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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Now that the conventions are over, here's a tip about voting, if you want a vote by mail, states have four different sets of rules. For those of you listening locally on WNYC, the three states in our listening area, in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, have three different sets of rules. If you live in New Jersey, the state is automatically sending mail-in ballots to every registered voter. You just need to fill out your ballot and mail it back. If you live in Connecticut, the state is automatically sending out applications for absentee ballots to every registered voter. You have to fill out the application and mail it back, and they'll mail you your actual mail-in ballot. In New York, everyone is allowed to vote by mail, but they're not sending anything automatically. You can go online and fill out an absentee ballot request or print out the application and mail it in, and they'll send you your absentee ballot. New York will start mailing ballots, I see, on September 18th. As soon as you get a ballot, you can vote and send it in. That means you can actually cast a ballot by mail less than three weeks from today. That's New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. If you're hearing this on our national politics podcast, and if you don't know about it, you can sign-up for it or tell people around the country to sign-up for Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast, various states around the country are in those three categories. Check your local listings. Notably, many of the swing states are, but the fourth category that we haven't mentioned yet is the most restrictive, and no surprise that these are mostly in southern states and in Mike Pence's Indiana. In those states, you have to apply for an absentee ballot, not just request one. In order to be approved, you need a valid reason other than COVID-19. I can hardly believe this exists, but according to the website, FiveThirtyEight, which has a very good graphic showing all the states, a number of southern states plus Indiana require a reason other than COVID-19 that they considered valid. We'll do more on this as the voting season goes along, but there are some basics of how to vote by mail. This may not be on your calendar but tomorrow, September 1st, can you believe it, is National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, needed this year because poll workers have often been retirees, something like 60% or typically over the age of 60 and a quarter of them over 70. By virtue of their age, they were among those most vulnerable to COVID-19 and are likely to opt out in disproportionate numbers. That's why Common Cause New York is leading an effort, not just to recruit poll workers but to recruit younger poll workers. To talk about this, I'm joined by Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, and Brianna Cea, senior research and program associate at the Brennan Center and CEO and co-founder of Generation Vote, focused on getting more young people involved in electoral politics. Welcome back, Susan Lerner, and welcome, Brianna Cea.

Susan Lerner: Hello, Brian.

Brianna Cea: Hey, Brian. Thanks for having us.

Brian: Listeners, are you already signed up to be a poll watcher? If you've done it before but are sitting it out this time, maybe you want to call in and convince someone else to do it, say why it's a rewarding experience, or if you have a question for our guests, call 646-435-7280, 646-435-7280. Remind us, Susan, what exactly does a poll worker do?

Susan: Poll worker is the person who interacts with the voter, checks them in, verifies if they're eligible to vote, gives them their ballot, and if they need assistance, helps them, and ensures that they put the ballot into the scanner here in New York and in most other States. They're the backbone of our election operation. It's really extraordinary that we rely on, in essence, volunteers. They're every day Americans, who get paid, not a huge amount, but they are paid to devote Election Day and sometimes weeks beforehand for early voting to run our elections. Here in New York City, the Board of Elections has to recruit, train, and deploy over 30,000 people to be poll workers. The Marines would have a hard time with this. We definitely need the next generation to step up during this pandemic and help populate this army that helps voters vote.

Brian: Brianna, do poll workers get paid?

Brianna: Yes, poll workers do get paid in many jurisdictions. It's super important for folks who are interested in getting involved as an election worker to look up the eligibility requirements and see if you can get compensated as a poll worker. If you are in New York, for example, and you sign up to be a poll worker, you can get compensated for your time and have fun as well. [chuckles]

Susan: It's hundreds of dollars that you get for working on Election Day. I like to say that if you don't like the way elections are run in our country, then, march to the polls, be a poll worker, and get paid to change our elections for the better from inside.

Brianna: Absolutely.

Brian: Do we know, Susan, if there was a shortage of poll workers for the primary election in New York, June 23rd, obviously, the pandemic was already in full swing?

Susan: Well, thank goodness we didn't have the shortage that we saw in states like Wisconsin and in Michigan, where you had cities that previously had 555 polling places and because of the shortage of poll workers due to the pandemic, went down to five polling places. We did definitely have a decrease in the number of people who were willing to work as poll workers. I personally know, at least, three individuals who've worked as poll workers in the past that said, "No, not during the pandemic, not doing that." We always need poll workers, but particularly, now. We also need to train the next generation of poll workers who are more tech savvy than the lovely 70 and 80-year-olds who traditionally have worked the polls.

Brian: Yes. Brianna, maybe this is a sneaky plot to make sure there are poll workers available for the next 50 or 60 years by getting 20-year-olds to start now. How old do you have to be?

Brianna: Yes. I believe in New York, for example, if you are 17 years old, as young as that, you may be eligible if your school district participates in a program. Just double check to see, with your principal, for example, if you are able to work with your local Board of Elections, and also, if you are a New York State registered voter as well. We have folks who are as young as 17 years old work as poll workers in New York. If you are outside of New York, definitely, again, check to see what the age requirements are. In some states, they are as low as 16 years old. Each state is different. It's important for you to work with your school administrators to see if there's any programs in place to train young people as poll workers if it is your first time getting involved in this process.

Brian: Let's take a phone call. Gregory in Harlem, you're on WNYC. Hi, Gregory.

Gregory: Good morning, Brian. Always love your show, buddy.

Brian: Thank you.

Gregory: Listen, I am an accessibility clerk. I have worked for several past elections. I am over 65.

Brian: Are you going back?

Gregory: Here in Harlem, there's quite a need for a person like myself who is-- They love me. All my voters, whenever they see me, I'm the guy in the bow tie, and I help them with them with their wheelchairs. Aside from signing people in and all of that, getting people to the polls from the street is a necessity here, where so many people are on walkers and canes and wheelchairs and making sure that they are welcomed to vote every single time they come in.

Brian: That's beautiful. Is that another job title, accessibility clerk? Is that what you said?

Gregory: Yes, that is actually an actual job title. As a matter of fact, I'm waiting for a call or a postcard to tell me that because every year or so you have to be reassessed and do training, and that training should be coming up in the next week or so again. I'm not sure. I hadn't had the add-on training in a year and a half so I'm sure it's time for me to have that again. I'm sure your guests will tell you that that is correct.

Brian: We learned last week that the postmaster general doesn't know the price of a postcard. I don't know if that postcard is coming. No, I'm kidding. [laughs] Gregory, despite your age, are you going back this year?

Gregory: Absolutely, yes. As I said, I'm waiting to find out when my training is going to be.

Brian: Right. I guess you're going back.

Gregory: I will be there with wigs on . I love it. I just adore it. Hey, listen, when I first volunteered, I didn't know I was going to get paid. That was a big surprise. I just wanted to volunteer.

Brian: Thank you for your service, and thank you for your call, Gregory. Michael in Midtown, you're on WNYC. Hi, Michael. Michael, is that you?

Michael in Midtown: Yes, it is me. Sorry.

Brian: No coughing on the radio.

Michael in Midtown: I'm 36. I'm probably the youngest poll worker every time I go. I've been doing it for the past two years. I'd like to encourage younger work the polls. I think it's really a rewarding experience. I also want to say that maybe officials can look into paying more. It is a couple hundred dollars, but it's a really long day. I look forward to being there.

Brian: Thank you very much. We're going to go right to another caller, Michael in Brightwaters, on Long Island, you're on WNYC. Hi, Michael.

Michael in Brightwaters: Hi, Brian, love your show. I just wanted to say I've worked for the Board of Elections since I was 18, since I was registered to vote. I'm 30 now. I've moved up the ranks from just a regular poll worker all the way up to assistant coordinator. What I just wanted to say is, I think a big reason why it's very difficult for the Board of Elections to get younger poll workers is because civics really isn't taught in today's society. In addition to that, it's hard to get young voters just to come to the polls to vote much less to actually work the polls on Election Day.

Brian: Michael, thank you very much. Brianna, you want to jump in maybe on that last comment? I'm curious how your group is going about trying to attract younger poll workers like the two in their 30s who we just heard from.

Brianna: That's a great question, Brian. At Generation Vote, we co-chair in the Let New York Vote, Youth Working Group. I work very closely with Susan and a wide coalition of youth-driven organizations to encourage young people to not only register to vote, get out to vote, but also, to protect our vote, and this year, in particular, to actually work as election workers. We have members of the Let New York Vote, Youth Working Group, and we'll be working with our allies to provide resources such as toolkits and sign-up form for students and educators to recruit young folks on their campuses and in their broader community. We are also working with the--

Susan: Oh, go ahead.

Brianna: We're also working with the Student Learn, Student Vote, Student Election Worker, Recruitment Working Group. If you are an educator listening in on this call and are interested in working directly with your students to get them powered up about working as election poll workers, you can check out the Student Learn, Student Vote partnership program with Power the Polls, which is an exciting initiative across the country to get over 250,000 Americans to sign up to be poll workers this year. Definitely, check it out, whether it be our resources at Generation Vote and Let New York Vote. I'll let Susan jump in as well, also, nationally, with the Student Learn, Student Vote, Power to the Polls initiative.

Brian: Susan, you want to add something?

Susan: I did. I was going to point out about Power to the Polls, but also, just to say the fact that we have National Poll Worker Recruitment Day tomorrow for the first time, with a big social media campaign, and coverage on shows like this, to really get the word out is super important. We need educators and we need colleges and universities to be passing the word to their students. They all have the email for every single student on their campus, and they could be sending out an email to recruit. They can be giving their students an excused absence to work the polls on Election Day. Finally, we here in New York convinced the legislature to pass statutes that allow poll workers to work partial days rather than the 18-hour, 16 to 18 hours, that's a full day encompasses. We'd like to see the Board of Elections take advantage of that because we think that will make it easier for young poll workers to be able to have the time to work at the polls if they're able to work a half-day or during the morning rush or the evening rush.

Brian: Also, on recruiting, I heard on NPR about an effort in Virginia to partner with law schools to recruit law students to be poll workers. That would seem like likely fertile ground. Brianna, anything like that going on around here?

Brianna: At our working group, we focus mostly on undergrad students, but this is definitely something that I would love to pitch in regards to see if we can get more graduate students or law school students. I'm not sure, Susan, you've started anything like that locally but--

Susan: I have actually. I've been in touch with law students at CUNY and at NYU.

Brianna: Awesome.

Susan: Basically, providing them with the information of how to apply to be a poll worker, providing them with the website that allows them to apply here in New York State, which is elections.ny.gov. That is the Board of Elections statewide website. If you go to that website, the first thing you see when you get there is apply to be a poll worker. This is going to make such a difference if we have active, engaged poll workers when voters are making their choice on how to vote, to know that early voting and Election Day are fully staffed with younger workers.

Brian: Stephanie in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. Hi, Stephanie.

Stephanie: Hi, Brian. Thanks for taking my call. I just wanted to share that I have signed up to be a poll worker for the first time this year, and it was really out of a result of everything that's going on in the world, between COVID and Black Lives Matter, and really wanting to step up and do something to ensure that everyone has the chance to vote and participate in the democratic process, as well as the local community. I'm excited to be showing up on Election Day.

Brian: Did you also have a sense that a lot of people who are older than you are probably stepping out this year?

Stephanie: Yes, absolutely. It was definitely fostered by the fact that I've heard that we're short on poll workers, and historically, going to vote, realizing that is definitely an older community that volunteers or signs up rather to participate to be poll workers. I've always been curious about what draws somebody to that, and this year, I felt drawn to it because of the knowledge of the lack of poll workers out there.

Brian: Stephanie, thank you so much. Jennifer in the East Village, you're on WNYC. Hi, Jennifer.

Jennifer: Hi, Brian. This is Jen Hoppe. I'm actually the Democratic District Leader for 66th Part A. That's basically the West Village into the East Village. I just wanted to back up everything that your guests are saying-- Hi, Susan. I know from our district, we have a desperate need. We only had filled about a third of our actual assigned duties for Election Day on primary day. There's a number of us who have been actively trying to recruit people. Part of this, as everyone's been saying, traditionally, the role has fallen to people who are retired or would normally have that day off, they skew older. Obviously, those people are also in the highest risk category at this point so a number of them don't feel comfortable. On top of that, this is such an important job to so many people because it's such a pillar of our democracy. What I saw in June is that a lot of people who probably would have said, "You know what, I would feel comfortable sitting this one out," showed up and went anyway, even though they were putting themselves at risk because they felt like it was a really important duty for them to do. I would just love to give them the opportunity to sit this next one out, feel more comfortable because I know that so many New Yorkers, given the chance, if they just knew about it, would step up. What I can add here is that if you're familiar with your district leader, your district leaders have the ability to be a liaison to the Board of Elections. They have the ability to place you within your districts, and how this makes a difference is that it's a very early day, you're expected to be there about 5:30 in the morning. If you're somewhere in your general neighborhood, it's probably a little bit easier than if, say, you live down here by us, in Manhattan, and then, you're assigned in Harlem and you have to add on the time of getting up there so early in the morning, and then, staying there so late at night. I would encourage people to reach out to their district leaders. I'm very, very happy for anyone who lives in the 66the Part A to come in through me, and I will be your liaison to the Board of Elections, and hopefully, get you at a site that has a real need.

Brian: Jennifer, so few people know how to contact the district leader or even really what a district leader is, how can somebody do that?

Jennifer: A lot of the clubs have sites. You can also-- I'm trying to think of other ways that people would know.

Brian: The clubs, you mean?

Brianna: I will go on your county party sites and your district leaders would all be listed there. In Manhattan, I know it's ManhattanDems, and obviously, this is broadcast everywhere in the boroughs, it's something similar, and then, outside, if you just do your county party. That's probably the easiest way.

Brian: Of course, you have Republican--

Susan: Of course, you have Republican district leaders as well.

Brian: Exactly, as we both started to say at the same time. Through whatever party is, you could do that. Jennifer, thank you for your call. This is WNYC-FM/HD and AM, New York. As I make us legal at the eyes of the FCC around the top of the hour, WNJT-FM 88.1, Trenton, WNJP 88.5, Sussex, WNJY 89.3, Netcong, and WNJO 90.3, Toms River. We are New York and New Jersey public radio. Just wrap us up-- Oh, you know what, let me take one more call because the advice that Ben in Park Slope is calling to ask for might help a lot of other people at the same time. Ben, you're on WNYC. Hi, there.

Ben: Hey, Brian, thanks so much for taking my call. I'm a longtime listener, first-time caller. I signed up a few weeks ago because of Power to the Polls. I got really excited, A, to be able to give back to my community, and, B, to have something to do on Election Day to distract me from anxiety. I've been logging on to the New York City Election Polls website, trying to find instructions for training, like learning what to do, and there seemed to be no options for training. I'm interested how this going to happen, how that would happen in a socially distanced way, how that would happen safely in the pandemic. I don't know if any of your guests would have that information.

Brian: Yes. Susan, could help him with that? Then, we're going to wrap it up.

Susan: Sure. It's my understanding that the Board of Elections has transitioned as so many of us have to providing online instruction. You should be hearing from them regarding the upcoming trainings, which are starting very shortly. You should be hearing directly from the board, and you can follow up by calling them directly. Thank you so much for volunteering. The fact that people like you are stepping up to be poll workers really helps voters make the choice that they now have in New York and other states of how to vote, whether they're going to vote in-person early, in-person on Election Day, or by absentee. As Brian said, as early as possible, vote your absentee ballot if that's how you choose to vote.

Brian: We will be doing more segments on how to vote and the mail-in ballot systems in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Brianna Cea, senior research and program associate at the Brennan Center and CEO and co-founder of Generation Vote, you want to tell people how to get in touch with your organization if you're hoping for that?

Brianna: Yes, no problem. Also, just to piggyback on what Susan was saying, I'm just so in awe of all the folks who called in today. Thank you so much to all the listeners, and if you are listening and you're a young person, I'm only 23 years old, and this is going to be my first time ever working as an election worker, so I'm super excited. Get your families involved if they are not at risk and want to make this a fun family activity. Thank you, everyone. You want to learn more about Generation Vote, you can check us out on social media, our Twitter handle, Instagram handle are GenVoteUS. We'll be having social media campaigns, online resources, and digital events to educate young people in New York, Florida, and beyond about how to get involved in the elections process, whether it be election protection efforts this fall, or working as an election worker, and of course, learning how to get out the vote. Thank you so much for having me, and thank you, Susan, for all the work that you're doing and all your leadership, always appreciate you too.

Brian: Thank you, Brianna, and Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, thank you too. Thanks again, both of you.

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