Ohio’s voting precincts normally need 37,000 poll workers on Election Day. But this year, 55,000 are needed.
Secretary of State Frank LaRose says he’s told local boards of elections to recruit 50% more precinct workers they normally need for a presidential election. And it’s not just because of higher than expected turnout.
“If there’s a resurgence in the virus and something else occurs that causes people to not want to work, we need to have that reserved force, trained and ready to go," LaRose says.
LaRose says most counties are close to meeting their poll worker goals. It’s unclear how many Ohioans will actually show up at the polls. More than two million have already requested absentee ballots for early voting starting Tuesday.