Princeton Students Rally Peers To Serve As Poll Workers

PRINCETON, NJ — From her home in Mount Laurel, Princeton University freshman Olivia Cao is encouraging Gen Z to make an impact on the upcoming elections on Nov. 3.

As a member of the Poll Hero Project, Cao is trying to recruit students as poll workers for the general elections. She has contacted nearly 1500 teenagers.

“I just turned 18 and I’m excited to vote for the first time. For someone who’s under 18, there’s not much to do except watch the news and stay informed. I think this (being a poll worker) is a great step for young people to make a change and be involved,” said Cao.

The Poll Hero Project is the brainchild of a few Princeton University students. It began when they were working on a mail-in voting project earlier this year. They soon discovered that it required a lot of lobbying with legislators to make change. But they were eager to be involved in the elections.

The result of all the brainstorming was the Poll Hero Project that will see a young generation of Americans heading to the polls as voters and workers.

“Experts in the field kept saying poll working was a niche that was not being filled. And so, we thought that by focusing there, we could find our own space in this civic engagement community. And that we as students could create tangible change,” said Ella Gantman, a sophomore and member of Poll Hero.

Recruiting poll workers has always been a challenge. According to a survey by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, in 2018 70 percent jurisdictions reported some difficulty in filling poll worker positions.

"In Philadelphia, where 8,500 poll workers are needed, only 2,500 signed up to work. This is our chance to protect democracy,” said Kennedy Mattes, a founding member.

What started in Princeton has now snowballed into a massive coordination effort among young people across the country. The project has recruited more than 30,000 young Americans as poll workers.

The group has joined hands with students from Denver East High School and a graduate from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, to expand their presence.

Mattes said the pandemic also poses a unique challenge this general elections. In July, voters in many states queued up in long lines at polling stations that were understaffed and poorly equipped. With the CDC warning of an ominous fall and winter, prolonged gatherings and wait times could prove to be catastrophic.

According to the Pew Research Center, the average poll worker age in the United States is 62. This puts them at a higher risk of developing health complications due to coronavirus – thus creating a potential shortage of poll workers come Nov. 3.

The Poll Hero Project hopes to fill this void.

The group is focusing their efforts in eight US states - Wisconsin, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Arizona, North Carolina, and Florida – and 18 cities that were understaffed and saw long lines during the primaries.

A large part of Poll Hero’s success at recruiting can be attributed to their approach, said Gantman. “I think when young people are approached by other young people, that's a very attractive model - Gen Z recruiting Gen Z, rather than having adults trying to recruit Gen Z,” said Gantman.

Students also get paid for being poll workers, which acts as an incentive. “We strongly emphasize that this isn't a volunteer position, it's a paid position. You can make anywhere from $100 to $300 a day and that’s very attractive to many,” said Mattes, who’s currently home in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The project successfully recruiting high schoolers also helps in dismissing the misconception that Gen Z is disinterested in electoral involvement, said Gantman.

“Let’s not forget that Gen Z hasn’t been able to vote in a presidential election yet due to our age. We haven’t seen what Gen Z is capable of yet. But with this project we have 16 and 17-year old students who want to get involved because they can’t vote. That’s a shift,” she said.

The pandemic has also had a huge part to play in this mobilization, said Mattes.

“With everything happening in the world right now, the civil unrest and all, students are being forced inside because of the pandemic. They aren’t able to do much. But this presents them with a unique opportunity to participate,” said Mattes.

The group is non-partisan and working hard at expanding their team.

“We’ve had election officials reach out to us and ask if we could direct our recruitment efforts in their city. That's nice,” said Mattes.

Cao meanwhile wants to spend more time reaching out to her peers. She is eagerly looking forward to Nov. 3.

“I haven’t been given my assignment yet but have attended all my trainings. For now, my goal is to reach out to 30 people a day,” she said.

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