Press release · August 11, 2020
Voter Protection Corps and Carnegie Mellon University Announce New Tool to Identify Counties at Risk for Poll Worker Shortages
A risk assessment tool built on public election data to show which counties in eight key states needed the most help recruiting poll workers.
Risk Assessment Tool uses historical data to identify areas of concern for 2020 election
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Voter Protection Corps and Carnegie Mellon University announced the launch of a new tool to identify counties at risk for voting challenges and the possibility of voter disenfranchisement due to vast poll worker recruitment shortfalls.
The tool uses public data, such as the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s Election Administration and Voting Survey data, to analyze which counties in eight key states (Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin) will need the most support in recruiting poll workers to ensure the right to vote.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has created very real issues in primary elections across the United States, including challenges to recruiting and retaining poll workers,” said Quentin Palfrey, Chair of the Voter Protection Corps. “This tool will help leaders target support to areas that need it most, so that polling locations are adequately staffed and voters can safely vote in person on Election Day.”
“We developed this tool to help prioritize voter protection efforts through a data-driven approach,” said Rayid Ghani, professor at Carnegie Mellon University and Voter Protection Corps’ chief data scientist. “It identifies supply and demand gaps in voting resources and highlights concrete actions that leaders should take, such as to begin recruiting poll workers ‘immediately’.
An earlier analysis done by the Voter Protection Corps showed clear challenges that Palfrey said must be addressed immediately to protect the vote this fall.
The analysis conducted using the tool, identified 22 counties in Ohio that were high urgency for poll worker recruitment. These counties exhibited high risk related to multiple metrics, including county-level survey data on poll worker recruiting difficulty and the number of poll workers that showed up on Election Day in 2016 and 2018. When examining all eight key states, 24% of counties received high scores, indicating that they may need to begin recruiting immediately.
Poll workers play a critical role in local, state and federal elections. Polling locations need high-quality poll workers to ensure the in-person voting process operates safely and efficiently, affords voters the extent of their rights, minimizes wait times, and reduces errors that can hamper voting.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the difficulties typically associated with poll worker recruitment. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission reported in 2017 that most jurisdictions struggled to recruit poll workers and the majority were over the age of 60, a vulnerable population that will likely refrain from working the polls in November.
“This is a critical tool that folks can use to target their poll worker recruitment efforts, and can provide a variety of users with a flexible, interactive, and transparent view of U.S. voter data,” said Palfrey. “Hopefully, by identifying areas of need early, leaders can appropriately allocate resources and plan for and communicate with voters any necessary changes to in-person voting locations.”