lynn bailey - university of georgia

Lynn Bailey

Richmond CountyExecutive Director(706) [email protected]# of Active Voters: 130,764# of Election Day Polling Places: 42# of Advance Voting Locations: 4

Poll Worker Training

mailto:[email protected]

GAVREO Conference December 2019

When Should We Train?

• Consider your entire calendar when setting the date. Are you concerned about a conflict with performing logic and accuracy testing? Is it important to you that training be finished before Advance Voting begins?

• Most counties begin their training at least six weeks ahead of Election Day.


Profile of Richmond County’s Workers

• For March 2020, we are planning to train approximately 500 workers. We plan to employ approximately 470 poll workers. For the March 2012 PPP, we employed 372 workers and for the March 2016 PPP, we employed 330 poll workers. For the past three Presidential Elections, we have employed approximately 450 workers.

• We will likely use the same number of workers for all elections in 2020

• Almost all Advance Voting workers are Election Day poll workers

Training Format• We send out training notices to prospective poll workers about a

month ahead of the training dates.• The notice contains the date, time and location for the training.• We let them know in the notice how long the class should take

and give them driving directions to the facility• We train in small batches (30-40 at the time) and require workers

to call in to reserve a spot• We try to schedule our training for after logic and accuracy has

been completed but before Advance Voting begins• Do have a date(s) set aside for make up classes – you will

have people who miss training, but who you will want to work


Preparing for Poll Worker Training• Set up your training space ahead of time to make sure it will hold the

training equipment and the workers • If you are using audio visual equipment, make sure that you know how

to operate it • Practice and time your training• Use a sign in sheet to make sure you know who has attended training• Use name badges – it makes it feel more personal and helps you to

remember everyone’s name


During Poll Worker Training• Make sure to start on time. Everyone’s time is valuable and you will

want to get off on the right foot.• Let attendees know what to expect – how long the training will take,

what the format for questions will be. • Stick to your agenda and try not to ramble – like I do. • Be upbeat and know your material – practice ahead of time• Provide hands on training and an opportunity for practice using real

case scenarios like:• What if a voter cannot be located on the Poll Pad• What if a voter does not have identification• What if a voter is in the wrong precinct• What if the name or address needs to be updated


During Poll Worker Training• Include sensitivity training to prepare workers for voters with

disabilities• Include what to do in the event of an emergency – loss of power,

know where the fire extinguisher is located, know the address of where you are working in case you need assistance

• Make sure the workers understand the materials – ask them questions, give them a test


After Poll Worker Training• Send out notices to workers telling them where they are assigned to

work and who to contact if there any questions or problems• If you test, use the results to identify your training weaknesses and

where you need to fine tune for future training• Consider a plan to evaluate workers before the next election• Have a plan for what to do when a long standing poll worker is no

longer up to a particular task. Can they be reassigned to a different task?

• Decide how you are going to distribute the poll worker training certificates – after class, with their letter, send to the polls with the manager?


After the Election• Thank the workers for their service. Some counties send thank you

cards/email, some do a newsletter, some do an in-person poll worker appreciation event – some just give them a very heartfelt thank you during training.

• Talk with or survey your poll managers after each election to discuss lessons learned during the election or to identify weaknesses and misunderstandings

• If necessary, train again before a runoff – at least an abbreviated session to discuss problem areas


Readily Available Resources

Firefly/Poll Worker Training


Columbia County and Student Poll Workers• 47 Election Day polling locations• Approx. 99,904 Active registered voters• Plans to train 350 poll workers for March of 2020• Plans to train by position• Plans to begin training sometime in January


Columbia County and Student Poll Workers• Student Poll Worker Program

• 5 High Schools in the County• The Graduation Coaches for each school will advertise the program, accept

completed applications and vet applications. Ten students will be selected from each school. Applications require a teacher recommendation

• Some schools will be using an Interview Panel to select students• Students will sign a formal agreement committing to work all three elections,

will work a full day and will be paid the same rate as regular poll workers • Students will be assigned to a polling place, will be trained separately and

with regular workers, and all will be offered as much training as they need in order to feel comfortable

• Initially, the primary function of the student poll worker will be technical support – setup/breakdown of equipment and any operating issues during the day, but the role of the student could expand over time.

• The program primarily targets 10th and 11th graders in order to provide continuity of the program through the November 2020 General Election


Muscogee County – Training at the Polling Site• 25 Election Day polling locations• 120,886 Active Registered Voters• Plans to train 550 poll workers for March 2020• Manager and area manager training September, 2019• Precinct training begins February 3, 2020


Muscogee County – Training at the Polling Site

• Training dates are set, published and advertised• The precinct managers secure staff for their precinct• The date for training is selected by precinct manager and confirmed

with Elections staff• Once the date is confirmed, the facility is contacted by the precinct

manager to secure the availability of the facility• The poll managers contacts their workers to schedule attendance at

training• All equipment and supplies used for training are delivered by Board of

Elections training staff• At the time of training, Board of Elections staff conducts a site survey

for ADA accessibility and possible election day issues


Paulding County – Pilot County November 2019• 17 Election Day polling locations – may add more• 107,023 Active Registered Voters• Plans to train 250-300 poll workers for March 2020• Plans to train by position• Plans to begin training 3-4 weeks before the Election• During 2019, clerk training lasted approximately 1.5 hours, Manager

and Assistant Manager training lasted approximately 1.5 hours, and Provisional Ballot training lasted approximately 2 hours

• Total training time for workers was approximately 3 hours


Paulding County – Pilot County November 2019• Trains in a central location and not at polling sites• Training format is to provide separate training for managers initially

to give a general over view and discusses hot topics• All workers (including Managers who have previously attended

Manager Training) report to general training at the same time• Training begins with a general session covering professionalism, dress

code, qualifications required to work, dos and don’ts.• Following the general session, poll workers split out by job

description – BMD/printer/scanner, using the Poll Pad, issuing provisional ballots, and a “catch all” group covering parking lot, greeter, line worker, and the new positions of Station Host (assists voters who have a spoiled ballot) and Machine Host (collects the voter access card and directs voters to the scanner.

• Maintains a demo at the office for drop in refreshers


Bartow County – Pilot County November 2019• 16 Election Day polling locations• 74,366 Active Registered Voters• Plans to train 140 poll workers for March 2020• Plans to train by position• Plans to begin training 6 weeks before the Election


Bartow County – Pilot County November 2019• Trains in a central location and not at polling sites• Provides initial training to Managers, Assistant Managers and select

clerks covering legal issues, provisional ballots, the voting process, and any hot topics. This class runs 2-3 hours.

• Trains separately for Poll Pad and for BMD/scanner. These classes runs about 3.5 hours each.

• Provides a catch all for all other workers which takes about an hour.• Trains Advance Voting workers (1 hour) and Absentee Ballot workers

(30 minutes)• Some workers cross over to several different sessions. • Additional, unpaid training is always available.


Lowndes County – Pilot County November 2019

• 10 Election Day polling locations• 71,000 Active registered voters• Plans to train 150 workers for March 2020• Plans to train by position• Plans to begin training 6 weeks before the Election and has a

refresher the weekend before the election• Clerk received 4 hours of training• Manager, Assistant Manager, and Provisional received 8 hours of

training


Lowndes County – Pilot County November 2019

• Trains by precinct in a central location in a real life polling place scenario

• Managers, assistant managers and provisional ballot workers were all cross trained

• Clerks training included the floor monitor (making sure the voter takes both the paper ballot and voter access card from the voting area), scanner monitor, greeter, and Poll Pad operators.

• Training begins in general session with an overview and then moves to hands on.

• All poll workers came for refresher training on the Saturday or Sunday before the election, which they seemed to really appreciate


Words of Wisdom from Pilot Counties• Do not take poll worker training lightly. • Training will take longer than you are accustomed to. • You are going to need more workers• Additional positions are necessary including a well trained person at

the scanner at all times, personnel working in the area of the voting units to make sure voters come away with both their ballot and the voter access card, and likely a person to record and assist with spoiled ballots

• Opening the polls takes around one hour and gets better with time

lynn bailey - university of georgia

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