America’s Poll Worker Shortage Is a Brewing Crisis

With barely two months until Election Day, the U.S. faces a shortage of one critical resource: poll workers. Thanks to the threat of Covid-19, many of them — especially seniors — will likely stay home. Without sufficient staffing at polling stations, voters may have to wait for hours before casting their ballots, or see voting sites closed altogether — a prospect that risks disenfranchising citizens in low-income communities hit hard by the pandemic.

According to voting-rights advocates, the country needs at least 250,000 new poll workers to handle the expected demand for in-person voting. Meeting that goal requires immediate action from election officials. That includes boosting poll-worker pay, expanding recruitment drives aimed at younger volunteers, and encouraging state agencies to give workers time off to serve.