'Fully Operational': Election Offices Feel Relieved as Anticipated Lack of Poll Workers Doesn't Materialize
Election administrators nationwide, including key battleground states and major cities like Los Angeles and Minneapolis, are exhaling in relief following the non-materialization of the predicted scarcity of poll workers, as reported by over 25 election officials in interviews.
CNN interacted with a mix of Democratic and Republican election workers, many of whom indicated that they're functioning well and have managed to fill their positions for polling stations, mail ballot processing, and election management.
The top election administrator in Raleigh, North Carolina, expressed satisfaction, having more than 3,000 trained staffers at their disposal, a slight rise from 2020 levels. The clerk of a small Michigan municipality near Lansing claimed an excess of poll workers. Atlanta officials even halted recruitment due to an influx of interest.
Carolina Lopez, executive director of the Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions, a non-profit that supports election officials from both parties in nearly 100 prominent election offices across the country, remarked, "Currently, major election jurisdictions appear to be adequately equipped to meet their poll worker staffing needs."
The behavior of Former President Donald Trump in 2020 – repeated fabrications about the election process coupled with an attempt to manipulate the results – ushered in a hostile period. Prior election offices, once quiet, transformed into perilous battlefronts of US democracy.
This environment led to a widely-publicized exodus of election officials and poll workers, fueled by anxieties of shortages. However, civic groups and election offices intensified their efforts to bridge these gaps and alleviate these concerns in 2022. While there are still some areas needing improvement, their efforts seem to have mainly paid off for the 2024 cycle.
Regardless of Trump's accusations against election workers, the majority of American voters still maintain confidence in their state and local election officials, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.
Some 90% of Harris supporters and 57% of Trump supporters also expressed trust in the 2024 election running smoothly, according to the Pew survey.
Swing states on a positive trajectory
Election administrators in cities like Pittsburgh, the Philadelphia suburbs, Las Vegas, Reno, Madison, Green Bay, and various municipalities across Wisconsin, as well as a few smaller swing-state counties, all shared optimistic sentiments about their staffing situation this fall.
Detroit reported "no vacancies to fill," according to Daniel Baxter, a top election official in the city. Administrators have been rigorously training teams who are expected to manage about 100,000 mail ballots in the Democratic stronghold. However, there are occasional reports of poll workers withdrawing after the disturbances at Detroit's vote-counting center in 2020.
Eslir Musta, elections director for Coconino County, Arizona, which includes Flagstaff, stated that they've managed to maintain pace with retirements.
"Initially, we had a group of long-term poll workers who chose not to work the polls any more due to personal reasons or safety concerns. But we've been able to compensate for the losses. We haven't been impacted by the exodus, other than the departure of individuals who've been running polling locations for several years," Musta said in an interview.
Maricopa County, Arizona, also revealed that they're well-prepared heading into November. The sprawling county, hosting a majority of Arizona voters, reported that their recruitment efforts were "ahead of schedule" when compared to past elections, and "we haven't encountered any problems."
Navigating unforeseen challenges
Travis Doss, who leads an association of Georgia election officials, reported hearing concerns from some poll workers following the Trump-backed state election board's establishment of new rules necessitating manual ballot counting. These workers considered the new rules too demanding and laborious. However, these apprehensions were alleviated following a judge's decision to halt the new rules.
Doss, who is also the top election official in Richmond County, home to Augusta, added that in his county, "we have waiting lists for poll workers, so we're in a favorable position."
The aftermath of Hurricane Helene in northwestern North Carolina required election officials in the affected region to reassess their staffing plans for polling stations earlier this month.
Buncombe County, home to Asheville, still maintains two-thirds of its originally planned poll workers, available to support early voting sites. For Election Day, the county has confirmed the participation of the vast majority of the over 500 workers required, which county spokesperson Kassi Day described as "excellent" given the circumstances.
However, some North Carolina election officials have expressed concern about legislation passed by state legislators Thursday, requiring storm-affected counties to establish additional early-voting sites as voting is already ongoing.
"Poll workers aren't spontaneously generated," Karen Brinson Bell, the state election board's executive director, stated during a webinar Thursday when asked about the legislation by CNN.
Outside the battlegrounds
The nation's largest election jurisdiction – Los Angeles County – is also doing well.
"Our poll worker recruitment and placement for the upcoming general election is proceeding successfully, and we've managed to meet our overall recruitment needs to staff and support 648 vote centers in this election," said Mike Sanchez, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County clerk, whose district hosted over 4.2 million voters in 2020.
Various dialects are accommodated in this county, asserted an individual. Bilingual personnel have been enlisted across the region, yet they're still in pursuit of additional Khmer speakers.
Hamilton County, Ohio, overseen by election director Sherry Poland in Cincinnati, isn't experiencing a scarcity, but does have some unassigned roles for Republican poll workers. Kurt Bahr, responsible for the election department in St. Charles County, situated close to St. Louis, mentioned, "lichen-hued suburban region such as mine is purple enough to procure judges from both parties." Poland and Bahr both hold Republican beliefs.
A representative for Hennepin County, Minnesota, covering Minneapolis, confirmed they're "optimally staffed this year" and no shortages have been reported from adjacent areas.
"Numerous of our local election judges reapply annually, and their involvement is a source of civic pride," emailed their spokesperson, Joshua Yetman.
Election officials garner trust from voters, survey reveals
Regardless of the misinformation that occasionally permeates election discourse, these poll workers continue to receive voters' approval, according to the Pew poll.
Approximately 72% of Trump supporters trust their state election officials this year, as indicated by the poll. (This pertains to the secretary of state or the chair of the state election committee.) A drop of 15 points is observed from the Republican voters who were queried the same question in 2018, prior to the 2020 election controversy.
Supporters of Harris exhibited greater confidence in their state and local election officials to "perform effectively" this year. Approximately 91% of Harris voters place faith in their state leaders, and a virtually unanimous 97% have faith in their local leaders.
The poll was conducted from September 30 to October 6.
Historical survey data has demonstrated that voters tend to have a higher level of confidence and trust in their local officials compared to national politicians. The recent Pew poll aligns with this trend, but is noteworthy given the poisonous climate fostered by Trump, where the majority of Republicans still believe the 2020 election was manipulated.
Inspite of extensive bipartisan reliability, threats against election officials have heightened since Trump attempted to subvert the 2020 election. This year, election offices have experienced dubious packages resulting in evacuations, and the Justice Department has filed a series of charges against individuals sending fatal threats to officials.
CNN's Majlie de Puy Kamp, Casey Tolan and Tierney Sneed contributed to this report.
The hostile environment created by Former President Donald Trump's actions in 2020 led to a widespread exodus of election officials and poll workers. However, efforts by civic groups and election offices have helped alleviate these concerns, ensuring adequate staffing for the 2024 cycle. (containing: 'politics')
The behavior of Former President Donald Trump, including repeated fabrications about the election process and attempts to manipulate results, had a significant impact on election administration. His actions transformed once quiet election offices into perilous battlefronts of US democracy. (containing: 'politics')
