Brandon Olson, the election board coordinator for Douglas County, Nebraska, never has to worry about finding enough workers to manage the polls on Election Day.

The problems recruiting a polling workforce — namely, finding people willing to take time off from their actual jobs and work long hours for little pay — that plague other cities don’t exist there. Why? Because Douglas County, home to Omaha, ensures it has enough poll workers by using a draft, like jury duty.

We’ll get to how the system works in a minute. First, some of the benefits: In addition to always having enough poll workers, the draft has helped diversify the polling workforce and as a result increased trust in the election process. It’s also one of the county’s best recruitment tools; once people have worked one election, they often opt to come back voluntarily.

“The election doesn’t happen without the poll workers.” — Lauren Cristella, Committee of 70

“The draft is the confidence that we’re not going to be short of anyone that we need to accomplish the things that we have to accomplish,” Olson says.

That marks a stark contrast to Philadelphia. Unlike this presidential election year, when the City found enough poll workers to fully operate all its voting locations, poll worker shortages are a constant threat to our electoral process. During most elections — especially April primaries — Philly struggles to hire and retain the 8,500 workers it needs to staff our polling places.

In the runup to every Election Day, the City must recruit 4,000 new poll workers, a scramble that often falls short, according to Lauren Cristella, president and CEO of the nonprofit election and good governance watchdog Committee of 70, which helps recruit and educate poll workers.

Fewer, less experienced poll workers can result in operational issues ranging from longer wait times for voters, to voter roll mix-ups, to machine malfunctions — and can lead to mistrust in the process.

“The election doesn’t happen without the poll workers,” Cristella says. “Whether people feel like they had a good experience and trust the process or not, a lot of times boils down to the experience they have at their polling place. So, having people who know what they’re doing, know the rules, and have no problem pushing back on people is a good idea.”

As we head towards the important 2024 primary election — when both the District Attorney and state Supreme Court justices are on the ballot — it may be time to rethink how we operate our polling stations. Could an Omaha-style draft be the answer?

A way to fight corruption

Nebraska’s 110-year-old poll worker draft began as a way to fight corruption. Back then, Omaha party loyalists would take over election boards and manufacture ballots when the votes didn’t go their way. NE lawmakers’ solution: Randomly draft registered voters to safeguard the process.

NE’s program works like jury duty. Voters receive letters in the mail saying they’ve been selected for poll service. Draftees must attend one training session and work four consecutive elections. Those over age 70 or with an immovable conflict (pre-scheduled vacations count) can opt out. It’s a misdemeanor to skip, but they’ve rarely had to enforce it.

Currently only two NE counties — Douglas and Sarpy — use the draft. (The other counties, which are smaller and more rural, tend to struggle less with recruiting poll workers because they need fewer people.) About 500,000 of the state’s 1.25 million registered voters reside in Omaha and Sarpy. In a typical year, 55 percent of Douglas County’s poll workers raise their hands to serve, and 45 percent are drafted, according to Brian Kruse, the county’s election commissioner.

“The draft is the confidence that we’re not going to be short of anyone that we need to accomplish the things that we have to accomplish.” — Brandon Olson, Douglas County, Nebraska

County poll workers earn $12 per hour and tend to be younger than the national average of 61-plus. Many seem to enjoy the work, returning after their mandated four shifts. Douglas County honors those civic heroes in its Poll Worker Hall of Fame.

The draft can also make people more confident in the election process, as mistrust in our elections — and people working elections — has been markedly increasing. An October report by the Pew Research Center found only 48 percent of registered voters were “very confident” in poll workers, and Gallup reported in September that just 28 percent of Republicans have faith in our elections.

Nebraska is a solidly Republican state, with Douglas County a “blue dot” in a sea of red. It is also one of two states (Maine is the other) that splits its electoral college votes, and the county delivered one of the state’s five electoral college votes to Kamala Harris. Forty-four percent of Douglas County voters swung for Trump. In Sarpy, the other county with a draft, he won by 55 percent.

Since the draft reaches registered voters of all party affiliations, more people see firsthand how elections work, they’re more likely to believe in election integrity as a result — and they often share that message with others.

“They tell us how safe and secure the process is and how in-depth it is, and then they’re great ambassadors for our office because they go out and help their family, friends, neighbors,” Kruse says.

How does Philly find poll workers?

As in Nebraska, Philadelphia’s poll workers are usually registered voters, although 17-year-olds can apply for some roles at the polls. Other than that, there aren’t a ton of requirements. Poll workers must be able to fill out an online application, list what languages they speak and agree to attend mandatory training. A Philly poll worker may not be a government employee or candidate in the current election. They must appear politically neutral on Election Day; red Phillies or Eagles camo caps are fine; red MAGA or camo Harris-Walz caps are not.

Each voting location — most municipalities call these sites “precincts;” in Philly, they’re called “divisions” — must have a five-person election board: a judge of elections, majority party inspector and minority party inspector, which are all themselves elected; a machine inspector; and a clerk. The judge of elections is responsible for hiring a clerk and machine inspector. When a position — whether elected or hired — goes vacant, the City Commissioners appoints them at the last minute. (This October, the department appointed 200 workers, mostly to serve as minority inspectors.)

Elected elections officials serve four-year terms that turn over the spring after a presidential election. The timing is intentional: “You want your election judge to cut their teeth on these lower volume, less visible elections to learn the ropes so that when you come to the highest volume, highest stake races in a four-year cycle, they have had as many races to prepare as possible,” says Jennifer Yuan, a proud poll worker and the judge of elections for Division 2 in Philadelphia’s 8th Ward.

“For people who want to do more to safeguard and support the integrity of the election process as citizens, it’s important that they recognize that this is not a one and done situation.” — Jennifer Yuan, a Philadelphia judge of elections

One problem: Not enough people run for these twice-a-year jobs. (At least once, someone won her judge of elections race simply by writing in her own name on Election Day.) When no one runs, any willing, registered Philadelphia voter can request a court appointment to fill the vacancy. Then, there are the dropouts, the people who work one election and don’t return, likely for several reasons.

It’s kind of a tough job. Poll workers work 14-hour-plus days, starting around 6:15am and ending at 8pm or later. For all this work, they receive around $200 in compensation, which amounts to around $14.25 per hour.

There are some obvious barriers to working the polls. For the most part, people have jobs that require them to work on Tuesdays. (For years, there have been movements to make Election Day a national holiday — or, like most other countries, hold elections on the weekend.) A lot of voters don’t even know there are two elections a year — let alone that ordinary citizens are needed to work these elections. For this reason, says Yuan, “It can be super tough to find people to come out to work the primaries. The City can’t just wave a magic wand and get bodies to show up.”

Also, recent years have been rough on election workers. In 2020, Covid pushed many older and immune compromised poll workers away from the job. Then, there was the 2020 election itself, when all manner of election officials and workers faced a barrage of threats.

But democracy works only when people work elections. Yuan, whose parents immigrated to the U.S., has a larger perspective on what it means to be able to vote — and to be a poll worker — in every election, not just the big ones.

“It has always been very, very clear to me the difference between having the rights and privileges that we have as Americans versus what is happening in many other parts of the world,” she says. “For people who want to do more to safeguard and support the integrity of the election process as citizens, it’s important that they recognize that this is not a one and done situation.”

Reforming poll worker recruitment

Cristella is intrigued by a poll worker draft and other reforms that might improve recruitment and retention. For her part, she’d like to see the city start with something simpler: shorter shifts. Eighteen states, including neighboring New York and New Jersey, allow poll workers to work just half a day each.

“It’s still a lot,” Cristella says. Nonetheless, “we’re going to be pushing for shifts, because I do think it helps with recruitment.”

We’ve already implemented some programs that help incentivize people to serve as poll workers. Members of the Philadelphia Bar Association (which trains attorneys to become poll workers) receive Continuing Legal Education credit for working the polls, according to the Commissioners’ office.The City has received a lot of attention for recruiting younger workers through Involved at 17, which allows high schoolers to serve as clerks and machine inspectors. The City Commissioners have also addressed existing and prospective poll workers’ concerns by offering de-escalation training and ensuring they are paid within two weeks of their service. Like in Omaha, they also rely on dedicated poll workers to recruit their

friends and neighbors.

Nina Cohen is a longtime clerk, who, on Election Day, works out of Clara Barton Elementary in North Philly. “I have definitely recruited friends over the years to fill in, and I’ve been like, I’ll bribe you guys with coffee and donuts in the morning. Bring your charger, because it is a really long day and you’re going to want to get up and walk around,” she says.

Become a poll worker … now

The next elections for poll workers takes place on primary day, May 20, 2025 — with literally thousands of jobs up for grabs. Commissioner Seth Bluestein, now recovered from the most recent election, says his office is in recruit mode. He’s hopeful there will be more workers than ever based on November’s “enormous interest and enthusiasm for poll working.” But when it comes to judges of election and majority and minority inspectors, he’s realistic. “Many people do not realize these are elected positions,” he says.

If you’re interested, now’s the time to get on it. Despite that one apparently self-appointed judge of election, in order to officially appear on the ballot as a potential judge of elections, you’ll have to get a whopping 10 petition signatures — or five to be nominated as a majority and minority inspector. Signed petitions are due to the City Commissioners by 5pm, exactly 10 weeks before the primary — that’s March 11.

If you want to work in a non-elected election role before 2026, the Commissioners Office is taking applications.

For what it’s worth, most poll workers seem to love the job, even when it’s tough. “I just really love seeing my neighbors. It’s a great opportunity to … come out and to get to know them just a little better,” says Alex Bomstein, the judge of elections for the 2nd Ward, Division one. He lives in Passyunk Square and decided to run for the position after becoming more involved in local politics in 2018. He also says it’s a great way to manage election anxiety.

“Rather than fretting on Election Day about what’s going to happen, participate,” says Bomstein. “Participate by voting, participate by working at the polls.”

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