Working as a Poll Worker in the 2020 Election
My experience as a first time poll worker and what I learned
After hearing that poll sites might be short staffed, my sister and I decided to do our civic duty and signed up to be poll workers. On Election Day, we woke up at 4:30 a.m., and by 4:50 a.m., we were out the doors with our pops delivering us to our respective poll sites.
My role was Inspector Table and by 6 a.m., I was busy working with the early bird voters. My site had 1265 registered voters, and over 500 came out to vote in person, reaching almost a 50% turnout.
Working as a poll worker was a rewarding experience and I am amazed at how much I learned in just one day. Here’s all the little things I took away:
As a poll worker
- Republicans and Democrats can work peacefully! I worked with a woman named Maria who was a Republican, and we managed to go through the entire session without bringing up politics. She was also super sweet and kind and nothing I expected a Trump supporter would be. Just kidding, we didn’t discuss who we voted for.
- Elderly Asians made up the majority of the votes in my neighborhood. Truthfully, I saw only a handful of young adults, so next time bring your friends to vote!
- Young poll workers can help make election day run more efficiently. Maria said she was glad more young adults were working these election dates because they tend to work faster and have a stronger grasp on technology. This is an opinion of course.
- You can’t ask voters for official ID. If voters gives you their government ID to show you their name, that is fine but you can’t be the one to request for it. Only when ID is officially requested (on the screen, it should show up), then may you ask for it.
- Bring snacks, water and a book. Trust me, you’ll need it.
- BOE workers pop up randomly to check that things are running smoothly. Do not be on your phone when they arrive.
- Brace yourself for rushes at these times: 6 a.m. (early morning), 12 p.m. (lunch), 5 p.m. (after work), and 7 p.m. (after dinner). Of course, the times changes wherever you work but I found myself busiest at these hours.
- Don’t fear running out of supplies — your coordinator will notify a BOE workers if you do and they will send more supplies to you as soon as possible.
- You can work and vote. On your break, check yourself into your site if you haven’t already and vote!
- Dress code. I didn’t hear too much about how strict the dress code was, but I wore jeans and hoodie (no logo). I think it’s just safe not to wear anything that has a logo or may be political.
- Sanitized the tablet and table frequently as you can. Also, let voters take the pen they used so that you don’t risk cross-contamination. This was more so this election with COVID-19 precautions in place.
- Offer voters a mask if they don’t have one. Again COVID-19 related.
- Work together, win together. Our site closed at 9, and we finished our tasks on time and were dismissed by 9:30. Unfortunately, Jenny was done by 9 but got dismissed at 10:30 due to poor coordination. If your supervisor or coordinator is not as helpful as you would like, you can take their poll worker ID and send a note to Board of Elections. Elections are only as smooth as we make it to be.
- You can sign up to be a poll worker if you’re at least 17 years old and you do get paid! For New York Inspectors, Poll Clerks and Information Clerks, you can earn $200 for working an Election Day, $100 for attending a training class and passing the exam. It is a 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. shift (10:30p.m. for cases like Jenny), but you get two hours of break to take a quick power nap and eat.
For future voters:
- Check and double check and then triple check your poll site. There are grey areas when you do vote via affidavit ballot like, whether or not your vote actually counts, and when it is actually counted. If you want your vote to be counted on the night of the election, please go to your poll site.
- One vote per row. Biden’s name came up under Democratic and the Working Families column, so it threw a lot of voters confusion but yes, one vote per row.
- 3 strikes and you are out. I thought Maria was joking but she was not. If you need to correct your ballot, you get 2 more tries but your 3rd one is your last shot.
- Black or blue pen, to be on the safe side. There’s a fine line with Sharpies … and could cause future headaches, or in Arizona, a lawsuit.
- Bring your voter pass. Please, it makes everything go so much smoother for poll workers!
- Register to vote early! In New York State, you cannot register to vote on the day of the election. Deadline to register for this year was October 9 but I had voters come in who registered that day and could not vote.
- There are rules on what to wear and what not to wear to a poll site for voters too. My poll site wasn’t strict on it, but as enthusiastic as you are for casting your vote, I would refrain from wearing anything that might be triggering to other voters. I had a few voters who wore MAGA hats and I would have preferred if they didn’t.
And that is it! Being a poll worker was one of the more rewarding experience I had as a citizen, and I wondered why it’s not encouraged more as a part of our civic duties. As for recommendations, I really wished workers had their temperature checked as a safety precaution just because they risked infecting others. Thankfully, our workers seemed to be all healthy.
It was a long shift and I was exhausted by the end of it, but I encouraged everybody to try it at least once in their life. Plus, you get paid so just do it!
*Each poll site has their own rules and regulations. Please check with your local county/ state for formal rules and guidelines.
