One court clerk in Louisiana hand-signed 1,000 letters beseeching residents to work elections. At the same time that new workers are scarce, longtime volunteers are dying off. Hawkins, registrar of voters in Sacramento County, Calif., estimated that 80 percent of his pool of nearly 3,500 workers is age 65 or older. No governmental agency keeps statistics on election workers, Hawkins said. He hears of worker shortages from many election officials nationwide.
Some states specify proficiency in English and basic math.
These are the people who literally conduct every election. They open and close the polling places, check voters' identification and sign them in, distribute and collect ballots, monitor voting equipment, and tally and certify vote totals. But there's much more to it. Mich. A typical Election Day for Powers begins just after 6 a.m., when judges are sworn in. They sign for lists of registered voters.