Bay Area counties see surge in poll volunteers
TAMPA, Fla. - Some parts of the country are experiencing a shortage of poll workers because of the pandemic, but elections offices in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties have had record turnout for volunteers.
“We’ve had a great turnout. In fact, we’ve got way more than we need right now. We’ve had to cut it off,” said Craig Latimer, the Hillsborough County supervisor of elections.
The supervisors of elections for Hillsborough and Pinellas counties said they’ve had more interest this year than before.
“A lot of county employees have joined our ranks. A lot of state employees have helped out, and we’ve seen some new workers who haven’t served in the past who are also helping us out this general election,” said Julie Marcus, the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections.
In Hillsborough County, the change was big enough to drop the average poll worker age.
“We had 25 percent brand new poll workers, and they were across the board, a lot of them from businesses that we engaged and we got younger people,” said Latimer.
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2020 is not a typical election year as the country battles an economic crisis driven by a pandemic.
University of South Florida political science professor J. Edwin Benton said that drives public interest.
“I think that is also driving young people, even middle-aged people to participate in politics, in short, to do much, much more than simply vote,” said Benton.
Benton said concerns about election security are also a factor.
“As a consequence, they think it’s their responsibility as a citizen to go beyond voting and to ensure the integrity of the election process,” said Benton.
It’s a civic duty that elections officials say matters in communities.
“Having these people to be able to talk to their neighbors, their friends, their relatives, and say, ‘I have confidence in that election process. I was there. I saw what happens. I know what we did,’ it just gives a lot of confidence to the whole process,” said Latimer.
Elections supervisors said a lot has changed in the voting process since 2016, so they encourage voters to check their county election supervisors’ website for information on what to expect. Early voting begins Monday, October 19.