Working at polls strengthens faculty members’ sense of civic duty

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Patrick Neary remembers being the youngest person at poll worker training sessions when he started working with Onondaga County on Election Day five years ago. 

“That’s no longer the case this year, which is really great to see,” said Neary, an adjunct math professor at Syracuse University. 

Neary is one of several SU faculty members working at the polls this year. Returning poll workers and first-timers alike told The Daily Orange that the chance to help voters cast their ballots has strengthened their sense of civic duty, especially as the coronavirus pandemic complicates in-person voting. 

About 55% of the 85,000 poll workers who are usually hired ahead of general elections in New York state are over 60 years old. But with concerns about COVID-19 looming, many older workers decided not to return to the polls as employees this year. 

“I noticed that in New York, and really nationwide, there was a call for new poll workers because traditionally the people who are poll workers are older,” said Aileen Gallagher, an associate professor of magazine, news and digital journalism at SU’s Newhouse School of Public Communications. “Between COVID and the new technology in the election process, I know they had a lot of holes to fill.” 

This Election Day marks Gallagher’s first time working at the polls. She’ll be setting up and closing down machines at a polling center in Manlius on Tuesday and assisting voters who have trouble casting their ballot.

Carolyn Hedges, an assistant professor in Newhouse’s communications department, is also working at the polls for the first time this year. 

Hedges was inspired to apply after seeing a news story about a nationwide shortage of poll workers. She wanted to contribute to the democratic process in ways other than campaigning for a specific politician, she said. 

“I’ve been really ignited by the passionate people around me who are sending letters and making phone calls on behalf of their preferred candidate,” Hedges said. “That’s not my personality, so I thought this was a way to be engaged in this process and this election and fill a need.” 

Poll workers in Onondaga County undergo three-hour training sessions before they can work on Election Day. The county’s board of elections requires additional training sessions for workers who will handle technology at polling places or manage the polling place staff. The county pays poll workers for training and Election Day work. 

Neary will be the polling site manager at the Spiritual Renewal Center polling place on Lancaster Avenue, located near South Campus. Working at the polls and learning about the county’s election procedures amid such a polarized political climate has been illuminating, he said. 

“In a year like this, where there’s a lot of questions about accuracy and tampering and things like that, being part of the process and seeing really what is behind all of the security measures has been really interesting,” Neary said. 

Hedges is concerned that inflamed political tensions could cause problems on Election Day. Hedges, who will be working at the Manlius polling location, is familiar with the community that votes there, and she knows there’s political tension among some residents.

“I’m expecting there to be some confrontation — I don’t think an escalated confrontation, but I think emotions are running very high,” Hedges said. “I’m a little nervous about that.” 

Rising COVID-19 cases in Onondaga County, as well as higher than usual mail-in and early voting turnout, could reduce the number of voters poll workers see Tuesday. 

As of Sunday afternoon, nearly 3 million New York residents had already cast their ballots. About 2.5 million people voted early in person while almost 850,000 sent in their ballots by mail.

Of the 308,296 registered voters in Onondaga County, more than 111,000 voted ahead of Election Day by visiting polling centers in person or casting absentee ballots, according to the county’s board of elections.

Early voting for the general election started Oct. 24 and ran until Sunday. Residents who have not yet mailed their ballots can still drop them off at a polling place on Election Day.

Neary is expecting the area’s polling places to be busy this year. The county has implemented a variety of health protocols to ensure voters practice social distancing and remain safe while voting, he said. 

Masks will be mandatory inside polling places, and each site will have extras on hand to distribute as needed, Neary said. Markers on the floor will indicate where voters can stand, and workers will sanitize pens and areas where voters fill out their ballots regularly. 

“We are always mindful of the fact that voters aren’t allowed to just mill about in the voting place — it’s come in, vote, leave — but we’re going to be a little more vigilant about that this year,” Neary said. 

Gallagher and Hedges encouraged students to consider applying to work at the polls in future elections. As long as students are 18 or older and registered to vote in the county, they can apply to be a poll worker. 

“I feel even more invigorated by this process,” Hedges said. “I’ve got two young kids, and I want them to be civically minded as well, and I feel like I can teach them a little better about this process going through it.” 

Though the poll worker training sessions and tests were intense, the time commitment is fairly minimal, Hedges said. Election Day is long — workers must be at their assigned polling place ahead of their 6 a.m. opening and stay until their 9 p.m. closing — but otherwise, the job is simple and rewarding, she said. 

“It’s vital that we as a community come together in these things — that we don’t just rely on others to do these things,” Hedges said. “It’s up to us to make sure the democratic process happens the way that it’s supposed to and how it’s intended to.”