Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt joined state officials in encouraging eligible Pennsylvanians to sign up to serve as poll workers during a training seminar at Esperanza in Philadelphia.
Schmidt met with poll worker trainees to inquire about their experiences and thank them for their service. Afterwards, he encouraged anyone eligible to register to vote to do so and to consider being a poll worker as well.
“As someone who has worked in elections for many years, I can tell you that serving as a poll worker is one of the most rewarding acts of civic engagement you can perform,” Schmidt said. “Elections are the most fundamental part of our representative democracy, and they couldn’t happen here in Pennsylvania if it wasn’t for the work of the roughly 45,000 poll workers who staff more than 9,000 voting locations across the Commonwealth each Election Day.”
Pennsylvania’s poll workers must be registered voters, which means they must meet voter registration eligibility criteria. Pennsylvania also allows 17-year-old high school juniors and seniors to serve as poll workers if they obtain permission from their school principal and their parent or guardian. Poll workers are paid for their time at trainings and for their Election Day work.
Many counties specifically need bilingual poll workers, especially those who speak Spanish or Mandarin.
“Poll workers are the lifeline of our elections and our democracy,” said Omar Sabir, chairman of the Philadelphia City Commissioners. “Each election they ensure that our polls are open and operational, and that we continue to have simple, safe, and secure elections.”
Registered voters interested in becoming a poll worker should fill out the Department of State’s Poll Worker Interest Form. Seventeen-year-old high school juniors and seniors who are interested should fill out the Department’s Student Poll Worker Interest Form. More information and forms can be found online at pa.gov
