These Young Poll Workers Are Volunteering Because 'Every Single Vote Matters'

By De Elizabeth


Four years back, Stormie Conn was 16. Unable to participate in the presidential election that November, she noticed herself frustrated by the inability to tap into the collective power of voting, especially any time if she learned of the results. “I went to school the next day and all my companions were sobbing in the hallway,” she recalls. “I felt so hopeless. I promised myself that next time around, I would do everything I could.”


Today, Conn is making good on that promise. With her early vote already submitted, she’s turned her concentrate on volunteering as a poll worker on Election Day, where she'll can help her fellow Omaha, Nebraska, residents with casting their ballots efficiently and safely. “I seen a lot of my companions on Twitter talk about becoming poll workers and encouraging others to join them,” Conn explains, adding that she was inspired to sign up as well. Soon after participating in a series of online training sessions and watching informational videos, the 20-year-old was approved as a volunteer. “Doing my part makes me feel like I’m helping out in some small way.”


At this particular juncture in U.S. History, poll workers are required more than ever. “Recruiting enough poll workers is especially key this year as traditionally older poll workers are staying house because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” explains Scott Duncombe, co-director of Power the Polls, a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at enlisting a new wave of poll workers, particularly focusing on a young and diverse population. Having an inclusive categorize of poll workers is key because it permits voters of various identities to feel represented while at the polling site. “Poll workers are critical to ensuring our elections are safe, fair, and accessible,” Duncombe adds. “Without enough poll workers, voters could face long lines at polling places; polling places can even close due to a shortage of poll workers.”


The responsibilities of poll workers could vary depending on the needs of specific polling sites, however volunteers might be expected to help voters check in and understand their ballots, while also enforcing safety points like social distancing and sustaining the cleanliness of machines and tools. Since launching in June 2020, Power the Polls has seen a huge surge in signups; according to Duncombe, nearly 700,000 volunteers have signed up as of mid-October. “This momentum has been built by young people who are raising their hands to help their communities,” he adds. “We’ve heard a span of reasons that inspired these new recruits, yet the core theme is wanting to protect their community, their democracy, and their older family member members who are more susceptible to COVID.”


That’s exactly what motivated Alyssa Kaplan to volunteer as a poll worker in New York City. The 27-year-old, who runs a tiny organization called The Scrunchie Club, tells MTV News that she’s routinely been enthusiastic about voting, although the events of 2020 have intensified her drive. “This summer, I was reading about how several poll workers are elderly or immunocompromised and wouldn't have the ability to work the polls as normal, which inspired me to apply,” she explains. According to the Pew Studies Center, most of them of poll workers in past elections have been over 60. Throughout the 2018 midterms, as an example, 58 percent of U.S. Poll workers were 61 and older, with 27 percent over 70. As older adults are at a higher risk for COVID-19 complications, volunteering isn't necessarily safe for those who might have been poll workers in years past. “The implications have already been felt in recent primaries where poll worker shortages led to long lines and the closure of polling places,” Duncombe adds. “Washington, D.C., lost 1,700 election workers throughout its primary in early June. Equally, Kentucky consolidated in-person voting in every county to a single polling place throughout the primary due to poll worker recruitment concerns.”


An ongoing pandemic isn't the only offer that makes 2020 such a unique election year. Within the past few months, President Trump has repeatedly insinuated that he could may not commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he were to lose, and he has made a few false or misleading claims about voter fraud and the legitimacy of mail-in ballots. Add in reports of unauthorized ballot boxes and accusations of voter suppression, and you also have the ideal storm for undermining election integrity. These factors have given Amanda Jacobsmeyer a sense of “existential dread,” which she’s chosen to manifest into action by signing up to be a poll worker.


“Volunteering has given me a tiny sense of control, like I am at least doing everything I can in my sphere,” the 27-year-old New York City resident says. “We've heard our whole lives how younger folks are the rarest to show up for civic engagement, yet I think this year has compiled a very unique possibility for us to prove that wrong. We plan to be the generation most affected by the outcome of this election.”


According to Duncombe, poll workers help maintain election integrity in a multitude of ways by ensuring that in-person voting is safe and available. “This is key for communities without reliable access to mail service, voters with disabilities, those who need language assistance, or for voters who simply aspire to cast their ballot in-person as they habitually have,” he adds. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure communities across the whole nation have enough poll workers for a safe, timely, fair, and available election.”


While it’s hard to know exactly what Election Day will bring, poll workers are bracing for exhaustion. The U.S. Has already seen record numbers of early votes, and experts predict that the nation could have the highest number of total voter turnout in decades. Kaplan says she anticipates exceedingly long lines at her local polling place, as she learned throughout her training that lines were substantial in 2016. “I'm required to be there at 5 a.M., And won’t be leaving up until at least 16 hours later.”


Jacobsmeyer is also preparing to arrive at her polling place early and is aware she won’t be heading house up until 10 p.M. At the earliest. “I anticipate working at the check-in desk where I'll be looking each voter up and then handing them their ballots,” she says, adding that her training taught her about the functionality of voting machine tools why as well as how to be sure that every ballot is accounted for.


Where there really long lines, there really are likely to be impatient voters. This is something Conn is mentally preparing to deal with, and already has a script prepared for motivating folks to remain in line. “Think about how key this election is to the future of our country,” she plans to tell them, adding: “Every single vote matters.”


Ultimately, the belief in the collective power of voting is what brings several election volunteers with each other and motivates them to continue pressing onward. “I think we are all beginning to understand that our vote is vital in holding the people who are supposed to be working for us accountable,” Jacobsmeyer says, adding that folks who might have previously been feeling disenfranchised are right now feeling more inspired to get involved. “Protesting, contacting our representatives, voting with our dollars, and things like that are really powerful and critical, yet showing up on Election Day permits us to raise our voices in a way that [politicians] are constitutionally not allowed to ignore.”


Kaplan adds that the significance of voting was instilled within her at a young age, crediting her politically motivated parents for those values. “Voting is one of the simplistic mechanisms we have, as citizens, to shape this country’s future,” she says. “It’s a privilege to be eligible to vote, and it’s one that we shouldn’t take for granted.”


You can learn more at VoteForYourLife.Com.