An initiative, organized by TerpsVote and Power the Polls at the University of Maryland, is encouraging students to become poll workers for the upcoming presidential election on Nov. 5.

Student poll workers are crucial amid a decline in the number of retirees and older people who are able to participate after the COVID-19 pandemic, Courtney Holder, Stamp Student Union’s leadership and community service learning assistant director, said. Public health was a concern for poll workers during the 2020 election because most are more than 60 years old, according to the Pew Research Center.

“We have an overwhelming number of young voters coming up and influencing the vote,” Holder said. “So why don’t we get those young people involved in the poll working process, too?”

Poll workers are responsible for answering questions and helping voters cast their ballot, as well as setting up and taking down polling places on Election Day. College students tend to be good poll workers because they are more familiar with technology and have more energy to get through the long election day, Holder added.

[Hundreds of UMD students gather for presidential debate watch parties across campus]

Public policy graduate student Nancy Bowne, who works part-time on the student poll workers initiative, said no background experience is needed to be a student poll worker. Bowne creates promotional materials such as posters, social media graphics and newsletters to encourage students to become poll workers and “build a bridge” for students to participate in the civic process.

Junior biological sciences major Michelle Ameyaw — who was a poll worker in 2022 — said the job is a great opportunity to interact with different types of people. The experience was not as intimidating as it seemed, she added.

“It’s a great way to just leave your mark on democracy, just the same way any other adult could,” Ameyaw said.

This year, the student affairs division, public policy school and the University System of Maryland applied for a federal grant geared toward recruiting college students to be poll workers.

The grant, provided by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission earlier this year, gave more than $78,000 to universities in the University System of Maryland to bolster civic engagement among young voters. This university received the bulk of the grant, according to Maryland Today.

University president Darryll Pines told The Diamondback that the university previously participated in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge during the 2020 election. The program, which this university is participating in this year, encourages student democratic engagement.

The university had a 72 percent voting rate among people registered to vote during the 2020 election, according to Pines. This year, he would like to see the campus exceed 80 percent.

[Here’s how UMD students can vote in the 2024 elections]

Students can find information on where to register to be a poll worker through the Fair Elections Center’s Work Elections Project. After entering their state and county, the student will be directed to a page with their local board of elections office information. Students can then register with their local board.

Once a student becomes a poll worker, they are required to complete training before Election Day. Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Anne Arundel County and Montgomery County still need sizable recruitment of poll workers, according to Holder.

Both Holder and Patricia Thorpe, an election operations manager for Prince George’s County, said there is a particular need for multilingual poll workers — especially those who can speak Spanish — so people can have voting assistance in their native language.

“When we’re in these polling places, we’re meeting the needs of everyone,” Thorpe said.

Beyond being a poll worker, students can spread election information by volunteering with TerpsVote.