Should I Become a Poll Worker?

With more than 94,000 polling sites nationwide, recruiting enough people to serve as poll workers on Election Day remains an ongoing challenge. It’s long been an aging workforce—for the 2022 general election, a majority of poll workers were above the age of 60—but one that’s attracting new interest. More than 80,000 individuals served as poll workers for the first time in 2022, representing nearly 17 percent of the force overall, according to a report by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). If you’re interested in joining this corps of Election Day staff serving at the very core of our democracy, here’s how you can step up. 

What are the consequences of a poll worker shortage?

Let’s not sugarcoat this: There are legitimate reasons that few people have signed up to run the polls. The hours are long, the clientele can be cranky, and the pay is limited (more so in some places than in others). But without sufficient numbers of poll workers, the process on Election Day slows, and the lines lengthen. In the 2020 Georgia statewide primary, some voters waited hours to vote, with predominantly Black areas experiencing the worst problems. The difficulties put the very integrity of the election into question.

Won’t a lot of people be voting at home anyway?

Many certainly will be—and we encourage all voters to register now to vote by mail. But rates of in-person voting, which dropped for the 2020 general election in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, have since largely rebounded. (Almost half of all voters cast their ballots this way in 2022, per the EAC report.)

Workers will need to be ready to move the lines through as quickly as possible—particularly as states have drastically reducing polling places in recent years. For example, states across the South shuttered 1,200 polling places after 2013, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states no longer had to show the federal government that such decisions were fair to all voters.

What does a poll worker do?

Your most obvious function will be the simple running of a polling place. You’ll arrange chairs, direct foot traffic, and process voters. Some tasks are more involved: Poll workers have to know what to do when disputes and administrative snafus arise. They educate voters on how to operate the machines. (Remember hanging chads?) “It’s especially rewarding to serve our new citizens and other first-time voters,” says Anna Weber, a senior policy analyst at NRDC who has volunteered as a poll worker for several years. “I love seeing my neighbors and making sure they have a seamless voting experience.”

Many poll workers have to communicate with members of the public in multiple languages—so if you speak a few, your services may be especially welcome. Without sufficient numbers of poll workers, the process slows, and the lines lengthen. In some cases, by a lot.

How do you train for the job?

Most states offer a half-day training program. It begins with the basics—where and how to set up the infrastructure. You’ll then learn how to deal with registration issues, such as voters who don’t appear on the rolls and how to issue provisional ballots when uncertainties arise. There is training to assist voters who speak limited English, including how they can access a live speaker of their preferred language over the phone. Disabled voters also need special assistance, and you will be trained to provide curbside voting for people who can’t enter the polling place. In addition, your instructor will explain how to deal with bad actors at the polling place, such as members of the media who attempt to conduct exit polling inside or too near the voting location.

Okay, I’m sold. Where do I sign up?

Start at the U.S. Election Assistance Commission website to find out if you are eligible. You can then follow links to your local election office to sign up. Local officials will provide you with the necessary training, and off you go. Some employers will offer paid time off. If yours doesn’t, it can’t hurt to ask.

Your participation is especially important if you are in the political minority in your jurisdiction. Some states require party balance among poll workers, and sites can be closed if that balance becomes impossible.

Know that the vast majority of voters will thank you profusely for volunteering for this job. You will play a key role in protecting the integrity of our democracy. “People are very appreciative of our work, especially since the pandemic started,” Weber says, “and our local election office has done a great job making sure we’re safe."

The U.S. polling place workforce is in great need of new volunteers. Now is your time to make a real difference.

This story was originally published August 24, 2020, and has been updated with new information and links.

This NRDC.org story is available for online republication by news media outlets or nonprofits under these conditions: The writer(s) must be credited with a byline; you must note prominently that the story was originally published by NRDC.org and link to the original; the story cannot be edited (beyond simple things such as grammar); you can’t resell the story in any form or grant republishing rights to other outlets; you can’t republish our material wholesale or automatically—you need to select stories individually; you can’t republish the photos or graphics on our site without specific permission; you should drop us a note to let us know when you’ve used one of our stories.