Poll workers: The face of elections

In 2024, we conducted a research project to learn more about poll workers across the country. Specifically, we wanted to understand the relationship poll workers have with each other and with voters. Our small but mighty team of civic designers across the United States served as poll workers for the 2024 General Election as part of this ethnographic participant observation research study.

Our observations highlighted how poll workers humanize and personalize the election process, creating a culture that shapes the voting experience. Election are often the single touchpoint that connects voters to our electoral democracy, with poll workers being the “face of elections.”

Center for Civic Design Research Report - Updates from the front line of civic design research

Poll workers: The face of elections

Download Report

Key findings

Our insights from this research are organized into 3 broad themes:

Fostering community and making connections

Poll workers humanize the polling place by building community around them.

  • Poll workers reflect the local community and the polling place. They reflect the surrounding community at the polling place.
  • Polling places are rooted in their local communities. They have strong connections to the neighborhood’s culture and context.
  • Poll workers create a culture of community at the polling place. They humanize and personalize the election process, creating a positive and supportive culture for voters in the polling place.

Navigating policies to make decisions

Poll workers apply policy on paper to real-world settings, meeting voter needs and ensuring ballots are cast. 

Poll workers follow both formal and informal hierarchies.

While there is a traditional top-down organizational structure where the decision-making power rests at the top, poll workers operate within a model of mutual dependency. In practice, they gravitate towards “peer-to-peer” support, relying heavily on each other for immediate tasks and decision-making. This system of mutual support is crucial for healthy team function and the smooth operation of polling places.

Facilitating the voting process behind the scenes

Poll workers help bring the polling place to life, facilitating the voting process. They guide voters through the procedures, troubleshoot issues that arise, and ensure that every voter can navigate the process easily. Sometimes they even create a delightful experience along the way. They are the difference between voters having the right to vote and actual access to vote.

A few ways poll workers do this:

  • Poll workers facilitate the voting process for people with disabilities.
  • Bilingual poll workers support language access beyond interpretation.
  • Poll workers mitigate equipment issues to ensure every voter can access the voting process.

About the research

This research was conducted by Andrea Miranda Salas, Fernando Sánchez and Misty Crooks.

Our team of 11 civic designers participated in the ethnographic research across 5 states:

  • 7 team members were based in large and diverse cities such as Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago
  • 2 members lived in medium-sized — Montgomery County, Maryland and Sacramento, California
  • 3 members were located in smaller jurisdictions — Baltimore City, Maryland, St. Louis City County, Missouri, and Onondaga County, New York

Related resources

Visit our page on poll workers + polling places to find more resources for supporting poll workers.