Do you want to be a poll worker? Election officials have urgent need as voting approaches.
Election officials are urgently looking for election workers as voting approaches.
The Alachua County Supervisor of Elections is actively recruiting poll workers to serve on Election Day, Tuesday, Aug. 23, according to a news release. Specifically, the office needs workers to serve as electronic poll book operators, ballot scanners and ballot distributors.
“We’re thinking ahead in these circumstances, about COVID-19, and just how unpredictable that can be,” said Aaron Klein, spokesman for the supervisor of elections. “We’re really just focused on making sure we’re well supplied with our standby.”
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Election workers are paid and, to qualify, applicants must be registered to vote in Alachua County and have reliable transportation, the release said. Poll workers can expect to work on Aug. 23 from 5:45 p.m. to 8 p.m. or potentially later.
“The shift can be quite long for election workers,” Klein said. “If something were to come up late that evening or if (a worker) happens to get sick, we want to ensure we have folks we can call. We find that our standby list is a little low.”
The elections office said that once it has an applicant’s information and has verified that they are eligible for the position, applicants will immediately be connected with online training resources.
Some duties and responsibilities of an election worker include giving instructions on how to operate voting machines; setting up and packing voting booths, signs and supplies; and verifying voters’ identification, addresses and signatures to ensure they have the correct ballot.
While efforts will be made to assign workers to their home polling place or one nearby, they may be assigned to any polling place throughout Alachua County.
“Though the deadline to register to vote and change your party has passed for this election, we still advise all voters to make any necessary updates to their address prior to Election Day,” Kim Barton, supervisor of elections wrote in a recent column for The Gainesville Sun. “Due to re-districting and re-precincting, your assigned precinct and voting districts may have changed which could impact who your representatives are.”
If interested in serving as a poll worker, applicants are urged to immediately contact the elections office by calling 352-374-5252.
“It happens to be the case that right now a lot folks are paying attention to the election, engaging with their community partners,” Klein said. “It also happens to be a great opportunity to catch some people as they’re trying to find ways to serve.”
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Supervisor of Elections urgently seeking poll workers for Election Day
