As the next national election approaches, an acute shortage of poll workers could make it difficult for some people—including veterans—to vote, negatively affecting DAV’s legislative advocacy mission.

The National Conference of State Legislatures reports that the shortages have gotten worse over the years because of issues such as inadequate pay, poll worker harassment and partisan balance requirements.

Poll workers are the engine that powers elections in the United States, and it takes about 1 million people to fill these roles each election cycle, according to Dan Vallone, the director for the 2024 Vet the Vote campaign.

Vet the Vote, which is not affiliated with DAV, is an initiative started in 2022 to recruit veterans to serve in these positions. So far, for the 2024 election cycle, they’ve recruited more than 135,000 election poll workers from the veterans and military family community, exceeding their original goal of 100,000 volunteers.

Since the U.S. Constitution places the authority to administer elections at the state and local levels, the responsibility to triage poll worker shortages is in the hands of local election officials, often at the county level, Vallone said. These shortages could force officials to close one voting location to properly staff another, making it difficult or impossible for some voters to get to the polls.

“It increases the burden that somebody faces to drive to a polling location to exercise their right as an American to vote,” he said, noting rural areas are among the most affected places.

When veterans aren’t able to vote, DAV National Legislative Director Joy Ilem said, it can contribute to perpetuating a misguided theory that veterans don’t base their votes on veterans’ issues. This, as DAV Resolution No. 036 notes, could result in lawmakers targeting veterans programs for spending cuts and service reductions.

“Elections have consequences,” Ilem said. “And our ability to advocate for ill and injured veterans rests on our members being able to vote.”

Ilem said when DAV members exercise this right, they strengthen the organization’s broader legislative process that includes DAV resolutions, one-on-one conversations with lawmakers and grassroots advocacy through DAV CAN (Commanders Action Network).

Vallone, who served in the Army, said one solution to address the poll worker shortage is for veterans to sign up to help. Different than a poll watcher, which is a partisan activity, poll workers fill a civic role of staffing voting locations and facilitating the process on election days.

Vallone said veterans are naturally a great fit for the job, in part, because they are more inclined to be civically engaged compared with nonveterans. Also, election officials say they value veterans’ military experience with logistics and leadership and their ability to follow strict protocols.

“It makes elections run so much better,” Vallone said. “People feel more confident in the process.”

Veterans he talks to tell him they’ve found the experience to be fulfilling because it gives them an opportunity to once again serve their communities.

Ilem said any DAV member who wants to serve as a poll worker can but must do so as a private citizen, not as a representative of DAV. Governed by its own constitution and bylaws, DAV is a nonpolitical and nonpartisan organization and must maintain that integrity so it can continue to serve in the best interests of its members.

“We want to see serving as a poll worker become a civic tradition among the veteran community,” Vallone said, “that this is just something that we do: We step forward after we have completed our military service. We step in and enable our communities to run elections in the highest integrity way possible.”

People interested in serving as poll workers should check with their county’s department of elections for specific requirements and information on how to apply.

DAV members should review DAV’s election do’s and don’ts for election season guidance at dav.org/electionyear_dosdonts_2024.

Members can also always contact the national legislative team if they have any concerns or questions at l[email protected].