Princeton U To Rename Building After Longtime Poll Worker Laura Wooten

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton University will be renaming a building in honor of Laura Wooten, the longest-serving poll worker in the country. The University made the announcement on Monday, a day before the primary election in New Jersey.

The University’s Marx Hall will be renamed Laura Wooten Hall effective July 1. The building houses academic offices, teaching spaces, the Center for Human Values and a department library.

Wooten, a longtime Princeton resident, volunteered at local, primary and general election polls in New Jersey for 79 years. She worked at the University's campus dining for more than 27 years. Wooten died in 2019, at the age of 98.

The move comes after the Council of the Princeton University Community Committee on Naming made a recommendation to the Board of Trustees.

University President Christopher Eisgruber said he was “delighted” with the news. "The addition of Laura Wooten’s name to the tapestry of our campus will recognize Princeton’s history, the breadth of our community, and the positive impact that one remarkable person can have through lifelong dedication to public service and civic values,” Eisgruber said in a statement.

Last year, Gov. Phil Murphy signed "Laura Wooten's Law" which requires middle schools to expand civics education, by providing instruction on constitutional democracy, the function of government and the role of a citizen.

Wooten was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina on Dec. 19, 1920. She moved to Princeton as a child and began volunteering at election polls after graduating high school in 1939.

Before working at Princeton University, she worked as a nurse's aide at Princeton Medical center for 18 years and was a teaching assistant at Community Park School, Princeton.

Later in life, Wooten moved to Lawrence Township. She worked her last election day in 2018.

Princeton University will announce plans for a formal dedication at a later date.

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