From Warren County
Tuesday, Jan. 25 is National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, and Warren County Board of Elections is actively working to fill open poll worker positions as the spring primary and the remainder of election season approach.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a need for more poll workers, as many poll workers have historically been retirees or older citizens who were hesitant to work in public during the health emergency. In New York State, 55 percent of all poll workers are over the age of 60, making them potentially vulnerable to complications if they contract COVID-19.
“Poll workers provide a critical service to New Yorkers by ensuring elections are open and accessible to all voters. There is a shortage of workers on the local, state and national level, and we can use help in Warren County to make sure everyone can exercise their right to vote,” said Beth McLaughlin, Warren County Democratic Board of Elections Commissioner.
“By signing up to be a poll worker, you can ‘Help New York Vote’ and be rewarded for performing your civic role to help our elections run fairly and smoothly,” said William VanNess, Warren County Board of Elections Republican Commissioner. “We are encouraging voters of all ages to step up and volunteer to serve as a poll worker in our primary and general elections.”
What does a poll worker do?
Poll workers are paid to prepare polling places for voting, set up voting equipment, sign-in and process voters, enforce social distancing, demonstrate voting procedures, sanitize voting equipment, assist voters, close the polling place, and canvass and report election results.
To be eligible in New York, you must be a New York State registered voter. If you are 17 years old, you may be eligible if your school district participates in a program under New York State Education Law Section. You will be assigned within the county where you live. If you live in New York City, you will be assigned within the five boroughs.
Poll Workers get paid for training and each election day they work. Applying is simple; New York residents who live outside New York City can fill out the form found here: www.elections.ny.gov/BecomePollworker.html.
Those who are interested in learning more about a poll worker position in Warren County can call Warren County Board of Elections at 518-761-6456, or stop by the office at the Warren County Human Services Building, 1340 Route 9, Queensbury.
From Saratoga County
Election Inspectors are a critical part of America’s democracy. While each Board of Elections has some full time staff, election day requires significantly more resources. If you can, please consider signing up to be an election inspector, and become part of the backbone of American elections.
If you are interested in becoming an election inspector, please call our office at (518) 885-2249 or email us for more information. For every election, each party must have up to two inspectors assigned to each election district. Inspectors for both parties must also be present for a Primary Election, regardless of the party holding the election. Registered voters who are not members of any party are still eligible to be election inspectors.
To view our YouTube channel please click here. While there are no training videos for 2022 yet, it contains all previous videos, including our small bites series in case you are looking for a refresher on a specific topic. If you’re a new or experienced inspector who wants help with a specific topic, please let us know. With our new small bites series of videos, we’re looking to create more and more quick reference videos specific to you and your needs!
Take a look at the Election Inspector Sign-Up Form for more details!