Carnegie Mellon University
March 16, 2022

Undergraduate Women Use Political Power To Create Change

As a high school senior preparing to vote for the first time, Brenna Wrubel's first venture into elections involved jumping in headfirst after she researched the candidates in her local 2021 primary election.

"I noticed there was nobody running for judge or inspector of elections on either the Republican or Democratic ballot," she said. "So I Googled them and looked up what were the responsibilities for that position."

In Pennsylvania, there are minority and majority inspector of elections that hold four-year terms and assist the local judge of elections to run Election Day activities, as well as share the responsibility of operating a polling site. They manage poll books and assist voter sign-in and delivery of ballots to eligible voters. Minority inspectors have additional duties as well including maintaining a copy of the election results in a sealed envelope. 

"That's a very important position, especially at this time when election integrity is under attack," she said.

Wrubel thought the work looked doable and she broached the topic with her mother, Eileen Wrubel, a technical director at CMU's Software Engineering Institute. Eileen Wrubel graduated from CMU in 1997 with a degree in mathematics.

Read more about Wrubel and other women at CMU making a difference.