Election Director Conway Belangia expects to have 150 polling places open for voting. As with every election there will be some changes, so it’s important to check your polling place. Don’t assume you are voting as the same place as last time.

A key factor in how long the lines and the waits may be at each location are the number of poll workers. Belangia says he would like to have 2000 poll workers optimally; he’d be comfortable with 1600; he can squeak by with 1250.

This is where you come in. There are several roles where your help is going to be needed.

• The county needs poll workers. This is a long-day and requires a three-hour training class. You do get paid ($135 total), and you are doing your civic duty. Those who routinely sign on as poll workers say it is very rewarding. The county would like to get more younger people to sign on. So if your work schedule is flexible, or you are not currently working, consider helping us fill this need. Belangia will be conducting 170 (no that’s not a typo) training sessions from Sept. 8 through Oct. 24.
• The GCDP needs poll watchers. Poll watchers represent the party and are at polling places to observe the election. You are the party’s eyes and ears: machines break down, lines are around the corner, people are turned away, voter suppression activities going on outside the polling place. These are things we want to know about. Poll watchers must be certified by the party. In some cases, we may be able to schedule you for a half day, instead of the 6 am to 8 pm shift the poll workers sign up for.
• We also need volunteers to sign up as drivers to be on call to drive voters to the polls. Our hope is that we have enough drivers to try an assign you rides closer to your home. And we’ll need runners to deliver snacks and water to polling places and also to collect any information necessary to bring back to the party’s “boiler room.”

If you can volunteer any of these roles, click on the image above to complete this quick form. If you select poll worker, the information you provide will be forwarded to the county Election Office.