Help America Vote in 2024 by signing up to be a poll worker through the UCC

Jan. 30 is Help America Vote Day, and the United Church of Christ is marking this observance with a continued call for poll workers in this important election year. 

The Our Faith Our Vote campaign — an initiative of the UCC’s Office of Public Policy and Advocacy in Washington, D.C. — formed a partnership in 2022 with Power the Polls, a nonpartisan organization launched in 2020 to address a nationwide poll worker shortage. Power the Polls began as a coalition of businesses and nonprofits with the goal of recruiting 250,000 new poll workers to fill the gaps; in less than 100 days, they recruited over 700,000. 

As the UCC’s nonpartisan election engagement campaign, Our Faith Our Vote offers resources for voter registration, issue education, voter mobilization and more. Since the partnership began, many UCC members have signed up to be poll workers through the UCC’s link with Power the Polls.  

Organizers are hoping to engage even more poll volunteers for 2024, due to the increased turnout for presidential elections. 

Why poll workers?  

Primary elections have already begun, and states are looking to find and train poll workers. Recognizing that reality, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission designated Jan. 30 this year as Help America Vote Day. It’s a day where many nonpartisan election engagement organizations ask citizens to encourage friends, family members, congregations and communities to be engaged in elections and vote. 

Becoming a poll worker is one of the most important ways to engage in the election process. 

“Poll workers keep polling places open on election day and for early voting, they enable the nonpartisan process of our democracy, they help prevent long lines at the polls, they can provide voters with information in their native language, and they help make each voter’s experience an empowering one,” said Jessica Quinn, who has spearheaded the UCC’s Our Faith Our Vote campaign. 

According to Power the Polls, in a general election year, it takes an average of one million poll workers to power an election. 

Sign up today

Different states have different requirements for eligibility, but a few common ones are that poll workers must be: 

• A resident of the state/county the poll location is in; 
• A registered voter in that state/county; 
• 18 years of age or older (in some states, poll workers can be as young as 16). 

“Our faith teaches us that every voice has value and deserves to be heard,” Quinn said. “By volunteering as a poll worker, you can have direct impact on ensuring that all who show up to cast their vote may feel empowered and positive doing so.” 

Through Power the Polls, UCC members can sign up to be a poll worker here.

---

Content on ucc.org is copyrighted by the National Setting of the United Church of Christ and may be only shared according to the guidelines outlined here.