Traditionally, elections in The United States have been manned by the elderly. However, due to the Coronavirus, many seniors are choosing not to work at the polls in order to protect themselves from the virus. Now, many are looking to young people to make up for the shortages. Power the Polls, an organization dedicated to recruiting people to work at the polls, had secured many high-profile endorsements, from the likes of Trevor Noah and Lebron James, to companies like Old Navy and Target. Across the country, young people are stepping up to try and fill the gap. Even students from Northwood are participating.
Northwood Senior Caroline Murrell is one such student. As an officer of the Human Rights Club, she heard about the opportunity to work at the polls for the Democratic primary elections and she took it.
“Especially in this election, encouraging people to vote is important,” Murrell said.
She felt it was important to make sure that the polls could stay open so that more people would have an opportunity to vote. Without a sufficient number of poll workers, some polling places would have to close, making it more difficult for some people to vote. There are a variety of jobs that need to be done for the elections and they go beyond simply counting the ballots.
“I was a poll greeter,” Murrell said. “My responsibilities included greeting the people who came to vote, handing out sample ballots, and answering questions about the ballots[…]There were standards for coronavirus [that we had to enforce].”
These standards included wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing protections. Even though casting a ballot doesn’t require much face to face interaction, it still takes place indoors. Murrell says that she definitely would consider doing it again.
If you want to sign up to work at the polls, go to this site and follow the instructions. If you want to volunteer for the Democratic party, go here and if you want to volunteer for the Republican party, go here.
Photo Courtesy of Caroline Murrell
