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October 15, 2022 - WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration with oversight over federal elections, led 14 colleagues in urging the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to take additional steps to address the ongoing shortage of election workers ahead of the upcoming 2022 midterm elections.

“We write to express concerns about the ongoing challenges presented by the shortage of election workers that states across the country experienced during this year’s primary elections as we approach the general election in November,” the senators wrote. “Throughout the 2022 primary season election officials have struggled to recruit enough poll workers to meet their needs, impacting communities in both urban and rural areas. Recent reports have highlighted the serious effect that these shortfalls are having, including leaving some counties hundreds of election workers short and others unable to open some voting locations.”

“While the Commission has taken steps to support the recruitment of election workers including making resources available to the public, we urge you to take additional actions to ensure election officials have the information and resources necessary to address these ongoing shortages,” the senators continued. “Election workers are on the frontlines of our democracy, and we look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure that they are able to recruit the poll workers they need to administer the November election successfully.”

In addition to Klobuchar, the letter was signed by Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Mark Warner (D-VA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR). 

As Chairwoman of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee with oversight over federal elections, Klobuchar has long championed efforts to provide adequate resources for election workers to do their jobs.

Last month, Klobuchar and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) led 17 of their colleagues in introducing comprehensive legislation to address the rise in threats targeting election workers. The Election Worker Protection Act would provide states with the resources to recruit and train election workers and ensure these workers’ safety, while also instituting federal safeguards to shield election workers from intimidation and threats.

In May, Klobuchar and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) led nine of their colleagues in introducing legislation to strengthen election administration. The Sustaining Our Democracy Act would provide mandatory federal funding to help states and local governments support election administration, including by training and recruiting nonpartisan poll workers. 

In April, Klobuchar and Blunt also requested an update on the EAC’s efforts to support state and local election officials with administering the 2022 midterm elections, including protecting election workers against threats. 

In October 2021, Klobuchar held a Rules Committee hearing on increasing threats directed at election officials and the ability of states and local governments to retain election officials and recruit workers to administer future elections.

In June 2021, Klobuchar and Warnock led bicameral legislation to prevent local election officials from being removed without cause while protecting the safety and security of election workers and volunteers. U.S. Representatives John Sarbanes (D-MD), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Nikema Williams (D-GA), and Colin Allred (D-TX) introduced companion legislation in the House.

Last fall, Klobuchar introduced the Freedom to Vote Act,  landmark legislation to strengthen our democracy, which included resources to recruit and train election workers as well as provisions to prevent the intimidation and harassment of election workers. All Senate Democrats cosponsored this legislation and voted to advance the bill in January. 

The full text of the letter sent on October 6, 2022 is available HERE and below:

Dear Commissioners: 

We write to express concerns about the ongoing challenges presented by the shortage of election workers that states across the country experienced during this year’s primary elections as we approach the general election in November. We appreciate the Commission’s efforts to assist local election administrators in recruiting poll workers, and we urge you to take additional actions to address this critical issue in advance of Election Day. 

Throughout the 2022 primary season election officials have struggled to recruit enough poll workers to meet their needs, impacting communities in both urban and rural areas. Recent reports have highlighted the serious effect that these shortfalls are having, including leaving some counties hundreds of election workers short and others unable to open some voting locations.  These latest accounts follow the challenges that election officials confronted in retaining longtime election workers during the coronavirus pandemic in the previous election cycle, when - as the Commission found in its 2020 Election Administration and Voting Survey - “election officials were able to recruit the necessary workers…only as a result of significant public efforts by the EAC, state election offices, and nonprofit organizations.”

Recruitment efforts have been further hampered by the increase in threats and harassment targeting election workers. According to a March 2022 survey, more than half of local election officials are concerned about the safety of their colleagues in future elections, and one in six have experienced threats of violence.  At a Senate Rules Committee hearing on this issue, we heard directly from election officials who are facing issues recruiting and retaining election workers as a result of these threats. Kim Wyman –  the former Republican Secretary of State in Washington and current Election Security Lead at the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency – has also warned of looming shortages of election workers in states nationwide due to the rise in these threats. 

While the Commission has taken steps to support the recruitment of election workers including making resources available to the public, we urge you to take additional actions to ensure election officials have the information and resources necessary to address these ongoing shortages. We also respectfully request an update on the Commission’s efforts to address this issue in advance of the general election. 

Election workers are on the frontlines of our democracy, and we look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure that they are able to recruit the poll workers they need to administer the November election successfully. 
Source: Senator Amy Klobuchar