Nebraska uses a unique method to find election workers: they make up

OMAHA, Neb. — Americans are being urged to do their duty and vote on Election Day. But in Nebraska, some residents have to go a step further: they’re being asked to help run the election.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Nebraska is the only state in the U.S. that requires mandatory elections for the hiring of poll workers, election office assistants and ballot distribution. Anyone who ignores a summons can be charged with a misdemeanor and fined up to $100.

Twenty years ago, Dawn O’Brien was busy teaching and taking her children to school and practice when she received a letter saying she had been chosen to run. At that time, she had lived in Omaha for about 25 years and had never heard of mandatory elections.

“I was surprised,” she recalled. “I remember thinking, ‘Boy, how am I going to juggle this?’

But like many Nebraskans who were drafted, O’Brien gained a new appreciation for public service. Now she works as a volunteer in most elections.

“I just learned a lot about what it takes to have a free, fair election,” she said. “To do it and to do it right is a huge effort.”

So far, only Douglas and Sarpy counties — some of the most populous counties in the Omaha metro area — use the draft. That’s because with nearly 500,000 of the 1.25 million registered voters in those two counties, they need thousands of workers to help out at hundreds of polling stations.

Finding all that help — especially at a time when election workers are facing threats and security concerns — can be a challenge, said Douglas County Board of Elections Commissioner Brian Kruse. For the upcoming election, Douglas will employ about 3,000 election workers, 45% of whom are drafted.

While other states rely on election officials to hire workers, and some turn to churches or community organizations to find volunteers, Nebraska’s system works much like jury duty: registered voters are chosen at random to work on Election Day . State law allows exceptions for people age 70 and older, people with documented health problems, or for other reasons deemed acceptable. It also allows those with young children to delay maintenance until the children are older.

The only other way to get out of election duty?

“You should remove yourself from the voter rolls,” Cruz said. “Most people don’t want to go down that road.”

Unlike jury duty, those selected for draft in Nebraska are not simply obligated to serve in the next election. They are on the hook for four elections.

Along with those who volunteer, pollsters are paid a minimum wage of $12 an hour. State law requires employers of draftees to provide paid leave for duty, although employers may deduct elective work pay from paid leave.

Power the Polls, a national initiative launched in 2020 to hire election workers, is following Nebraska’s approach, which has been in place since at least the 1950s.

Martha Hanson, Power the Polls national program manager, said the project was an innovative way to ensure diversity among poll workers and recruit younger workers in a region dominated by over-60s.

“One of the biggest requests we’re hearing from election administrators across the country is for tech-savvy poll workers who are comfortable using an iPad or tablet when updating election-related technology across the country,” said Hanson.

If she hadn’t been drafted, O’Brien said she probably never would have considered volunteering.

“It wouldn’t have even crossed my mind,” O’Brien said. – It really gives me a sense of pride when I know that I am helping to promote democracy. There are many people in other parts of the world who are likely to be delighted with their right to vote.”