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There’s an idea making the rounds in Ohio and nether-parts of this great nation that proffers the concept of requiring all registered voters to be poll workers.  The idea came as part of a 2005 report of the Commission on Federal Election Reform following the 2004 election cycle and suggests using a system similar to calling people for jury duty.  Apparently Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner hinted that she is considering such a concept to improve the quality of election workers.

What an incredibly horrible idea.  The fact that no other state has incorporated this concept is indicative that it’s probably not the best way to improve the performance of those who work the polls.  It seems like it’s hard enough to get people to register to vote (those who choose not to register often cite the intrusive responsibility of jury duty as one reason for not joining the voter rolls), so why in the world would anyone want to make registering to vote more prohibitive?

Not only would drafting poll workers limit voter registration, it’s also likely to bring  unqualified, uncommitted, and uncaring people into the poll worker fold.  It’s bad enough now that we have poll workers who are challenged by the level of technology and responsibility that comes with this temporary job, but adding someone who doesn’t want to be there to the mix is a recipe for disaster.

I’ve said this before and I’ll keep saying it until somebody does something about it.  Make working the polls a part of a county employee’s job (and no, don’t pay them more money to do this like they did last year in Cuyahoga County).  It’s typical that little if any official county business gets done on Election Day (although our Board of Commissioners does meet on Tuesdays… did I say little business gets done?  you decide how that inference works) so why not take advantage of this work lull and get our money’s worth?  The added benefit of using county workers for the polls is the opportunity to provide ongoing training to these people and this way they’ll be better prepared for Election Day.  On top of all the quality benefits from this idea is the fact that we’ll be saving millions of dollars each year on temporary workers.

Drafting poll workers is a very bad idea.  Using current county employees to work the polls is an idea that we should seriously consider.