Improving Poll Worker Recruitment, Training and
Supervision
Improving Poll Worker Recruitment, Training and Supervision
Poll workers are an integral part of ensuring all voters’ votes
are counted.
Poll workers, more than any other individual, have direct contact with
the voters
helping them understand the ballot and the voting machines as well as
checking
registration forms and determining the use of provisional ballots.
Because poll workers are an essential part of the voting process it
is imperative
that states have an adequate number of workers at the polls that are
well trained
and paid for their efforts.
Inform the public:
Public education and easy access to information on becoming a poll
worker:
Public officials need to educate the general public about the
important role
poll workers play in the democratic process and let the public know
that there
is a shortage of workers.
Advertising the need for poll workers and providing easy access to
information
on becoming a poll worker is an important first step in ensuring there
is adequate
support at the polls on Election Day.
Provide adequate training for all Election Day
workers.
- Flexible Training times:
Scheduling training at various times throughout the day (including
evenings)
and on different days of the week (including weekends) are preferred
because
this provides more flexibility to potential poll workers.
- Comprehensive training
Election officials should:
- Educate poll workers on how to provide assistance to voters
without
compromising the secrecy of the ballot.
- Educate poll workers on use of the voting system, including
troubleshooting
common problems. Poll workers should have a checklist for
starting and ending
voting on their voting system.
- Poll workers must be trained to:
- Ensure the physical security of the voting system
- Start and end the voting process correctly
- Assist voters who may have difficulty voting, and to protect
the voter’s
privacy.
- Understand the security vulnerabilities in order to
effectively guard
against security breaches.
- Understand the purpose of the optical scanner’s error
notification
features so they can explain it to the voters.
- Know how to close down the poll properly and document the
vote tallies
accurately.
- Timely payment and personal touches: The best way
to retain poll
works is
to pay them on time and include a personal touch from election
officials.
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