Politics

How to apply to be a poll worker in your county

By WSBTV.com News Staff
By WSBTV.com News Staff

The push is on before November’s election to get enough people to work the polls in Georgia.

During the primaries earlier this year, voters waited for hours to cast their ballots. A lot of the wait had to do with polling place problems and not enough poll workers.

[Full County-by-County List Below]

Governments across the country have been scrambling to find people to staff polling places for the presidential election this fall as the coronavirus sows doubt about how safe it will be to cast a ballot in person, thinning out an already scarce pool of workers.

Recruitment efforts are increasingly targeting younger people, who are less at risk of developing serious illness from the virus, as officials and advocates aim strategies toward professional associations, students and sports teams to make sure election sites stay open.

Georgia Election Resources

Experts say finding enough poll workers is always difficult, even when there isn’t a pandemic killing thousands of people, forcing widespread shutdowns and spawning a series of evolving safety rules. Normally, long hours, low pay and high stress might keep people away. Now add face shields, protective barriers and fears of getting sick.

More than two-thirds of poll workers are over age 61, putting them at higher risk of COVID-19. Scores of workers dropped out during this year’s primary season, taking with them decades of experience as the pandemic stifled efforts to train replacements.

As the election approaches, counties across north Georgia are looking for poll workers to help make the process run more smoothly in November.

Here’s how you can apply to be a poll worker in your county:

Statewide - Click here

Banks County – No poll workers needed

Barrow County - Click here

Bartow County - Click here

Carroll County - Click here

Chattooga County - Contact Teresa Pope at the Chattooga County Probate Judges office at 706-857-0709

Cherokee County - Click here

Clarke County - Click here

Clayton County - Click here

Cobb County - Click here

Coweta County – No poll workers needed

Dawson County – Contact your local elections office at 706-344-3640

DeKalb County – Click here

Douglas County – Click here

Fannin County – Contact the Board of Elections at 706-632-7740 for an application

Fayette County - Click here

Floyd County - Click here

Forsyth County - Click here

Fulton County - Click here

Gilmer County – No poll workers needed

Gordon County – Contact your elections office at (706) 629-7781

Greene County – Contact your elections office at 706-453-1108

Gwinnett County - Click here

Habersham County - Click here

Hall County - Click here

Haralson County - Click here

Heard County - Click here

Henry County - Click here

Jackson County - Click here

Jasper County – Contact your local elections office at 706–468-4908

Lamar County – Contact your local elections office at 770-358-5235

Lumpkin County – Contact your local elections office at 706-864-6279

Madison County - Click here

Meriwether County - Contact your local elections office at 706-672-1314

Morgan County - Click here

Newton County - Click here

Oglethorpe County - Click here

Paulding County – Click here

Pickens County – No poll workers needed

Pike County – Register through the state website

Polk County – Register through the state website

Putnam County – No poll workers needed

Rabun County – Click here

Rockdale County - Click here

Spalding County – Click here

Towns County – Contact your local elections office at 706-896-4353

Troup County – Contact your local elections office at 706-883-1610

Union County – Contact your local elections office at 706-439-6016

Walton County – Contact your local elections office at 770-267-1337

White County – No poll workers needed

Volunteer to be a poll worker in your county Many counties are in need of poll workers for the 2020 Election.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Cox Media Group

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