Poll workers step up to help Marylanders cast ballots

On the last day of early voting Thursday, nearly 40 poll workers at a Montgomery County election site directed voters from one station to the next, guiding them through the process of casting their ballots.

The poll workers were just a few of thousands who show up at polling sites across Maryland, including in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, to help ensure that elections run smoothly.

In Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, nearly 190,000 voters cast their ballots during the early voting period from Oct. 22 to 29, according to the state Board of Elections’ unofficial tally. More than 604,000 voters cast early ballots statewide.

“I feel that it’s my civic responsibility to partake in this process,” Delia Millet, a poll worker in Prince George’s County, told Capital News Service. “Sometimes they have difficulties in finding people to volunteer, and I make certain that I volunteer when the time arises.”

Election experts said poll workers play an important role in administering elections, from checking in voters to helping make sure ballots are cast properly. Without enough workers to staff polling stations, election officials said, the voting process may not run smoothly.

“We would have a national crisis if people didn’t serve as poll workers,” said Thomas Hicks, former chair of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. “We need three-quarters of a million people to serve as poll workers every presidential election cycle, and we’re seeing presidential-type numbers for this midterm election.”

Poll workers say helping voters is key

Poll workers arrived at the Activity Center at Bohrer Park on the last day of early voting at 6 a.m. The site, one of 102 early voting centers in Maryland, closed at 8 p.m.

Poll workers served throughout the day, checking voters in, offering paper or ballot marking devices, directing them to scanners and handing out “I Voted” stickers.

“You ready to scan, sir?” Gilberto Zelaya, community engagement and public relations officer at the Montgomery County Board of Elections, asked a confused voter.

“He’ll help you,” he said, pointing to a poll worker at a scanning station. “Thank you for coming. Tell your friends.”

For some poll workers, the role is fulfilling because they said they can help voters and give back to the community.

“Sometimes you may have elderly people and they may need assistance in walking,” said Millet, 64. “And then you have someone who’s young, a young, spirited voter for the very first time, and they’re excited.”

Millet has spent nearly three decades working at polls in Prince George’s County. What began as a way to diversify her work portfolio eventually became an opportunity to get involved in her community.

“It evolved into being involved,” Millet said.

Rick Reinhard, 71, said he became a poll worker in Montgomery County during the 2020 presidential elections as a way to stay busy during retirement.

“It gave me something to do,” said Reinhard, a retired executive director of a nonprofit organization.

Reinhard and other poll workers undergo hours of training.

Before each election, poll worker candidates must pass a quiz before they attend a three-hour in-person training session. The training covers responsibilities at each station and how to operate equipment.

Reinhard said poll workers and election officials are “very serious” about making sure the process is run well.

“I get very upset when there are irresponsible claims of voter fraud,” Reinhard said. “The training is so good and the people who work as poll workers take it so seriously that there just isn’t any room at the polls for fraud.”

Hicks, who has also served as a poll worker, said some voters are mad at poll workers because of what they hear from politicians.

“They hear from the politicians that the election is being stolen or manipulated,” Hicks said. “These folks are not doing that. They are basically guiding people on how to cast their votes, the process of doing it.”

Beyond helping voters at polling sites, election officials in Montgomery County are working to educate younger generations about the voting process.

Zelaya, 55, joined the Montgomery County Board of Elections in 2003. A year later, he founded Future Vote, a program that allows middle school to high school students to serve as Election Day aides.

“I saw there was an opportunity to really educate our youth about the process,” Zelaya said.

Capital News Service is a student-powered news organization run by the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism.