Kentuckians can drink to this unusual campaign to recruit election workers
If you’re pouring a cold brewski this warm Labor Day weekend, be an informed citizen and check out the packaging on the container. It may tell you how to become a much needed poll worker in Kentucky.
Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams said Tuesday that his office is partnering with the Kentucky Guild of Brewers to promote poll worker recruitment and voter registration.
Adams’ partnership with craft breweries has designed beer labels with QR codes on cans that direct imbibers to GoVoteKy.com. At the website, Kentuckians can register to vote and apply to be a poll worker in the Nov. 3 general election.
The campaign, “SOS From Your SOS,” is now being carried out by four Kentucky breweries, said Adams.
They are Monnik Beer Co. in Louisville; Pivot Brewing Company in Lexington; Dreaming Creek Brewery in Richmond; and Wooden Cask Brewery in Newport.
“There is a critical need for poll workers as we head toward November’s general election,” Adams said in a telephone interview.
He said a normal election in Kentucky requires 15,000 poll workers. So far, he said his office has recorded about 3,000, adding that county clerks may have more.
The coronavirus pandemic has made it difficult to recruit poll workers. He noted that many of the workers are traditionally over age 60 and considered in the vulnerable category for the virus.
“Last year I testified to the legislature that we had a poll worker crisis in Kentucky,” Adams said. “COVID-19 certainly hasn’t helped. We need younger generations to step up and be good citizens, and so we enlisted the help of Kentucky’s craft breweries to reach them.”
He said many voting precincts were unable to open in the June primary election in Kentucky because there were not enough poll workers to staff them.
If there are not enough for November’s election, he said, voters could face longer lines at fewer polling places.
Charley Hamilton, owner of Dreaming Creek Brewery, said the microbrewery was eager to help.
“With COVID-19 still a strong concern going into voting season, poll workers are in short supply,” Hamilton said. “This initiative will hopefully bring attention to this and get some new folks to help out working the polls come voting time.”
Adams said it is the job of county clerks to get poll workers but he wanted to help because of COVID-19.
To be a poll worker, he said, apply at the website or contact your county clerk. A few hours of paid training are required. The pay varies by county, but usually falls between $100 and $200, he said.
Adams said a registered voter does not have to be a Democrat or Republican to be a poll worker.
“We suspended the party requirement this year because the need for poll workers is so great,” he said.
Adams and Gov. Andy Beshear announced a plan last month that allows voters in the November election to vote by mailed-in absentee ballots, early at polls designated by county clerks or at designated polls on Nov. 3.
The general election ballot features races for president, U.S. Senate, Congress, state legislature and some judgeships.
