Iowa Secretary’s poll worker recruiting honored

NASS IDEAS

A poll worker recruitment initiative launched by Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate was  recognized this month by the National Association of Secretaries of State as the recipient of the NASS IDEAS Award. 

Established in 2011, the NASS IDEAS (Innovation, Dedication, Excellence & Achievement in Service) Award recognizes significant state contributions to NASS’ mission. Voting members of NASS choose the recipient. That includes secretaries of state and lieutenant governors.

The Iowa project, “Recruiting the Next Generation of Poll Workers,” outlines the state’s efforts to build a bench of poll workers that Iowans can trust. The Iowa Secretary of State’s office launched a dedicated poll worker recruitment site, Pollworker.Iowa.Gov, in 2020 in response to potential poll worker shortages resulting from COVID-19 and older generations of poll workers retiring. 

To date, the website and its corresponding initiatives have helped identify more than 21,000 poll workers across the state.

Workers play key role

“I am thrilled that my colleagues at NASS recognize the important role poll workers play in election integrity. Poll workers are our secret weapon to keeping Iowa elections safe and secure,” Mr. Pate said in a news release.

“This recruitment initiative has helped us build the bench of trusted local election workers and reinforce with Iowans that we have their backs in protecting their vote. I hope to see my colleagues join us in implementing efforts to recruit the next generation of poll workers in their own states.”

In addition to the dedicated website, the state secretary is working extensively with local Iowa media organizations and uses social media to reach Iowans and talk about the critical role poll workers play in the process. Since 2020, the program has evolved to involve targeted social media recruitment in conjunction with local county auditors. A video storytelling campaign is featured on the Pollworker.Iowa.Gov home page. It shares the diverse stories of real Iowa poll workers.

The secretary also is appointed to serve on the 2024-2025 NASS Business Services Committee as co-chair and continue sto serve as a NASS representative with the Council of State Governments. Mr. Pate served as president of NASS in 2019-2020.

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