With less than two weeks until Election Day, Minnesota communities—for the most part—have enough elections workers.
Secretary of State Steve Simon said his office knows of a few smaller communities who still need some help, but he said those communities are doing what they can to recruit the help they need. He said anyone who is eligible can work in any community in the state—not just where they live.
“You can go anywhere and so once people understand that, it becomes more likely that those spots will be filled,” Simon said Tuesday. “They’re calling on folks in other townships or neighboring towns to help out and I think they’re going to get there.”
Simon said if the state can successfully pull off elections in the midst of a global pandemic—before vaccines were widely available—this year should be a lot easier for most municipalities.
“If we can get through 2020, we can get through just about anything,” he said. “2020 was a unique challenge getting poll workers. We need 30,000 people every year to step up and do that job. That was a tremendous challenge.”
He also said that elections work can be very rewarding and that’s one reason so many communities have large groups of elections workers who have served for decades.
“It’s an energizing day, despite the long hours,” said Simon. “It’s a great way to get an up-close look at the mechanics of democracy and how our system works and what makes it secure.”
