(The Center Square) – The U.S. faces a national poll worker shortage due mainly to issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, but veterans could volunteer and fill in where necessary, an advocacy group says.
In a 2020 survey by the Election Assitance Commission, “jurisdictions reported that the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult to retain long-time, older poll workers and caused last-minute poll worker shortages.”
Military veterans could potentially solve the problem if more volunteered to help facilitate the voting process, Darrell Owens, director of government relations at America’s Warrior Partnership, said. However, military volunteer numbers and voter turnout has remained low due to complications arising from training.
“The DOD has very strict rules about how military members can participate in elections going forward,” Owens said
According to the Federal Voting Assitance program, after adjusting for demographic differences between members of the military and civilians, “the registration rate for military members on active duty was 14 percentage points lower than the general population.”
Owens recommends a two-fold solution to alleviate this issue, informing veterans about the problem and telling them that volunteering is part of their civic duty.
“I think it’s awareness one, that there’s a problem, and that two, veterans are not breaking any rules by getting in the political process now,” Owens said.
Owens adds that many veterans have been seeking help to learn more about how to volunteer, illustrating their desire to give back to the community but not knowing how.
“One of the biggest things veterans have reached out for help with is volunteer work,” he said.
