WXVU MAINLINE NEWS MINUTE FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 18
Written by Gabriella Raful on September 19, 2023
By: Gabriella Raful
Election Day is less than two months away, and for the process to go smoothly, Pennsylvania needs a lot more poll workers. Many of the eight-point-seven million registered voters in the state would be eligible to work at the polls for the November 7th municipal elections. Lauren Cristella, who heads the voter education group “Committee of 70,” says 40-thousand Pennsylvanians are needed twice a year to ensure elections happen. She adds the state is also recruiting 17-year-olds to serve as poll workers, if they get permission from their school principal and a parent or guardian.
:16 “Poll workers are our first, best defense against election fraud, anything that would cause disenfranchisement of voters. Fully-staffed, well-trained poll workers make voting easier for everyone. So, we took that as an important part of our mission, to make sure that these important roles are filled.”
Cristella says Pennsylvania’s population increase is one reason more poll workers are needed. In Philadelphia, for instance, each polling location requires five people to serve in the assigned roles – and there are over 17-hundred locations.
