People who staff and operate polling places. Duties of poll workers include setting up the polling place, including placing voting equipment in operation; checking in voters; maintaining order in the polling place, including maintaining strict custody of election materials such as ballots and equipment; recording and reporting election results; and in some cases transporting ballots and voting system media (such as memory cards) to the jurisdiction's central election office. Poll workers typically are not full-time employees of a jurisdiction's election authority, and usually serve as temporary employees or, in some cases, as volunteers. (Depending on the jurisdiction, a poll worker may be called an election judge, a clerk, an election inspector or other similar title.)
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People who staff and operate polling places. Duties of poll workers include setting up the polling place, including placing voting equipment in operation; checking in voters; maintaining order in the polling place, including maintaining strict custody of election materials such as ballots and equipment; recording and reporting election results; and in some cases transporting ballots and voting system media (such as memory cards) to the jurisdiction's central election office. Poll workers typically are not full-time employees of a jurisdiction's election authority, and usually serve as temporary employees or, in some cases, as volunteers. (Depending on the jurisdiction, a poll worker may be called an election judge, a clerk, an election inspector or other similar title.)
Cite this term
Election Security Glossary. (2026). Poll Workers. In Election Security Glossary. Retrieved August 20, 2026, from https://electionsecurityglossary.com/glossary/poll-workers
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