It’s election season, and all over San Diego County, volunteer election workers, assisted nearly 51,000 voters who cast their ballots for the 2024 presidential primary. Election workers are considered by many as the backbone of America’s democracy, but unfortunately, they are increasingly hard to recruit. Harassment and intimidation has driven an exodus of veteran election workers nationwide. Despite these trends, over 1,600 poll workers were recruited to work in over 200 polling sites throughout the county during this primary election.
In California, SB 1131 was passed before the 2022 election to address the rise in harassment of election workers and expand the Safe at Home program. In a press release, State Senator Josh Newman, the bill’s author, highlighted the need to “protect [election workers] from all forms of threats, harassment, and physical intimidation that have recently become all too common.”
The majority of poll workers tend to be seniors, but include all ages and races. Most are looking for a way to serve their communities. In San Diego, there is a High School Student Program that looks to recruit younger community members to volunteer as poll workers. Bilingual poll workers are in high demand and should be recognized as valuable members of our communities. All poll workers are required to complete a mandatory training program and asked to remain non-political while working for the San Diego County Registrar of Voters, a nonpartisan government agency. Many work long hours, starting as early as 6:30 a.m. and going as late as 9 p.m. on Election Day.
Roughly 36% of registered voters turned out for the March 5, 2024 primary election in San Diego County. That trend throughout California is low but not record low. In San Diego County, more than 624,000 ballots, out of over 675,000 were mail ballots, though some voters still chose to cast their ballots in person.
In 2010, 63% of voters said they would vote on Election Day, compared to only 53% in 2022. Over that same time those who chose to “vote early or already voted” surged from 26% to 41% nationwide.
Ballots were made widely available due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting many states including California to send every registered voter a mail ballot, resulting in a majority of voters choosing to cast their vote before Election Day. Even so, the need for poll workers is still paramount and should be valued by the American electorate.
Voters that choose to vote in person rather than by mail do so for multiple reasons. Address changes, a party affiliation change, name change, and outright mistrust of the mail-in process all are reasons for which a voter might prefer to appear in person to cast their ballot. Responsible community members are needed to expedite this process and ensure that every citizen is able to cast their votes and make this a truly democratic process.
Whatever the reason to appear in person, the San Diego Registrar of Voters has increased the number of early voting locations, improved polling site convenience, and hired and trained hundreds of poll workers to assist voters in casting their ballots. This unique position deserves appreciation, not contempt.
Poll workers are our neighbors, our grandparents, our mothers and fathers — our community. They don’t make the rules and they don’t select what is on the ballot, but they are tasked with protecting the voter’s rights to cast a ballot, to privacy, and they want nothing more than to make voting a smooth and easy process for all. For more information on how to become a poll worker in San Diego, look here. For questions about your ballot, how to register, or to check election results, go here.
