CUF's Poll Worker Recruitment Campaign Toolkit: What You Neec to Know to Get Involved!
Poll workers are the dedicated people who staff poll sites on Election Day, running our elections at the ground level. Here in New York City, there is often a shortage of the more than 30,000 poll workers needed to run each election, but this trend is not specific to New York – poll worker shortages and an aging demographic of poll workers pose challenges for elections across the country. With new voting machines introduced more widely in the last decade, there is a growing need for a younger, more technologically- savvy and service-oriented poll worker force.
Believing that fair and open elections are a hallmark of democracy, and now more than ever, maintaining our country’s democratic traditions requires a new generation of poll workers, Citizens Union Foundation (CUF) has been working to recruit new poll workers since 2001.
Two connected problems exacerbate poll worker recruitment: an aging volunteer pool and modern updated voting machines. First, because the average poll worker nationwide is 72 years old, many volunteers are becoming either physically unable to volunteer or may not want the additional responsibility that new voting systems require. Second, as computerized poll machines become more common, current poll workers unfamiliar with the new technology may choose not to continue to participate.
Due to some of these changes in election administration, elections risk understaffing or an unprepared work force. Improperly or inadequately staffed elections threaten the integrity and efficiency of participatory democracy on Election Day. Well-staffed polling stations ensure voter accuracy and efficiency while decreasing voter fraud and disenfranchisement.
CUF’s poll worker recruitment efforts have largely focused on New York City’s need to engage more young adults in the process and more language interpreters to ensure adequate assistance for non-English speakers at the polls. While our campaigns have focused on college students and language interpreters, our methods are replicable without targeting a specific group.
CUF has found that recruiting college students and young adults is a viable solution to dwindling poll worker volunteers. College students are valuable poll workers because they usually are enthusiastic, computer-literate and have flexible schedules. More importantly, college poll worker recruitment promotes civic responsibility and engages students in the democratic process. Young adults are often an underutilized and frequently disengaged population within local and national politics. Serving as a poll worker can be a fun and interactive way to reverse this trend, ensuring that young adults connect to their communities and are civically engaged.
Overall, poll worker recruitment is an important, yet easy form of civic advocacy because the goals are specific – recruit poll workers, easily measurable – how many poll workers were recruited, and time-oriented – Election Day. Also, poll working is nonpartisan and focuses on a common good – well run elections. Conversely, less tangible outreach can be frustrating, particularly for newer organizations because it involves a more long-term strategy with less observable results than poll working. Also, when fundraising, your organization can use recruitment data to clearly demonstrate how you impacted the election and community.
For these reasons, a poll worker recruitment drive offers new groups positive community exposure and helps build contacts for future advocacy. For established organizations, poll worker recruitment can solidify a reputation for effective and results-driven advocacy.