Pittsburgh-area poll workers needed for April presidential primary
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Pennsylvania's April primary is approaching, and election officials worry the contentious 2020 vote has turned people off to working the primary.
The presidential primary is fast approaching and Pennsylvania lacks experienced election officials and poll workers to make the voting process run smoothly.
"Even in York County, the eighth- or ninth-largest county in the Commonwealth, we still needed over 1,000 poll workers just to handle the number of precincts in York County," said Steve Ulrich, former York County director of elections.
The Pennsylvania Department of State reports about 70 election officials who worked during the 2020 election have left because of the high-stress and polarizing environment.
Ulrich knows this too well.
"We're having our integrity questioned, we're being challenged on our expertise, and then when you hear, never happened to me in York County, but in other counties, we've heard of officials that have been personally threatened," he said. "You have to ask yourself at some point is this worth it?"
Ulrich says there's a need for more training resources and universal practices for poll worker training and election equipment testing, but not many people are stepping up for the tasks.
"Now all of a sudden for the last two to three years, those same neighbors that I live with are hearing the fact that the work that they are doing for their neighborhood is being challenged," Ulrich said. "They haven't been threatened, but their integrity is being questioned as well. If they step aside, there are not a lot of younger people who want to step in."
Ulrich said trust in the voting system begins at the top.
"It really comes down to our leaders," he said. "Being able to look into the cameras and say to their constituents, 'This election was run fairly, securely and safely, and we can trust the results.'"
The need for more poll workers and people willing to be trained to handle all aspects of elections is essential to prepare for what is ahead.