Monadnock Ledger transcript – Cities make sure they have enough poll workers

There are just over 5,000 registered voters in the Peterborough constituency. Rarely do more than 3,500 of them actually turn out to vote.

Still, City Clerk Linda Guyette and moderator Phil Runyon are focused on making sure polling places are staffed and ready to go when election season begins. There's no shortage of poll workers, Runyon said, because people are often willing to help – especially in a year like this.

“Everyone comes out of their holes for these big elections,” Guyette said.

Cities like Peterborough — and many other New Hampshire towns — are bucking the nationwide trend of poll worker shortages. More than 775,000 people worked polling places nationwide in the 2020 election, but nationwide that number would need to be closer to 1 million, said Marta Hanson of Power the Polls, which helps recruit poll workers, in a report obtained by The 19th. Officials in New Hampshire, however, say the state is on track to adequately staff its polling places.

Town moderators and clerks from communities around the Monadnock region say their recruitment is comparable to previous years and meets their needs.

Peterborough has eight volunteer poll workers — four on duty at any given time — as well as reception staff and the elected positions of checklist supervisors, aldermen, Runyon and Guyette. There is also someone who mans the door and helps make sure people have all the necessary paperwork to register and vote.

Political parties also appoint election inspectors to oversee the process on their behalf. Chris Ager, chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, said the party has appointed about 250 people as inspectors statewide, but did not provide specific numbers for individual cities. The New Hampshire Democratic Party did not respond to The Ledger-Transcript's request for comment.

Antrim has four volunteer check-in workers in addition to the elected and permanent positions. Rindge has four poll workers, four people to hand out ballots, and at least one receptionist.

“People here are really willing to volunteer,” said Shana Eichner, Rindge’s town clerk.

New Ipswich has an exception this year. It is short about a dozen volunteers for the Sept. 10 primary, said moderator Bob Romeril, mostly due to scheduling conflicts. The town currently has about eight to 10 volunteers, but several of New Ipswich's usual poll workers either will not be in town or will not be able to make it.

“We go out and shake off some of the weeds,” Romeril said.

Romeril will have to deal with some updated laws next year, including one that allows people to vote by mail before the election if dangerous weather conditions are expected on Election Day and one that requires all polling places to install voting machines that assist people with vision or hearing problems. For now, though, Romeril is focused on getting through 2024.

“I just expect November to be a really busy month,” Romeril said.

Although most Monadnock communities report they are on track to staff polling places in the fall, Secretary of State David Scanlan said he doesn't have numbers on whether New Hampshire is tight overall because elections are largely run by local officials. In total, he estimates there are about 3,000 local election officials elected to serve as moderators, checklist supervisors and in other roles. The state needs twice that number, augmented by volunteers, to actually run operations.

Scanlan's office is running several recruitment initiatives, asking for help from service organizations, seniors and veterans. New Hampshire is working with an organization called Vet the Vote and encouraging veterans to staff polling places as another way to serve their country. Plus, he said, veterans are highly respected in their communities and can be “a great example” of civic duty.

Overall, he said, most municipalities have no problems finding the necessary staff to conduct the elections.

“Occasionally there are areas or individual cities that have difficulty finding poll workers,” Scanlan said. “When that happens, there is an extra effort put in that particular area to make sure they have the help and staff they need to conduct an election.”

Scanlan attributed the nationwide shortage of poll workers to increased vigilance and tension in the election environment, especially since the 2020 presidential election.

“The people responsible for running the election are under a lot of scrutiny,” Scanlan said. “It adds extra stress and extra pressure, and there are a lot of people who just don't want to be in that situation and so they'll refuse to work the election next time.”

Charlotte Matherly is the State House reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly or email her at [email protected].