LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – In this critical election year, Nevada counties are struggling to find enough poll workers.
This all comes ahead of National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, Aug. 1, 2024, which is a social media blitz to encourage people to donate their time and help democracy. But the concerns over harassment and threats to election officials and poll workers are real, and a top priority for the National Program Manager of Power The Polls.
Here in Nevada, Secretary of State, Francisco Aguilar pushed a bill making it a felony to harass, intimidate or use force on election workers doing their jobs. It was signed by the governor. Aguilar is a fierce supporter of those who devote their time to democracy. “Poll workers are unsung heroes, because they make sure the elections work,” Aguilar said.
But getting some people to take the job can be a challenge in these heated political times, according to Aguilar.
“Right now, it’s hard to be a poll worker. People are very, very emotional and passionate about the elections, and when they start talking about the election, sometimes they take it out on a poll worker,” Aguilar said. “In reality, that’s not the person who needs to hear the passion or the emotion. The candidates need to hear it, the political parties need to hear it, not the poll workers. The poll workers are doing all of us a favor.”
Election officials in Clark County say they were staffed up by the start of early voting, but they’ll need more workers before the November general election.
The shortages and safety concerns aren’t lost on Marta Hanson, the national program manager of Power The Polls, a group that aims to recruit more poll workers.
“We work with our coalition, again, to target recruitment in the areas where it’s most needed,” Hanson said, “While concerns around safety and harassment, where there have been instances that are deeply disturbing, those are quite rare. In our 2022 post election survey, 95% of our poll workers told us they had positive experiences and wanted to serve again.”
Lorena Portillo, the Clark County registrar of voters, says training starts next month, and the county hires over 3,000 workers.
Speaking of safety issues, Portillo says in spite of the Registrar of Voters up in Washoe County dealing with death threats last election cycle, she is confident all who want to vote and work at the polling locations will be safe.
“Thankfully, we work very closely with the Department of Homeland Security, with state officials, the Secretary of State’s office and our local officials here. We feel very secure, and make sure our workers, our voters feel safe at the polls.”
Portillo says her team always has security at different polling places.
The registrar adds during the early voting period, they have 30 to 35 polling sites in Clark County on a daily basis for the period from Oct. 19th through Nov. 1st.
More information can be found on National Poll Worker Recruitment Day on this link. Clark County also posted a flyer.
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