Another Potential Election Fiasco:
Vanishing Volunteers at the Polls
National Review,
by
John Fund
Original Article
Posted By: Pluperfect,
8/24/2020 4:38:25 AM
The good news is that leading experts believe it will be safe for nearly all Americans to vote in person at the polls this November. Dr. Anthony Fauci told National Geographic that those who are medically compromised can vote by mail but that otherwise “there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to vote in person or otherwise.”
The bad news is that states are facing a shortage of thousands of poll workers as older volunteers at higher risk for coronavirus cancel plans to show up on Election Day.
America already faced a vanishing corps of volunteers before the virus, as existing ones retired or died.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
cat2 8/24/2020 4:49:47 AM (No. 519070)
How about getting the high schools to provide poll staffers? They can take the time away from the myriad of sports options that the kids have. Poll staffing would "give back" to the community and would be educational.
31 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
avital2 8/24/2020 6:14:50 AM (No. 519090)
with so many in different phases of lock down, i don't see why college students and people working at home can't be enlisted to do a civic duty - they would not have been able to do so in regular circumstances. also putting people behind a plexiglass shield could solve some problems.
17 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
MMC 8/24/2020 6:37:22 AM (No. 519095)
My mom is a pill sitter for her area.. she loves it..
Retirees , if I see there is shortage.. may take personal day from work to vote.. oh wait..
Many in the government and schools have day off..
No shortage of volunteers available- just who is willing to sit all day?
10 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
NancyD 8/24/2020 6:48:38 AM (No. 519101)
I will volunteer to do it. No problem. I will contact our county offices today.
32 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Daisymay 8/24/2020 7:07:11 AM (No. 519106)
Why not use the National Guard in all states to be Poll Workers. They're young, healthy and will do a great job!
26 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
stablemoney 8/24/2020 7:20:33 AM (No. 519112)
I have thrown Fauci into the trashcan, and don't need his pronouncements on my voting options. The Republicans could hire some people to monitor the polls. They spend billions on other things of no importance. Save some, and spend it where it counts, which is where the ballots are counted.
19 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
ROLFNader 8/24/2020 7:21:42 AM (No. 519114)
Now, just why would anyone worry about catching the virus? I'm sure everyone will be wearing their Covid costume.
12 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
padiva 8/24/2020 7:50:22 AM (No. 519138)
I have been a poll worker for many years. It's a long day. I'm at a location with Trump haters. Trump rents space in their heads for free. Most voters are nice and follow the protocols. Everyone wore a mask for the primary. No problems.
23 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
lakerman1 8/24/2020 9:23:22 AM (No. 519249)
Put the machines at windows, along with the poll workers. Voters check in, and vote, without any direct contact with the poll workers.Problem solved.
4 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
marbles 8/24/2020 9:29:03 AM (No. 519256)
I have worked at the polls. I was a challenger , checking actual voters against the registry. It is not hard work. The dems might not want to do it but republicans certainly would..eagerly.
14 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
AlpineLace 8/24/2020 10:07:25 AM (No. 519292)
Working the polls is exhausting. Polls may open at 7 AM but your day starts about 5 or earlier. (you can only set up so much the day before). You spend the day checking folks in, assisting them if they need help and making sure the vote goes as smoothly as possible. Polls close at 7 PM, you are not through yet. Multiple copies of various voting information to be completed, voting site to be broken down, ballot boxes to be collected and all items returned to the central receiving point. It is a hard job, especially for the judge who is responsible for all of the above. Makes for very long days. Perhaps employers should be encouraged to give folks who are willing to work the polls the day off with pay.
17 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
bighambone 8/24/2020 10:19:07 AM (No. 519297)
Clearly the covert leftist and liberal Democrat objective now is to create as much chaos in the election process, including discouraging Democrat poll workers from showing up on Election Day. Also you can’t put aside the possibility that the liberal Democrat supporting postal unions will encourage a postal workers strike falsely blaming President Trump in the days right before Election Day. Why would the leftist and liberal Democrats do that?
Obviously their agenda is if the election looks close to delay the election result until after January 21, 2021, and throw the process into the House of Representatives, that the Democrats believe will be politically controlled by Democrats, after which the Democrats there essentially would take over the election, and vote a leftist and liberal Democrat in as the next President, making the general election process meaningless. If the Democrats succeed in doing that, you will never see another Republican President again in your lifetime.
10 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
Zigrid 8/24/2020 10:30:50 AM (No. 519311)
I know in my heart than the Trump Team has already figured this out....I can't imagine Chicago citizens happy to venture out to vote democrat....This could be a good sign for republicans... since for 50 years chicagoans have been under the DNC boot on their necks.... this time the inner city will be challenged with chaos and turmoil... just an observation...
6 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Southron 8/24/2020 11:02:44 AM (No. 519358)
Per number 1, - high school kids I know are indoctrinated through and through. Let them stay on the sports field or at home gaming. We need to have adults running this show. - The 16 to 24 group (and many more people I know) don't have a clue what's going on.
10 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
HotRod 8/24/2020 11:47:01 AM (No. 519409)
Is this poll worker ''crisis'' supposed to be another reason to support mail-in voting? I don't buy it!
9 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
mc squared 8/24/2020 12:20:34 PM (No. 519444)
Not representative, but we had a primary here in FL this week and it was staffed as is usual.
7 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
skacmar 8/24/2020 12:48:48 PM (No. 519479)
Lots of the people who work at the polling places are paid to be there (at least where I live). We have mandatory training in the rules/laws and how to run the polls. It is a long day. We have a dedicated crew of workers who show up each election and stay from before the polls open to after the polls are closed. Most people are very friendly and appreciative of the work we do. There is a lot of behind the scenes work that goes into elections between the county clerks, local clerks, poll workers, and the party workers (who come to be monitor). You must remain non-political while working at the polls! If someone is interested in working at the polls, they should contact their local city / township clerk who is in charge of voting. It is a long day but can be fun if you work with a good group of people!
4 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
Starboard_side 8/24/2020 1:59:38 PM (No. 519556)
Want to bet if there were suddenly large numbers of church groups volunteering they would stop talking about the shortage?
4 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
Dodge Boy 8/24/2020 4:24:01 PM (No. 519685)
I am sure that if this country is capable of sending humans to the planet Mars, that it can figure out how to make in-person voting work. America - wake up. try recruiting high school kids, for example, to run the polling places. This isn't hard so don't make it hard. Spread out the voting to 2 or 3 days, if necessary. Ban media outlets and pollsters from conducting exit polls until the voting period ends. See how easy this can be?
1 person likes this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
CinnamonSue 8/24/2020 7:15:52 PM (No. 519817)
I am an election chairman. I had to back out of working because I can’t sit there for 16 hrs with the ridiculous face mask on. It’s a shame because I really like helping people vote & even though it’s a long day I enjoy seeing everyone. Oh well - on a good note I can vote in person. I don’t work in my precinct so have had to vote absentee until last year when NY implemented early voting.
0 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
4Justice 8/24/2020 9:26:12 PM (No. 519871)
No high school kids....especially if they went to "publik skool" indoctrination centers...
0 people like this.
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