Need a Lifesaver?
HAV A partner in poll worker training and recruitment.

by Maggie O'Neill

The HAVA Challenge for election officials and poll workers is daunting: new equipment + new systems + new procedures + new responsibilities.  These new elements add up to great potential for confusion at the polls.  For voters, confusion at the polling place means longer lines, mistakes, and reduced confidence in the voting process and the stated results.  That is a conspiracy theorists’ dream and a nightmare for election officials and poll workers.

In addition, limited training resources are a fact of life for election officials.  Is a single face-to-face training session with dozens of people and an over-long agenda sufficient?  Many election officials are saying, “No.” 

Imagine this alternative scenario:  At the single, 2-hour, face-to-face (f2f) session your poll workers will attend before Election Day, the group moves through the entire agenda in a focused but relaxed manner.  There is time to thoroughly address each agenda item.  Individuals are encouraged to share their experiences and give one another tips.  There is plenty of time to field questions.  Not once does the trainer say anything like: “I’m sorry but we must end this discussion and move on to another topic.  We have a lot to cover! ”  After the session, several poll workers seek you out to tell you how much they enjoyed the session and are looking forward to Election Day. 

This could happen if you know precisely what your poll workers do and do not understand about their duties.  If your poll workers take an online training course that you develop with HAVA Partners, you can use the test results to narrow the agenda for the face-to-face session to the most frequently missed items. 

This is a lifesaver for election officials working to meet the HAVA challenge..

We won’t leave you to figure it out on you own.  A contract with HAVA Partners includes a support plan.  We will ensure the Online Pollworker Training Program we design for you is supported by the latest technology.  We continuously refine our technology to benefit you by adding features, improving the look and feel of the course, increasing the intuitive nature of site’s operation so users don’t have to wonder how to move through the course. Many of the technology updates are “behind the scenes” and don’t change the appearance of the program, but improve users’ experiences with it.