Dem
51
GOP
49
Once in a rare while someone like Rudy Giuliani defames an election worker, and that leads to a $148 million judgment, but being an election worker is not normally a road to riches. Most poll workers are just ordinary citizens working for the local county government for a day out of a sense of civic responsibility (and a small amount of pay). Without them, elections could not be held at all because elections require hundreds of thousands of new workers for a single day (or possibly 2 days to include some training or 3 days if they are needed for vote counting). So volunteering to do this work is essential to making democracy work.
No doubt some of our readers are thinking: "I'd be willing to help out, but what do I do now?" Turns out there is a group trying to match up potential poll workers with local elections boards all over the country. It is powerthepolls.org. It acts as a broker connecting people who want to work at the polls with local election boards that need people to do it. It also provides information to potential poll workers so they can see what the deal is. It is a nonpartisan group that is just interested in making sure elections work smoothly.
To see how it works, go to powerthepolls.org/search and enter any ZIP code to see what the hours, compensation, and other details are for that ZIP code. If you are interested in finding out more, try it out.
Note that poll workers are different from poll watchers. Poll workers are temporary employees or contractors for the county they are in and are paid for their services (typically $100 for Election Day and $25 per hour of required training). You usually need to be at least 17 or 18 but you need not be a citizen in most cases. Poll watchers are highly partisan volunteers who are sent to the polls by one political party to look for mischief and try to stop it or at least document it and report it.
We encourage you to get involved in the election by becoming a poll worker. There is a need for hundreds of thousands of them. Lack of poll workers forces counties to eliminate polling places, meaning longer drives for voters and longer waits at the remaining ones. In 2018, there were 200,000 polling places across the U.S. In 2020, that dropped to 132,000. In 2022, it was down to 94,793. If not enough poll workers sign up, it will drop even more this year. Some large counties may end up with only one polling place if there aren't enough workers to staff more. That will mean huge lines at that polling place, with voters becoming discouraged and going home without voting. This can affect election outcomes. In any case, if it fits your schedule, consider signing up as a poll worker in your community. The PowerThePolls Website can get you started.
We have a number of readers who serve as poll workers. If you have general questions for them about the experience, let us know at comments@electoral-vote.com. If you are one of the poll-worker readers, and you're willing to answer a few questions, please give us a heads-up at comments@electoral-vote.com. (V)