Nebraska uses a unique method to find election workers: It drafts them

OMAHA, Neb. — (AP) — Americans are encouraged to do their duty and vote on Election Day. But in Nebraska, some residents must go a step further: They are required to help run the elections.

Nebraska is the only state in the U.S. that employs compulsory election duty to recruit precinct poll workers, election office helpers and ballot deliverers, among other tasks, according to the National Conference of State Legislators. Anyone who ignores a summons could be charged with a criminal misdemeanor and fined up to $100.

Twenty years ago, Dawn O'Brien was busy teaching and shuttling kids to school and practice when she received a letter telling her she'd been selected for election duty. She had lived in Omaha for about 25 years by then and had never heard of mandatory election duty.

“I was surprised,” she recalled. “I do remember thinking, ‘Boy, how am I going to juggle this?’”

But like a lot of Nebraska residents drafted into the job, O'Brien ended up with a new appreciation for civic service. She now volunteers to work most elections.

“I just learned so much about what it takes to pull off free, fair elections,” she said. “It is a massive effort to do this and to do it right.”

So far, only Douglas and Sarpy counties — among the state’s most populous in the Omaha metro area — use the draft. That's because with nearly 500,000 of the state’s 1.25 million registered voters in those two counties, they need thousands of workers to help at hundreds of polling places.

Finding all that help — especially at a time when election workers face threats and safety concerns — can be a challenge, Douglas County Election Commission Brian Kruse said. For the upcoming election, Douglas will employ about 3,000 election workers, 45% of whom are drafted.

While other states rely on election officials to recruit workers, with some turning to churches or community civic organizations to scrounge up volunteers, Nebraska's system works much the same way as jury duty: Registered voters are selected at random to serve on Election Day. State law allows exemptions for anyone 70 or older, those with documented health issues or other reasons deemed acceptable. It also allows those with young children to defer service until the children are older.

The only other way to get out of election duty?

“You have to remove yourself from the voter registration rolls,” Kruse said. “Most people don't want to go that route.”

Unlike jury duty, those selected for the Nebraska election draft aren’t just obligated to work the next election. They’re on the hook for four elections.

Along with those who volunteer, election draftees are paid a minimum wage of $12 an hour. State law requires draftees' employers to allow paid time off to fulfill the duty, although employers may deduct the election work pay from the paid time off.

Power the Polls, a national initiative started in 2020 to recruit election workers, is keeping an eye on Nebraska's approach, which has been in practice since at least the 1950s.

Marta Hanson, national program manager for Power the Polls, said a draft is an innovative way of ensuring diversity among poll workers and recruiting younger workers in an area dominated by those over 60.

“One of the biggest requests that we hear from election administrators across the country is for poll workers who have tech fluency, who are comfortable using an iPad or tablet as they upgrade election-related technology nationwide,” Hanson said.

Had she not been drafted, O'Brien said she likely never would have thought about volunteering.

“It wouldn’t even have occurred to me," O'Brien said. “It does give me a sense of pride knowing that I’m helping to promote democracy. There’s a lot of people in other parts of the world that would probably be thrilled to have their right to vote.”

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