Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar encouraged all eligible Pennsylvanians to sign up to serve as poll workers in honor of National Poll Worker Recruitment Day.
“As a former poll worker myself, I felt tremendous pride in serving my community in this capacity,” said Boockvar. “Right here in Pennsylvania and nationwide, we are facing a shortage of poll workers due to factors like the COVID-19 pandemic. I urge any Pennsylvanian who wants to get involved in elections to consider becoming a poll worker. You never feel like you are more directly involved in assisting democracy than at a polling place on election day.”
If you are interested in becoming a poll worker, you can find more information and fill out an interest form on votesPA.com/getinvolved. In general, poll workers must be 18 years old and registered to vote in the county in which they wish to serve as a poll worker. Exceptions to the age requirements exist for high school students who are at least 17 years old who wish to serve as poll workers. Poll workers receive training from and are paid by their county. Some counties need multi-lingual poll workers to provide language assistance at polling places to voters who have limited English proficiency.
For the first time this year, the Department of State’s Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs is engaging its licensing boards to encourage licensed professionals to serve as poll workers. Additional new collaborations with the business community through Business For America and Chambers of Commerce, as well as numerous Pennsylvania professional sports teams, will help to bolster this effort.
“I hope that all eligible Pennsylvanians will seriously consider becoming poll workers this year,” said Boockvar. “Communities across the commonwealth need you, and this is an excellent opportunity to get involved and serve alongside your friends and neighbors.”
National Poll Worker Recruitment Day is an initiative of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, an independent, bipartisan commission that serves as a national resource on election administration.
Visit votesPA.com for more information.
