With the General Election on November 5, the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder's Office is searching for more people to work at the polls.
“One of the biggest reasons why we want to have people become poll workers or 'Adopt a Poll' is I need them to see it's not just sitting at a table for hours and hours and waiting for a voter," Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano explained.
Sally Ellis with the Central Coast Women’s League has been a part of the Adopt-a-Poll program since 2012, which has completely changed her outlook on what it’s like to engage in-person with the voting process.
“It stirs your patriotic springs that you didn't even know you had,” she said.
The Adopt-a-Poll program is a way to have organizations in the community provide poll workers for the county while receiving funding for their own causes.
“It's made good money for our organization," Ellis said. "The other thing is, it's really been a uniting activity for the members in our organization to do it together as a group.”
With just over 400 individual poll worker applications already on hand and between 18-20 Adopt-a-Poll groups signed up, Cano believes it’s because of momentum with political engagement.
“We've definitely seen an uptick in applications from the March primary 'til now,” Cano said.
While Cano says that since 2020, voting at polling places has decreased each year due to the rise in mail-in ballots, for Ellis, it’s rewarding work that everyone should try.
“I think every citizen should try it at least once. You just don’t think about it,” Ellis said.
The SLO County Clerk-Recorder's Office has three things to keep in mind if you're interested in working the elections:
- Apply now at slovote.com/pollworkers
- Attend a training session in late October
- Work a full or half-day shift on November 5
