Poll Workers 101

Polling locations expect a modest voter turnout come November, so State Election Boards are calling individuals to consider working as poll workers. 

What are Poll Workers?

The Payne County Election Board is looking for individuals to serve as substitute precinct officials. According to the "Election Day Reference and Problem Solver" packet, published by the Oklahoma State Election Board, "substitute precinct officials are called upon when a regular precinct worker is unable to work on a specific Election Day. A substitute would work as either the Judge or the Clerk under the direction of the trained Precinct Inspector." The individual must be at his/her specific polling location at 6:30 AM and stay until 7:00 PM or until every voter has been processed and paperwork completed. The substitute is paid $100 per day and reimbursed for gas if the individual has to drive to a polling location more than ten miles from his/her home. The State Election Boards are following CDC guidelines to ensure the safety of the poll workers and the voters. Therefore, each official is provided with personal protection equipment such as gloves, hand sanitizer, masks, surface cleaners, etc. The Board wants to take precautionary measures to protect workers in the midst of the pandemic. 

How to become a poll worker

To become a poll worker, the individual should contact their local county election office where they will undergo training. This year, with the pandemic, there is an option to train via videos. These training videos can be found on the Oklahoma State Election Board website. However, if the training videos are not an option, there are specific dates where there is in-person training. The individual must contact the county election board if he/she wants to become a poll worker. However, there are some limitations on who can become a poll worker. The Oklahoma State Election Board states that "a Precinct Official may not serve if he or she is a candidate for office, the deputy or employee of a candidate for office, or related within the second degree to a candidate on the ballot." These restrictions are put into place to protect voters and ensure that there is no exploitation of voters. 

*It is important that Precinct Officials do not engage in electioneering- "Precinct Officials and voters must not talk about parties, candidates, or issues while at the polling place on election day. Do not offer opinions about candidates or issues on the ballot. Do not have printed materials with campaigning ads or articles visible." 

Duties of an Inspector

• Open the polling location at 7:00 AM
• Monitor & help voters with the eScan (voting device) and the Audio/Tactile Interface (ATI).
• Provisional voting 
• Voter Assistance for individuals with disabilities
• Inspector's notes to the secretary to record questions or problems that came up during the day.
• Close the polls: Wait for all voters to complete their ballots. Once all ballots are submitted, the Inspector must sign off on some forms.
• Return supplies and the eScan voting device to the County Election Board. 

Duties of a Judge

• Check ID and make sure it matches the information listed in the Precinct Registry (A list of the registered voters in the precinct. The Precinct Registry indicates the party affiliation, when applicable, the school district, technology center district, and municipality for each registered voter). 
• Respond correctly to the messages in the Precinct Registry
• Confirm Address/Insufficient Address
• Absentee Ballot Requested
• Voter signs the Precinct Registry
• Carefully check the Precinct Registry to determine the ballot(s) the voter is eligible to receive. Relay which ballots the voter can receive to the Clerk.
• Provisional voting
• Close the polls and sign all required forms

Duties of a Clerk

• Ballot Distribution
• Verify with the Judge which ballot(s) the voter is eligible to receive before removing a ballot form the pad.
• Steps to take when there are spoiled ballots 
• "A ballot the voter says has been marked incorrectly, cannot be read by the voting device, or is damaged by either the voter or the voting device."

What is a poll watcher?

According to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission a poll watcher can be "members of an advocacy group, members of a political party, candidate representatives, civic organizations, international observers, exit polling groups, and academics." The Partisan Observers, also known as poll watchers, monitor the electoral process to ensure that no fraudulent activity occurs. They want their political party to have a fair chance of winning, so they are politically motivated to keep a close eye on voters. However, not all poll watchers are partisan, some are non-biased. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) states that "while observers from political parties seek to ensure that election administration does not disadvantage their campaigns, nonpartisan observers focus on checking compliance with election administration regulations." Poll watchers are not to interfere with the voting process but alert election officials if there is suspicious activity or when problems arise. In addition, regulations and policies for poll watchers vary by state. The NCSL provides an interactive map of the United States that lists information about the policies for poll watchers. The map specifically mentions the following: Pre-election processes; in-person voting; absentee ballot processing and counting; post-election processes and pandemic-related accommodations or restrictions. In addition, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) lists the state laws for poll watchers in each state; Oklahoma's law is the following: "Any candidate or any recognized political party shall be entitled to have a watcher present at any place where an official count is being conducted." To become a poll watcher, you must contact the Secretary of State or the County Election Board. 

Key terms in "voting lingo"

The Oklahoma State Election Board provides the following definitions:

1. Inspector: "Picks up the supplies from the County Election Board office to take to the polling place and returns supplies to the County Election Board office at the end of the election day; works with the voting device; assists voters and completes necessary documentation."
2. Judge: "Works with the Precinct Registry and forms related to it; checks proof of identity for every voter."
3. Clerk: "Works with the ballots and forms related to ballots."
4. Provisional Voting Officer (PVO): "Works in precincts, where assigned, with provisional voters and forms related to this voting process. In most precincts the Inspector functions as the Provisional Voting Officer in addition to the other duties of the Inspector." 
5. Precinct Officials: "Each precinct must be staffed by an Inspector, Judge, and Clerk. State law requires the Inspector, Judge and Clerk be registered to vote and two of the three officials be from the two largest political parties in the state. The third official may be a member of any political party recognized under the laws of this state or may be registered with no declared political affiliation. Appointed Inspectors, Judges, and Clerks serve four-year terms that begin on July 1 in the odd-numbered year following the Governor's election." 
6. Precinct: "A geographical area within a County. Counties are divided into precincts to provide a geographic structure for the conduct of elections."
7. Provisional Voting: "A ballot issued to a voter when there are questions about the voter's eligibility to vote. It is used for a voter who does not provide an acceptable form of proof of identity; who is not listed in the Precinct Registry; who disputes the party, school district, or municipality listed in the Precinct Registry but who claims to reside within the geographical boundaries of the precinct and claims to be registered and eligible to vote in the election."
8. eScan: "A precinct-based digital scanner that provides features for scanning paper ballots, as well as an external Audio Tactile Interface (ATI) device for voters with disabilities."
9. Audio Tactile Interface (ATI): "A device attached to the eScan voting device that allows a voter to vote without a paper ballot. A headphone jack and adaptive devices jack allow the use of headphones and personal adaptive devices." 

If you are interested in contributing to the election process and helping voters, contact your local election office to learn more about becoming a poll worker. America needs individuals to facilitate the voting process to ensure that voters' voices are heard. Help be apart of the voting process by becoming a poll worker official today!

~Emily Hancz