AP: Lack of poll workers may cause delays

Lack of poll workers may cause delays

ASSOCIATED PRESS

November 1, 2004

A shortage of at least 500,000 poll workers nationwide has voters bracing for long lines, cranky volunteers, problems opening and closing polling places, and the chance that results won't be known until long after the polls are closed.

Roughly 1.4 million people have been trained to serve as poll workers tomorrow, about the same as four years ago, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. But nearly 2 million may be needed to deal with heavy turnout, surging numbers of first-time voters and complicated touch-screen machines in hundreds of counties.

The shortage is acute in urban areas where workers also may need to speak multiple languages. DeForest Soaries Jr., chairman of the Election Assistance Commission, is most worried about New York City, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Chicago and Los Angeles, along with cities in Ohio and Pennsylvania where Republicans and Democrats have registered thousands of new voters.

Desperate for volunteers, the EAC urged corporations and federal agencies to give volunteers the day off with salary, not vacation, to staff the polls. But as the last deadline for training new workers passed Friday, critical shortages remained in many states.

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