How 16- and 17-Year-Olds Are a Solution to the Poll Workers Shortage

More than 770,000 poll workers helped staff the 2024 general election, and a majority of poll workers (55%) were 61 years or older. That same year, nearly half of all local election jurisdictions nationwide (47.9%) reported having difficulty recruiting poll workers, according to the 2024 Election Administration and Voting Survey from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Less staff means fewer poll check-in stations, longer lines, and more polling places that are unable to open on time.

States have quietly turned to an unlikely solution: high school students. West Virginia was the 46th state to do so in 2024, passing a law that permits juniors and seniors, with parental and school approval, to serve as poll worker trainees with a 3.0 grade point average. California enables up to five high school students to volunteer at the same time, supervised by an adult poll worker and get one day off from school as an excused absence. Indiana's “Hoosier Hall Pass” program allows 16- and 17-year-olds to work as poll workers, with permission from their parents and schools.

These high school poll workers are responsible for the same duties as adult poll clerks: checking in voters, distributing ballots, helping voters learn unfamiliar voting machines, and closing a precinct at the end of a night.

And that's not just a fix to an understaffing problem: Research from CIRCLE at Tufts University comparing Minneapolis precincts in 2020 and 2021 shows that voter turnout overall — not just among teens — was highest in precincts with more student poll workers. A 16-year-old doing check-ins has a lot more impact on whether someone votes than an ad in a newspaper or a text message.

One of the more clearly organized versions is Texas's. Any student 16 years old or older can work as an election clerk on Election Day or during early voting, whether public school, private school, or home-schooled, with a signed note from the student's principal or guardian. Up to two student clerks can work in each Election Day polling place, while up to four can work in each countywide polling place or early voting center, per voting machine. Additionally, since Texas principals are already automatically deputy registrars of the county voter registrar, they're physically present in every high school to hand out voter registration forms to eligible students.

Even that program can remain relatively unknown at high schools, however. Few students are aware of the student clerk program, and it remains underutilized because more people aren't aware that it exists and there's nobody at the school to walk students through the paperwork process.

That's when student-led initiatives are most valuable. A fellow student can tell you about a program a teacher or state election commission might never think of, and get dozens of people to sign up in the process. Being aware of opportunities like these brings us one step closer to encouraging teen support.