Power the Polls
Serve as a Poll Worker!
Help ensure a free, fair, and safe election for all voters in your community
Posted July 29, 2022
Background & Context
Poll workers support early voting locations, ensure technology functions, support language access when needed, and help minimize long lines and delays at polling places on election day—and poll worker shortages can lead to long lines and voter disenfranchisement, especially in communities of color and low income communities.
Immediate Problem
With the 2022 primary elections already underway, we are seeing an urgent need for poll workers to ensure our elections run smoothly.
Work & Deliverables
Once you’ve signed up with Power the Polls, you'll be directed to your local election administrator's website to complete a poll worker application. Depending on your jurisdiction, your local election administrator will contact you sometime between now and the election if you're selected to become a poll worker. All training and placement will be done by your local election administrator.
The process to become a poll worker can be a bit complicated, but don’t worry: the Power the Polls team is here to help! While you wait to hear back from your election administrator, Power the Polls will provide reminders and informational resources about what to expect if you're selected as a poll worker, how to prepare for training, and how to make the most of the experience.
Power the Polls
We’re a nonpartisan organization bringing together nonprofits and businesses like Civic Alliance, Comedy Central, Fair Elections Center, Pizza to the Polls, and MTV in a coalition to recruit the next generation of poll workers. Poll workers are vital to the democratic process – they tabulate votes, set up polling sites, and work to minimize the wait time for voters. Beyond staffing polling places on Election day, some poll workers also cover early voting and count absentee ballots after the election. We will be providing PPE to poll workers who sign up to help keep our elections efficient, fair, and safe. Unfortunately, we are facing a severe shortage of poll workers, which in turn means we’re at risk of losing a number of in-person polling locations across the country. In 2016, an estimated 57% of the 900,000 poll workers were over the age of 60 – a group particularly vulnerable to COVID. In the midst of the ongoing pandemic, seasoned poll workers are opting out of these roles without anyone to take their place. We have already seen the consequences of the poll worker shortage adversely impact voters in primaries across the country. Recruiting a younger, more diverse cohort of poll workers is crucial to preventing election officials and lawmakers from using the poll worker shortage as an excuse to close polling places and limit in-person voting in this historic election year.
Power the Polls
We’re a nonpartisan organization bringing together nonprofits and businesses like Civic Alliance, Comedy Central, Fair Elections Center, Pizza to the Polls, and MTV in a coalition to recruit the next generation of poll workers. Poll workers are vital to the democratic process – they tabulate votes, set up polling sites, and work to minimize the wait time for voters. Beyond staffing polling places on Election day, some poll workers also cover early voting and count absentee ballots after the election. We will be providing PPE to poll workers who sign up to help keep our elections efficient, fair, and safe. Unfortunately, we are facing a severe shortage of poll workers, which in turn means we’re at risk of losing a number of in-person polling locations across the country. In 2016, an estimated 57% of the 900,000 poll workers were over the age of 60 – a group particularly vulnerable to COVID. In the midst of the ongoing pandemic, seasoned poll workers are opting out of these roles without anyone to take their place. We have already seen the consequences of the poll worker shortage adversely impact voters in primaries across the country. Recruiting a younger, more diverse cohort of poll workers is crucial to preventing election officials and lawmakers from using the poll worker shortage as an excuse to close polling places and limit in-person voting in this historic election year.