With 20 days until the election, more than 27,000 Ohioans have signed up to serve as a poll worker on November 2nd. This includes 12,456 Democratic poll workers and 11,592 Republicans. Yet only four of the 88 counties have met their recruitment goal for the November election. A review of all county data shows Ohio remains 17,393 poll workers short of the goal of recruiting 42,204 poll workers. 

Last year during the height of the pandemic, 56,789 Ohioans stepped up to set a record and exceed the lofty goal of 55,000 poll workers, or 150% of the minimum number needed to staff all polling locations. This year, the goal is 125% of the minimum poll workers needed as fewer potential shortages are predicted. 

Now with less than three weeks left until the election, able Ohioans are again being asked to undergo training and give a day for democracy. The greatest need is in the most populous counties, with Franklin, Cuyahoga, and Hamilton County still needing thousands of poll workers to meet their goal, while 30 other counties remain in need of hundreds.

“Last year Ohioans stepped up in record numbers to serve as poll workers, showing the world the patriotism and can-do sense of public service our state has always exemplified,” said LaRose. “As this year’s important November election approaches, we’re still a long way away from ensuring a full complement of poll workers to staff our thousands of polling locations across the state. If you volunteered to serve as a poll worker last year or have ever wondered what it’s like to serve your community and perform an important patriotic duty in a time of need, Ohio voters need you.”

Poll worker data by the numbers:

• Goal for Committed and Trained Poll Workers: 42,204
• Minimum Number of Poll Workers Required to Staff All Locations: 33,712
• Current Number of Committed Poll Workers: 27,063
• Number of Poll Workers Needed in Counties That Haven’t Met Goal: 17,393

Poll worker collaborations include:

Give a Day for Democracy

• The Ohio Secretary of State has partnered with businesses across Ohio to offer employees the day off to be poll workers. Secretary LaRose announced this initiative last year and many businesses, non-profits and public-sector entities around Ohio are continuing this effort.

Professionals Earning Education Credit to Serve

• Lawyers for Liberty -- Attorneys will again receive required continuing legal education credits for being a poll worker this year. Click here to read more. 

Styling for Democracy. NOW VOTE!

• A partnership with over 100 barbershops, salons, and the schools that feed into them to recruit more poll workers.

Second Call to Duty

• This initiative is asking veterans who took an oath to defend their country to defend democracy on November 2nd.

Work the Day, Share Your Pay

• Poll workers can donate their earnings to a nonprofit or charity of their choice.

Youth at the Booth

• In Ohio, 17-year-old high school seniors can serve as poll workers. This is a great way to engage high school students in the voting process.

• The minimum number of poll workers required to run an election in the respective county, by total and by Party.
• The goal number of poll worker commitments counties should target in order to compensate for any cancellations.
• Remaining number of poll workers needed for each county to reach their goal.

In accordance with state law, the board of elections, by a majority vote, appoints four electors for each precinct who are residents of the county in which the precinct is located to serve as poll workers. Not more than one-half of the total number of poll workers assigned to a precinct may be members of the same political Party. Ohioans who are neither a Republican nor Democrat may also serve as poll workers. Those individuals appear in the poll worker tracker in the “other” category.

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