As Kentuckians head to the polls, ready to fill out their ballots, there is a group instrumental in helping everything run smoothly: poll workers. Poll workers’ responsibilities include setting up polling locations, checking voters in, issuing ballots, and generally ensuring the voting process goes as planned. Being a poll worker is an incredibly important form of civic engagement that often gets overlooked among the flashier aspects of election season.

“It felt like Survivor,” Eva Atkinson, a poll worker in the Daviess County 2026 elections, laughed, explaining what she was told in her October training. “They said, ‘Make sure you bring something to eat, snacks, and your medication,’” all in preparation for the potential fifteen-hour day ahead.

She said poll workers were told to arrive at 4:30 AM on election day in order to start unlocking the machines at 5 AM, jump-starting a day of work that lasts late into the evening. 

Atkinson, who recently retired, said she has voted in every election since she was eighteen. “I don’t get a medal for that or anything,” she said, going on to describe herself as a “news junkie” who reads up to six papers a day to get a variety of perspectives on current political issues.

When she heard that there were requests for poll workers in the upcoming election, she thought, “This could be interesting.”

“I wanted to see for myself what the process actually was,” she said.

She walked through her training, describing how two workers — a registered Democrat and a registered Republican — will check the machines at the start of the day. Then, each pair is seated at a table to check people in. There, they will check IDs before giving the voter a paper ballot to fill out. Once the ballot is in the voter's hands, it will not be touched by another person; instead, it will be fed into a voting machine, scanned, and deposited into a locked box for storage. The only time the paper ballots are physically removed from the box is in the case of a recount. 

Some voters may be reassured by Atkinson’s confidence in Daviess County's election workers, especially in light of the Department of Justice’s recent deployment of 1,000 election monitors nationwide, an over 100% increase from the 2022 midterms. Historically, election monitors' roles have been to stop potential disenfranchisement and voter intimidation by encouraging transparency at polling locations; however, the move has caused growing concern among voting rights groups about election meddling at the federal level.

Though there have been no reports of intent to send election monitors to Daviess County, Jefferson and Fayette counties, home to Louisville and Lexington, respectively, have both received notice from the DOJ telling them to expect election monitors on November 3.

Kentucky law prohibits the monitors from entering polling locations. Joshua Douglas, a law professor at the University of Kentucky, recently wrote a commentary for the Kentucky Lantern, urging voters not to let the DOJ’s actions scare them away from voting. “There is no suggestion that they will try to enter polling places, and election officials will tell them they are not allowed if they try,” Douglas writes. He called the monitors' presence not “unprecedented” and cautions to avoid speculation about problems unlikely to occur.

The DOJ’s actions, coupled with rising concerns over voter fraud, make the current election season a tense time for many. Atkinson herself recalled how she felt during Watergate, saying she doesn’t want young people to be discouraged. 

“You have the power,” she said, recalling that she took her now-adult daughters with her to vote as soon as they could walk into the booth. “There’s a lot of you, and it really makes a difference.” 

For young people wanting to be civically engaged, being a poll worker is an often unconsidered option. The Center for Information & Research on Civic Engagement and Learning (CIRCLE) reported that being a poll worker can improve young people's trust and knowledge about elections, while also helping them make positive contributions to their communities. 74% of 18 to 34-year-olds from low-income backgrounds who were surveyed in 2018 said that poll workers don’t look like them, while 59% said they don’t think poll workers make an effort to ensure people like them can vote. An influx of younger poll workers from more diverse backgrounds could change that.

But how does someone become a poll worker? The process is actually fairly easy, according to the United States Election Assistance Commission. Typically, the only prerequisite to signing up is registering to vote in the next election, meaning people as young as seventeen (granted that they turn eighteen by election day) can get involved. Sign-up is online, and from there, the person would need to attend a 2-3 hour training to prepare for election day. On election day itself, poll workers need to be prepared to interact with and help voters for the majority of their time. At the end, poll workers receive a stipend for their time; in Daviess County, that amount is $175 (to check the guidelines for a specific state and county, visit the Election Assistance Commission website).

Poll workers are the unsung heroes of the election world. They are responsible for making sure elections run fairly and as intended. Especially amidst concerns over voter fraud and federal action, their role becomes even more important. Becoming a poll worker is a great way to be civically involved; not only is it a way to help the community, but it can also assuage fears in politically turbulent times and help create a more welcoming environment for voters.

As you head to the polls on election day, remember to thank your poll workers!