What Does It Take to Pull Off an Election?

Some schools may be closed this Election Day, but many teens across the country will still be hard at work—assisting voters at polling sites.

States including California, Maine, and Pennsylvania are recruiting high school and college students to serve as poll workers—people hired to staff election sites. Poll workers do everything from checking in voters to answering questions.

What’s behind the push to hire young people to help Americans cast ballots? This month’s election could require up to 1 million poll workers nationwide, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. But in recent years, officials in many regions have reported difficulty hiring enough of them. 

One reason for the shortage is that poll workers tend to be older Americans—the average poll worker is 61—and many of them are starting to step away from the job. 

Election officials say there are benefits to having young poll workers. They may have an easier time moving heavy equipment than older workers and can use their tech savvy to reboot voting machines. There are perks for teens too—some young workers get free pizza on the job, and the work also looks great on college applications.

But the biggest benefit, election officials say, is that it helps ensure election sites have enough staff to give all voters the chance to cast ballots on Election Day. 

—Brooke Ross