(Des Moines)– Election officials in Iowa and around the country are calling attention to the need for more poll workers. Tuesday was National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, but Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate hopes the message is conveyed throughout the year, especially with a June primary and midterm elections this fall. He says even before the pandemic, some older, long-time poll workers were stepping back from their duties. At a time when the voting process has been heavily debated in states like Iowa, Pate describes these individuals as “local heroes,” with no partisan leanings in their jobs…
| “They’re your friends and neighbors. These are the people that have eyes on the entire process, from the beginning to the end, to ensure that you’re having the kinds of elections you want.” |
He says shortages tend to come up in rural areas. His office says Iowa has a base of roughly 10-thousand poll workers, but it hopes that number can grow to around 12-thousand. Pate says that would make it easier for county auditors to staff elections.
As the outcome of the 2020 presidential election was contested in some states, election workers reported a more threatening environment from angry voters. Pate doesn’t see that as a major problem in Iowa, but he says they take the issue seriously…
| “We do work with our county auditors to make sure we have various training programs put together to deal with the scenarios. “ |
Those possibilities include threats of physical harm toward election workers. The office says with increased outreach in the past couple years, auditors have reported seeing more poll workers under age 60 sign up. Pate says that coincides with record voting among people ages 18 to 25.
(Courtesy Iowa News Service)
