Voter suppression comes in many forms, but we as individuals aren’t always in a position to do much about it. Unless, of course, you’re a poll worker. As Teri Kanefield said on Twitter earlier this week, “Good poll workers help people vote. Bad poll workers make it harder.”
And as this week we celebrated National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, it seemed like the perfect day to share some resources with you.
We find ourselves in a very different position when it comes to poll workers in 2022. In 2020, every state was seeing a massive shortage in poll workers due to many trusted poll workers pulling out of these positions for fear of covid. (Remember, we didn’t have a vaccine yet!) That’s not the issue we’re facing this year.
This year, we’re facing heavy recruitment by MAGA types, including awful people like Steve Bannon, who are pressing their supporters to sign up to be poll workers. Yes, they are sending ELECTION DENIERS to go be poll workers!! Can you imagine the roadblocks and stalling tactics these folks might employ to slow down voting or turn people away? It is crucial that we recruit good people who will be helpful poll workers, and make sure that every citizen who wants to vote is given all the resources they need to do just that.
Before I jump into what exactly you can do to look into becoming a poll worker in your state, consider reading this interview I did a few years back with a couple who had served as poll workers. It gave me a wonderful insight into what it’s like to be in this position on Election Day. You can find that interview HERE.
How to help
Here are a couple of suggestions:
At the Election Assistance Commission, you can look up what it takes to be a poll worker by using THIS TOOL. What the requirements are, what kind of training you’ll get, and whether or not it is a paid position.
You may have already heard about Power to the Polls, an organization that has partnered with several other groups (and was featured on The Daily Show) which is aiming to recruit a lot of people to work the polls. Sign up for their updates and share their link with others.
Thank you for taking action!
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