Poll worker shortages are threatening the 2020 elections

Ames Tribune | LA Times, Maya Patel:

While the need for younger poll workers is greater during a pandemic, it is also a need that will exist long-term. After all, representation matters. Poll workers are the gatekeepers standing between a person and the ballot box. When we have poll workers who are representative of the community they serve, they are more likely to understand the unique situations and barriers that voters from that community face.

Those of us who have the privilege of time and are at a lower risk of contracting COVID-19 can ensure that polling locations stay open in at-risk communities by working the polls this November. As young people, we have power to influence the future, both at the ballot box and outside of it. Part of that means taking control and harnessing that power, as we’ve seen young people do time and time again.

Maya Patel is a voting rights activist and the Texas state coordinator at Campus Vote Project. Twitter: @maya_m_patel.

Read the full article here.