Santa Monica is once again short on poll workers
CITYWIDE As an historic presidential election quickly approaches, one that could draw more voters than in the past, the Los Angeles County Clerk is reporting a deficiency in Santa Monica poll workers.
The city known for its civically-engaged population is still 30 volunteers short of its target, following the trend of previous elections in which the seaside community has traditionally had trouble recruiting poll workers.
The County Clerk’s Office projects it will be able to recruit 25,000 volunteers for the November election, which would include the 60-100 needed to serve the 17 precincts in the city.
The volunteers, who can make anywhere from $80 to $105 depending on whether they take a training session, are needed to keep the polls running on election day, setting up early in the morning, signing in voters, and issuing and later collecting the ballots, according to the County Clerk’s Office. Poll workers typically spend about 15 hours on the job, starting at 6 a.m.
While time-consuming, the job does come with benefits, including serving the community and being part of the democratic process, a spokeswoman with the Clerk’s Office said.
The shortage in the city is a surprise to some, considering the large percentage of politically-active residents.
“It’s hard to believe with all the activist people, we can’t get people to volunteer at the polls, but this has been going on quite a long time,” Thea Brodkin, who does voter outreach for the local chapter of the League of Women Voters, said.
Brodkin said she isn’t sure why participation is low every year, but suspects it could have something to do with the hours and low pay.
“But there’s nothing that makes you feel better,” Brodkin said. “You know you’re doing the community a service if you run a good polling place.”
The league for the past few elections has sponsored a local polling place at the Salvation Army on Fourth Street, which is staffed by its members.
“We have found it to be a very rewarding experience,”Amy Bishop-Dunbar, the league president, said.
Among the volunteers is Charles Donaldson, a retired journalist and teacher who worked both the presidential and state primary elections this year.
The stipend that all league members make from election day are donated to the chapter.
Donaldson said he enjoys the human interaction, chatting with voters and observing their unique mannerisms.
“I find it to be fun,” he said. “It’s such an important job and people seem to appreciate that when they come into vote.”
The sentiment isn’t shared by all. Inez Yerrington volunteered at the presidential primary in February and found the experience to be so negative that she doesn’t plan to work at another poll.
She attributed the reason to the supervisor, who she said did a poor job of running the poll, forgetting supplies and not providing adequate training to the workers.
While her fellow volunteers were friendly, Yerrington said she doubts she’ll consider signing up again.
The county clerk expects the fall election will draw more voters than the previous ones, which could inflate the number of necessary poll workers.
Brodkin said there’s been a shortage of volunteers in Santa Monica since she started working at the Clerk’s Office about five years ago.
She added that more volunteers are needed in order to make sure the polling place runs smoothly, keeping the voters going through in a timely manner, issuing provisional ballots if necessary and perhaps most importantly, ensuring that everyone has access.
“You feel so good at the end of the day,” Brodkin, who has volunteered at 10 elections, said. “You’re exhausted and tired, but you really made democracy work.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 28, 2008. Read the original PDF.