WASHINGTON -- U.S. election officials are scrambling to recruit and train enough poll workers in time for Tuesday's national elections, USA Today reported Wednesday.
The federal Election Assistance Commission estimates it is short 500,000 workers for the necessary 2 million poll workers to run a national election.
"This is crunch time," said Paul DeGregorio, a member of the commission, which was created two years ago to administer funds and advice to state and local administrators. "Election officials are really scrambling to fill the polls with workers."
Recruiting efforts on college campuses and among corporations and local governments have helped but have fallen short of what's needed, the newspaper said.
Part of the problem is the hours are long -- anywhere from 12 to 15 hours on Election Day, plus training sessions beforehand. And the pay is low, ranging from $50 to $100.
Another issue is senior citizens often come forward without necessary skills.
"Some senior citizens do not have an ATM card or even a microwave, and we're asking them to utilize technology completely foreign to them," said Karen Crete, training director in Sarasota County, Fla.
