WANTED: Poll Workers

Another way you can help preserve democracy

So you’re registered to vote, know which method you prefer and where your polling place is. But do you have a checklist yet for what more you can do to help preserve the Republic? Over the next six months, you might send postcards, letters or texts about the power of every vote. You might make calls to ensure people are registered and remind them to plan ahead. Whether they opt for early voting, mail-in voting or going to their polling places on November 5^th, the more people you can encourage to vote, the more you empower others to spread the word to their own contacts. But if you want to make a special, not to mention crucial, contribution to the electoral process you could also become a poll worker. 

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

To borrow a phrase from COVID days, poll workers are essential workers in a class of their own. If you enjoyed being a poll worker in the past, or even just considered this role, we urge civic-minded Americans like you to step up to the plate this year. It’s understandable that line-crossing MAGA tactics might deter some people from working on the frontlines of elections, which is why it’s exciting to learn that a new breed of calvary is being organized. 

In February, the American Bar Association (ABA) announced its Democracy Warriors initiative, aimed at enlisting its membership of 1.3 million lawyers. They will receive detailed actionable ways for attorneys to help defend democracy during this election cycle. ABA member Stephen Cobb told colleagues,

We need your participation, and we need it now, not just on Election Day.

Jason Kaune, chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Election Law, put it this way:

Lawyers are well qualified for this role. We know how to follow rules, we know when people get upset, we know how to de-escalate and deal with conflict; we’re built for this role.

In particular, the association is concerned with disinformation and the stress placed on poll workers. 

While the presumptive GOP nominee has already promised to send in the clowns at polling places, poll workers should fear not. The ABA will be sending in their legal eagles.

You can be a poll worker too. One of our volunteers, who was a poll worker in 2022, recently shared his perspective in this post: What I Learned As a Poll Worker

Post submitted by Barbara Holzer, a volunteer with The Union.

Note: The views and opinions expressed by volunteer contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of The Union, a single-issue organization that welcomes all and is dedicated to protecting democracy.

If you’d like to help defend democracy in the US, we invite you to join The Union.