As a political junkie, I can recall every voting precinct I have cast a ballot. I’ve performed voter protection work as a lawyer, in 2008, at a precinct in Virginia. During these experiences, poll workers were the unsung heroes who facilitated democracy. Often, these public servants report before sunrise and stay past sunset. Working 12-to-14-hour days are not easy. Throughout election day, poll workers set up precincts, assist voters, answer the phones and process ballots.

Many of our country’s poll workers are older Americans. According to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) about 60 percent of poll workers are over the age of 61, and more than 25 percent are over 70 years old. Consequently, what motivates older adults to work on election day? Recently, the American Association of Retired People (AARP) published a story titled, “These Election Day Poll Workers Have Been Showing Up for Decades. Here’s Why.” Reasons vary from building connections, providing a service to their community and country, keeping their mental edge, financial compensation and personal fulfillment.

No story exemplifies the civic duty of poll workers more than Laura Wooten. When she passed away in 2019, she held the record in the United States for longest serving election poll worker. Beginning in 1939 at 18, she worked every election for 79 consecutive years. Wooten’s service inspired the name of Laura Wooten’s Law, legislation that concerns the civics curriculum being taught in New Jersey middle school classrooms. “Laura Wooten’s life is a study in civics,”

Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey, said in July 2021, at a signing ceremony for the law. “She set a tremendous legacy of service. Even more importantly, in her life, born in the segregated South, she persevered through sexism and racism, including right here in New Jersey. Her life stands as evidence that change in a democracy comes not from those who hold elective office, but through the work of ordinary citizens.”

According to the EAC, 1 million poll workers are needed to staff around 94,000 polling sites on election day. In 2022, the EAC stated that 54 percent of precincts struggled to enlist temporary poll workers. The Pew Research Center reported that in 2022, low staffing levels increased some wait and ballot processing times. Some precincts even had to close in-person voting due to a lack of poll workers.

Poll worker recruitment has been challenging for a variety of reasons. In 2020, less older adults were able to work the polls because of the pandemic. Secondly, prospective election workers are also hesitant because they feel under attack stemming from heightened political rhetoric.

In June 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the creation of the Election Threats Task Force. According to the DOJ, “The Election Threats Task Force leads the Department’s efforts to address violence against election workers and to ensure that all election workers—whether elected, appointed, or volunteer—are able to do their jobs free from threats and intimidation.”

Steps have been taken to increase recruitment. The EAC, in 2020, created National Poll Worker Recruitment Day to spread the word. There has been a push to recruit young people. In part, as referenced above, many older adults didn’t want to work in 2020 because of the pandemic. In many states, you don’t have to be 18 to help out at the polls. In Wisconsin, 16- and 17-year-olds with a minimum GPA of 3.0 are eligible. They are trained by veteran poll workers regarding their responsibilities. According to the EAC, people under 18 only account for three percent of poll workers.

In 2018, Wooten said, “Voting is your voice so if you don’t go out and vote for things, there will never be any changes. That’s the only way you’ll get changes, is to vote. The privilege in a democracy of being able to vote means a lot to me.” Voting is a fundamental principle of our constitutional democracy. Without the help of poll workers, voting would not be possible. Poll workers deserve our gratitude and respect, not fear and harassment. Voting is the bricks and mortar of our democracy, and poll workers are essential to making it happen.

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Evan Carmen, Esq. is the Legislative Director for Aging Policy at the B’nai B’rith International Center for Senior Services. Click here to read more from Evan Carmen.