Poll workers are the lifeblood of the election administration in the United States. The contributions of these generous souls to our local elections cannot be underestimated.
The average poll worker is 72 years old. Every year one of out of every three has to be replaced. That’s half a million new recruits that have to be found, trained and tested “under fire” for the first time.
With the introduction of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and its new rules, new computer based voting machines, automated voter registration system, greater press scrutiny and excruciatingly tight elections with recounts and partisan lawyers parties monitoring elections -- many more pollworkers are expected to drop out in 2006 and beyond.
Local election officials are under enormous pressure to recruit, train and deploy new workers – all while managing their Offices including purchasing, learning and installing new voting equipment and voter registration system.
Enough is enough!
HAVA Partners can help. We understand the challenges election officials face and have the expertise and experience to help your staff recruit and train new poll workers.
Our online voter education and training system is the perfect solution to your poll worker recruitment needs!
You need tech savvy poll workers. Perhaps not computer programmers -- but workers who are not afraid to re-boot a computer or access the Internet. What better way to find this new blood than through the Internet?
HAV-A Partner – in the most difficult election year!
HAVA Partners can work with you to create an innovative blueprint in your county to find the computer friendly poll workers you need. Our team of print and Internet specialists can write a comprehensive, state or county specific plan to recruit new pollworkers.
The plan will do two things:
First –get your message out clearly, broadly and consistently that pollworkers are needed.
Second – drive interest recruits to a pollworker education center where they will learn what it means to work on Election Day in the world’s oldest democracy. Different folks learn different ways. At the HAVA Partners pollworker training center your recruits will have learn what means to be a poll worker by watching videos, taking a sample training course with real live examples or play a game.
If you would like to learn more about our poll worker recruitment packet, please contact us.
PACKET COMPONENTS
- Develop an “earned media” campaign that will get your story in local media – newspaper, radio, cable and broadcast TV.
- Draft banner ads to be placed on corporate, university and other web sites targeted specifically to citizens that are local and politically interested,
- Develop collateral print (posters, brochures, flyers, and other materials to support the campaign.
- Create a video, available on the web and via DVD, so interested workers will have a clear idea what a poll worker does. Schools, civic groups can show them to students and their members.
- Using HAVA Partners voter education center interested users can find articles on the importance of being a pollworker and read and share stories with other pollworkers around the US.
- And we will develop and send for you a series of emails to interested parties (who have granted you permission) that will recruit them to your service.
What are the benefits of such a program?
- Tech friendly pollworkers who will not be afraid to re-boot a computer.
- New blood into a system that often needs new blood.
- A workforce recruited, at least in part online, that can be trained online – saving you tons in expense and logistical support.
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