According to a 2005 U.S. Election Assistance Commission report, 5.8 percent of polling places and 4 percent of precincts in the 2004 presidential election did not have the minimum number of required poll workers.

In 2009, The Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation received a grant from the Help America Vote College PollWorker program (HAVCP) to enact a program attracting college students to poll working.

The Strauss Institute created a group called the Student PollWorker Association (SPA) to organize these students on each Election Day.

In coordination with the Travis County Clerk Elections Division, SPA recruits college students from Travis County colleges and universities to participate in a wonderful opportunity.

In Travis County, the average age of an election worker is 72. SPA leverages the technology skills of a tech-savvy generation, and recruits the next generation of PollWorkers.

By working on Election Day, college students jump head first into the electoral system. Most importantly, students engage in a new kind of civic participation-a kind that puts them at the heart of the process.


Click here to see the 2005 U.S. Election Assistance Commission Report

Click here to see the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation website

 

This material is based on work supported by a grant from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Any opinion, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the EAC.