project will be about election statistics, and plan on
expanding the thesis in the upcoming weeks.
Similar to the last journal, I maintain the same successes and stressors.
Continuing organization for all of my commitments will be essential towards having a
successful research project. There are many different ways I can do this, primarily,
through planners and online calendars. I am very excited to have been offered an
in-person internship (and due to the current COVID situation, it will be a unique
experience) and plan to research information about the operations of the Board of
Elections.

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 OBJECTIVES AND JOURNAL
Mr. Jonathon T. DiPietro
IM1-4 : ENGL12H

------------------------------| 21 September 2020 |------------------------------

Objectives:
● Complete Emails to:
○ UMD
○ UMBC
○ Johns Hopkins
● Finalize Research Topic

Journal:

This is the beginning of my research journey, and I am starting to collect my

thoughts to help round out my topic. Through this development process, my topic is
constantly developing. At this point, all I know is that I am interested in researching
something that pertains to the law, public policy, or government administration. In
preparation, I am researching methods to research and write about law and legal theory,
because the issue is so complicated and requires a specific methodology to succeed.
I am currently having a mixed experience when it comes to adapting to the new
online mode of learning which has resulted in several things. A success that I am
currently having is being able to have all of my dates (for in school and out of school
assignments) in one place, making my organization both easy and effective.
Unfortunately, due to a plethora of due dates, I am currently not only working on my
research class but also actively filling out college applications, and preparing for my
upcoming SATs. My goal for this quarter is to ensure I continue to be a good organizer,
communicator, and complete all assignments in a timely manner. If my goal succeeds,
then I expect to have a successful semester in GT Intern Mentor.

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 OBJECTIVES AND JOURNAL
Mr. Jonathon T. DiPietro
IM1-4 : ENGL12H

------------------------------| Journal Questions |------------------------------

● What are you finding out about your strengths and weaknesses?
● What questions do you hope to answer through your experiences?
● What accomplishments have you had?
● What are you learning about your topic?
● How is your topic changing/modifying?

------------------------------| END |------------------------------

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