The elderly woman looked determined as she walked slowly toward the voter registration desk, her three-pronged cane punctuating her fortitude. She was there to vote, and nothing – not her age-weakened legs or her failing hearing – would get in her way. She was among the many voters we encountered as we worked the polls in the November 2022 elections.
Each of us served as a poll worker for the first time last fall, Barbara in the District of Columbia and Terry in Arlington, Virginia. We joined the ranks of the more than 775,000 poll workers who assist workers at the 132,556 polling locations across the nation. Troubled by reports of threats and harassment and the resulting decline in the numbers of poll workers, Barbara applied for the post of Registration Clerk. Terry served as an Election Officer, covering the check-in and ballot processing functions. We wanted to do our part as citizens and also see how the system works from the inside out.
Poll workers are part-time, temporary employees hired at the local level to assist voters during early voting and on Election Day. We didn’t know what to expect when we submitted our on-line applications, but we each received a quick reply confirming our registration and inviting us to attend a training workshop.
