Washington D.C. – The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) has designated January 25, 2022, as National Poll Worker Recruitment Day. Established by the EAC in 2020, the goal of this day of action is to raise awareness about the importance of poll workers and inspire greater civic engagement by signing up. To learn more about National Poll Worker Recruitment Day visit HelpAmericaVote.gov. This webpage has information on the roles and responsibilities of poll workers as well as a lookup tool with information for thousands of local election jurisdictions including applications and requirements for election workers.
Chairman Donald Palmer, Vice Chair Thomas Hicks, Commissioner Christy McCormick, and Commissioner Ben Hovland issued the following joint statement in recognition of National Poll Worker Recruitment Day:
"As the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) marks the 2nd Annual National Poll Worker Recruitment Day today, the EAC Commissioners would like to honor and thank the hundreds of thousands of Americans who will dedicate their time and effort to ensure those in their community are able to participate in elections by becoming a poll worker. In 2020, the EAC established National Poll Worker Recruitment Day with the goal of encouraging potential poll workers to sign up to help America vote. The EAC is once again calling on everyday citizens to help America vote by becoming a poll worker for the 2022 midterm elections.
As the nation still copes with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 National Poll Worker Recruitment Day could not come at a more crucial time. State and local election officials are beginning the process of recruitment now for primary elections that will take place throughout the year and the general election. We hope National Poll Worker Recruitment Day will supplement election officials’ tireless efforts across the country.
Elderly and immunocompromised Americans, many of whom have dedicated their time in past election cycles, may remain limited in their ability to assist in 2022. Much like our call to action in 2020, the EAC asks Americans of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to learn about how to become a poll worker by visiting HelpAmericaVote.gov.
While today officially marks National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, it’s very much a starting point. Throughout this year, the EAC will continue to help election officials as they prepare for midterms and assist in any way we can to encourage more Americans to sign up as poll workers and help America vote."
During the 2020 elections, more than 775,000 poll workers assisted voters during the election cycle, including nearly 700,000 poll workers on November 3 itself. In 2020, the percentage of poll workers aged 18 to 25 and 26 to 40 increased to 6.2% and 15% respectively. Most notably, the percentage of poll workers who were aged 26 to 40 nearly doubled from 8% in 2016 to 15% in 2020.
Despite this success, the need remains. In 2020, 52% of jurisdictions reported that it was either very difficult or somewhat difficult to obtain a sufficient number of poll workers in the 2020 election, based on the 2020 Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS).
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The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) was established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). It is an independent, bipartisan commission charged with ensuring secure, accurate and accessible elections by developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and serving as a national clearinghouse of information on election administration. EAC also accredits testing laboratories and certifies voting systems, as well as administers the use of HAVA funds. For more information, visit www.eac.gov.
Contact: Kristen Muthig
Phone: 202-897-9285
Email: [email protected]