CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Secretary of State Mac Warner’s Office shows 18 West Virginia counties are in need of poll workers for the November 5 General Election.
Warner says getting new people to pitch in on election day could build consistent helpers and politicians for the future.
“You’re getting fresh blood in there so that, hopefully, they’ll do this throughout their lifetime, and it encourages them to get involved in the political process, maybe even run for office,” Warner said on MetroNews “Talkline” with Hoppy Kercheval.
The counties asking for more assistance are as follows:
- Berkeley
- Boone
- Cabell
- Fayette
- Grant
- Hampshire
- Kanawha
- Marion
- Monroe
- Nicholas
- Ohio
- Pleasants
- Putnam
- Randolph
- Ritchie
- Summers
- Wayne
- Wetzel
Warner says anyone questioning election integrity should use this opportunity to work the polls firsthand.
“If there’s any listener that has thought about being a poll worker or has a concern about election integrity, there’s no better way to ease those concerns than to be a poll worker,” Warner said. “You get inside the system, you see the training, you see the process.”
Warner also says workers will see the intricacies involved to make it a functioning process.
“You see the number of ballots cast, you see the number of ballots counted, and all those match,” Warner said. “You see that through the process, so it provides confidence to you and then you can go out and dispel some of these conspiracy rumors that are machines are not connected to the internet, we do use paper ballots, those ballots are retained for 22 months. You get to see all that firsthand.”
Warner, in a release, said that it takes 8,000 paid poll workers to run an election. This includes citizens of all political parties.
Warner’s office encourages anyone wanting to become a poll worker visit GoVoteWV.com or contact their county clerk.
Story by Aaron Parker, MetroNews