On Nov. 5, approximately 45,000 poll workers will staff over 9,000 polling places across Pennsylvania, a role that is often thankless and dangerous. That will include Bucks County poll worker, writes Devi Lockwood for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Soon the spotlight will shine on those poll workers in Bucks County, an area deemed a must-win for both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Previously, poll workers did not fear for their safety. They performed an administrative job, not one on the front line of escalating political violence.
Sandra Kerr is one of roughly 2,100 poll workers in the county. She has been both a judge of elections and minority inspector since the 2020 primary.
“We lost a lot of poll workers, especially when COVID hit,” she said.
Many volunteers remain poll workers throughout their lives out of a sense of duty.
Still, there is a severe lack of knowledge about how elections work and what their duties are. The best way to correct that, said Kerr, is to sign up to work the polls.
“If only people would just spend a day in the life of a poll worker,” she said, “they would see the checks and balances that are in place.”
Read more about the spotlight on Bucks County poll workers in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
