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Power The Polls Launches First-of-its-Kind Effort to Recruit New Wave of Poll Workers for Election Day

June 30, 2020 -- In the Midst of a Nationwide Poll Worker Shortage, Nonprofits and Companies Come Together to Ensure Safe, Secure and Fair Elections Launch Partners Include Civic Alliance, Comedy Central, Fair Elections Center, Levi Strauss & Co., MTV, Patagonia, Pizza to the Polls, Time to Vote, Uber, and We Can Vote.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Today, a coalition of businesses and nonprofits is launching Power the Polls, a first-of-its-kind initiative to recruit a new wave of poll workers – especially among younger, more diverse populations that have not historically filled these roles – to ensure a safe, secure, healthy and fair election for all voters. Amidst a nationwide poll worker shortage and fewer than 100 days to sign up as many as 250,000 new workers nationally, Power the Polls will be part of the solution through education, recruitment, business engagement, PPE procurement, and potential rewards for those who sign up. The initiative is being launched by nonprofit organizations and businesses, namely Civic Alliance, Comedy Central, Fair Elections Center, Levi Strauss & Co, MTV, Patagonia, Pizza to the Polls, Time To Vote, Uber, and We Can Vote—with a goal of recruiting more partners.

Currently, most poll workers are over the age of 60 and in the era of uncertainty caused by the coronavirus, fewer are signing up for the job. The consequences have already been felt in recent primaries where poll worker shortages led to long lines and voter disenfranchisement. Washington, D.C. lost 1,700 election workers during its primary in early June. Similarly, Kentucky consolidated in-person voting in each county to a single polling place during the primary due to poll worker recruitment concerns

Power the Polls will focus on recruiting low-risk, healthy and more diverse individuals to staff in-person voting locations during early voting and on Election Day in order to ensure that those who choose or need to vote in-person are able to vote safely and delay-free. The initiative’s platform is built using poll worker requirements collected by the nonpartisan Fair Elections Center with its unique Work Elections web portal. Information is available on poll worker compensation, hours, application links, and training and voter registration requirements for more than 4,000 jurisdictions in states across the country.

“Having healthy poll workers is critical to the voting process,” says Scott Duncombe, the founder of Pizza to the Polls. “During a pandemic, people should not have to choose between putting themselves at risk and acting on their democratic right to vote.” We cannot have mass closures of poll sites on Nov. 3 due to lack of poll workers, resulting in long lines, fewer opportunities to physically distance, and directly stifling voters’ ability to cast a ballot. Maintaining safe in-person voting is critical for communities without reliable access to mail service, voters with disabilities, those who need language assistance, or for voters who simply want to cast their ballot in-person as they always have.

“We’re excited about this new, expanded initiative to recruit people to be poll workers for the Fall elections,” said Fair Elections Center President Robert Brandon. “We established Work Elections to provide information and make it easy for folks to sign up. This year, with the pandemic affecting the ability of many people who normally work at the polls, we’re pleased to join with these partners to get the word out that poll workers are going to be desperately needed in many communities to help ensure a safe and fair election for voters.” Power the Polls will recruit and support workers by:

  • Educating potential voters on the opportunity and experience of manning Election Day polls.
  • An efficient and effective program to ensure people sign up and show up on Election Day.
  • Activating businesses to give their workers Election Day off so they can work the polls.
  • Providing PPE for worker safety on Election Day (through corporate partners).
  • Rewarding poll workers for their service by providing virtual gifts (merchandise, gift cards, etc.) from Power the Polls business partners to celebrate their service.

“Today we are sounding the alarm on a nationwide poll worker shortage -- and getting ahead of this crisis by recruiting the next generation of younger and more diverse poll workers who can help ensure a safe, fair and smooth election for all voters,” said Erika Soto Lamb, Vice President of Social Impact Strategy, Comedy Central and MTV. “MTV has a long history in youth voter turnout and Comedy Central in addressing the social issues of our time in super funny ways -- together with the other Power the Polls partners we are excited to answer the call of this latest critical challenge of the 2020 elections.”

“While states across the country have rightly focused on extending absentee voting, there's no doubt we will still need robust and well-staffed in-person voting options, especially for people with disabilities, those who need language assistance, or communities without reliable access to mail service,” said Jessica Barba Brown, senior advisor for We Can Vote. “I served as a poll worker for the primary election and it was an eye-opening and gratifying experience. Working together with businesses, election officials, and nonprofits, we can make sure we recruit enough election workers so all voters can have a safe experience at the polls.”

For more information for voters and businesses looking to participate, visit www.powerthepolls.org.