Submitted information: 
Long before the first ballot is cast in November, elections in Georgia are already underway, in county offices where election directors and their staffs are checking voter rolls, planning polling places, and preparing to train the thousands of poll workers who will greet voters this fall. This week, the League of Women Voters of Georgia’s “How Georgia Votes” series introduces the people behind the process.
Each of Georgia’s 159 counties runs its own elections under state law, led by a county election director or board of elections and staffed by professionals who do this work year-round. The poll workers who check voters in, answer questions, and keep lines moving are hired from the community they serve. They are retired teachers, small business owners, college students, and church volunteers. They are your neighbors. Before they ever touch a poll pad, every one of them completes training required by state law and takes an oath to conduct the election honestly and impartially.
“The person who checks you in at your polling place probably shops at your grocery store,” said Jackie Killings, President of the League of Women Voters of Georgia. “Georgia’s elections aren’t run from some distant office. They are run at folding tables in school gyms and community centers in Augusta, Moultrie, Dahlonega, and every place in between, by trained and sworn members of your own community. Knowing who these people are is one of the best reasons to trust the process they run.”
Counties across Georgia are recruiting poll workers now for the November 3 general election. Poll workers are paid for training and for each day worked, and no prior experience is required — just eligibility to work in the county and a willingness to serve. Georgians interested in seeing an election from the inside can contact their county election office or visit the Secretary of State’s website to apply.
Next week in the series: the paper trail, how every Georgia ballot produces a paper record, and how voters can follow their own ballot through the process.
About the League of Women Voters of Georgia
The League of Women Voters of Georgia is a nonpartisan organization that encourages informed and active participation in government. The League never supports or opposes candidates or political parties. Through roughly fifteen local Leagues across the state, volunteers register voters, host candidate forums, and provide trusted election information through Vote411.org.
Learn more about the League of Women Voters of Georgia at lwvga.org. To see information about activities of the local League of Women Voters of Marietta-Cobb County, along with Cobb-specific voting and elections information, visit lwvmariettacobbga.com.
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