Poll workers step up to help Marylanders cast their ballots

By Calista Sybrant

On the last day of early voting Thursday, nearly 40 poll workers at a Montgomery County election site directed voters from one station to the next, guiding them through the process of casting their ballots.

The poll workers were just a few of thousands who show up at polling sites across Maryland to help voters and to ensure elections run smoothly. They spend long hours training, helping voters navigate elections and responding to unexpected challenges.

“I feel that it’s my civic responsibility to partake in this process,” said Delia Millet, a poll worker in Prince George’s County. “Sometimes they have difficulties in finding people to volunteer, and I make certain that I volunteer when the time arises.”

Election experts said poll workers play an important role in administering elections, from checking in voters to helping make sure ballots are cast properly. Without enough workers to staff polling stations, election officials said the voting process may not run smoothly.

“We would have a national crisis if people didn’t serve as poll workers,” said Thomas Hicks, former chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. “We need three quarters of a million people to serve as poll workers every presidential election cycle, and we’re seeing presidential type numbers for this midterm election.”

Poll workers say helping voters is key

With voting equipment set up the week before, poll workers arrived at the Activity Center at Bohrer Park that Thursday at 6 a.m. The site, one of 102 early voting centers in Maryland, would be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Poll workers served throughout the day, checking voters in, offering paper or ballot-marking devices, directing them to scanners and handing out “I voted” stickers.

“You ready to scan, sir?” Gilberto Zelaya asked a confused voter.

“He’ll help you,” said Zelaya, community engagement and public relations officer at the Montgomery County Board of Elections, as he pointed to a poll worker at a scanning station. “Thank you for coming. Tell your friends.”

The poll worker Zelaya identified directed the voter to scan his paper ballot before escorting him to the front to pick up the sticker showing he voted.

For some poll workers, the role is fulfilling because they said they can help voters and give back to the community.

“Sometimes you may have elderly people and they may need assistance in walking,” Millet, 64, said. “And then you have someone who’s young, a young spirited voter for the very first time and they’re excited.”

Millet has spent nearly three decades working at polls in Prince George’s County. What began as a way to diversify her work portfolio eventually became an opportunity to get involved in her community.

“It evolved into being involved,” Millet said.

Rick Reinhard, 71, said he became a poll worker in Montgomery County during the 2020 presidential elections as a way to stay busy during retirement.

“It gave me something to do,” said Reinhard, a retired executive director of a not-for-profit organization.

Reinhard and other poll workers undergo hours of training.

Before each election, poll worker candidates must pass a quiz before they attend a three-hour in-person training session. The training, among other things, covers responsibilities at each station and how to operate equipment.

Reinhard said poll workers and election officials are “very serious” about making sure the process is run well.

“I get very upset when there are irresponsible claims of voter fraud,” Reinhard said. “The training is so good and the people who work as poll workers take it so seriously that there just isn’t any room at the polls for fraud.”

Hicks, who has also served as a poll worker, said some voters are mad at poll workers because of what they hear from politicians.

“They hear from the politicians that the election is being stolen or manipulated,” Hicks said. “These folks are not doing that. They are basically guiding people on how to cast their votes, the process of doing it.”

Shoring up democracy

Beyond helping voters at polling sites, election officials in Montgomery County are working to educate younger generations about the voting process.

Zelaya, 55, joined the Montgomery County Board of Elections in 2003. A year later, he founded Future Vote, a program that allows middle school to high school students to serve as Election Day aides.

“I saw there was an opportunity to really educate our youth about the process,” Zelaya said.

For some poll workers, returning each election has helped grow relationships.

“You get to know people,” Millet said.

Beyond the relationships, some poll workers said they’re proud to contribute to the electoral process.

“I feel like I’m doing something that’s for the good of American democracy,” Reinhard said.