09 July 2008

Volunteer Poll Workers Help Ensure Integrity of U.S. Elections

Election officials consider long hours at voting places their “civic duty”

Crawford County Clerk R.J. Wilson shows election official Fred Bogina how to use a voting machine in November 2006 in Girard, Kansas.

By Kathryn McConnell
Staff Writer

Washington -- The volunteer poll workers rise early to be at their assigned stations before the first voters arrive. The day is long and they take only brief breaks. They are paid nominally for a work day that stretches up to 16 hours.

But they love their work because they are helping to ensure the integrity of elections. Nationwide, about 3 million Americans work at the polls, said Gary Scott, deputy registrar of Fairfax County, Virginia.

For each local, state and national election in the United States, counties -- or regional governmental jurisdictions broken into precincts -- recruit and train volunteer poll workers. Many precincts may need more workers in 2008 than in previous elections because of the anticipated high voter turnout.

Poll workers receive training on operating electronic voting machines and handling extraordinary situations, such as an emergency evacuation, voting machine malfunctions, or discrepancies in voter documentation. Once trained, election officials must take an oath to uphold the laws of the United States and of their state.

Fairfax County precinct poll worker Sue Jones told America.gov that she volunteered because "it is my civic duty." She said voting and learning about the issues are the responsibilities of all Americans.

In nearby Arlington County, Virginia, Kate Dorrell works at a voting place located inside a high school. She said her role as a poll worker is to ensure everyone in her precinct "gets a chance to vote."

Some of the school’s 18-year-old students are among the most excited voters, especially after they are handed an “I Voted” sticker, Dorrell said. Younger friends of the new voters often wait outside the polls, eager for the time they will be able to cast their first votes. They are given “Future Voter” stickers.

Dorrell said she is impressed by the special effort some people with physical challenges make to get to the polls.

An “I Voted” sticker from a Virginia polling site.

A TYPICAL ELECTION DAY

When a voter arrives at a polling station, an officer checks a list to confirm the individual is registered to vote. Voters must be at least 18 years old, be U.S. citizens and be legal residents of the state in which they wish to vote.

Voters are admitted to the voting machine area one at a time. They are directed to a voting machine, given brief instructions on its operation, and left alone to cast their ballots behind a curtain.

Every precinct has information about all of the county’s polling locations to help voters who are unsure of their correct voting place.

Political parties and individual campaigns are allowed to have volunteers outside each polling place to hand out brochures about candidates and issues, but they must remain a certain distance from the polling-place entrance. Party workers can alert poll workers if an arriving voter appears to need assistance.

Sample ballots are posted inside the poll entrance for voters to review.

Poll workers can offer to move disabled voters to the front of the waiting line with the consent of the other voters. Desktop voting machines are available for voters who cannot stand, and a portable voting machine can be taken outside the building by an election official to accommodate a voter who is physically unable to enter.

At the end of the voting day, poll workers and supervisors total the results for the precinct's voting machines. The appointed chief precinct official then transmits that poll's results to the county election chief, who transmits all county results to the state's top election official.

Jones said she enjoys seeing people vote for the first time, especially new U.S. citizens. “They take their American citizenship opportunities seriously," she said.

For more information, see “U.S. Election Day a Celebration of Political Activism.”