Elections and Campaigns

In recent years election officials, staff and poll workers have been subjected to threats, accusations of crime and leaked private information (doxing) at much higher rates than usual. As a result, some states have enacted legislation to specifically protect election officials, staff and poll workers in recent years.

Expect state lawmakers in 2024 legislative sessions to pursue the “continuous improvement” trend of the last 20 years with work on evergreen issues such as poll workers (qualifications, training and pay), deadlines (for voter registration, absentee/mail voting and ballot counting), security and voting itself.

This report discusses the ins and outs of poll worker training. Based on interviews with six LEOs across the country, it provides things for lawmakers to think about when considering poll worker training policies.

This toolkit provides information on poll worker requirements, recruitment, training, retention and more. The links lead to webpages explaining each resource in detail.

In a new NCSL report, local election officials from across the country offer insights about who develops the content for their poll worker training programs, who conducts the classes and what challenges the trainers face.

With 2,099 election bills introduced nationwide and 258 enactments, the 2023 session was a whirlwind tour of election legislation.