White County looks to up poll worker numbers ahead of big election year

As counties across Georgia prepare for a busy election year, the White County Elections office is focusing its efforts on recruiting poll workers.

After the 2020 election, White County resident Jeff Hufsey had questions about election security.

"There was a lot of news that elections had been rigged, and the election had been stolen and things like that," Hufsey said. "And I thought, 'You know, is it done that casually that those sorts of things are possible?''"

In 2024, Hufsey signed up to be a poll worker to get those questions answered, and he did.

"There's far more things going on than what a normal citizen would expect," he said.

Hufsey said he walked away with a renewed sense of confidence in the county's elections.

Another White County poll worker, Andrew McPherson, said around the 2020 election, he saw headlines about poll workers leaving and wanted to do his part. He signed up to be a poll worker.

"I was like 'Well, I can't do a whole lot of things when it comes to you know politics and national, but I can do that,'" McPherson said.

Marcia Johnson has been a poll worker in White County for the last seven years. She said the job is inspiring.

"The amount of people that come through, especially in the bigger elections, it's just, it gives you a really good feeling that this country is, you know, kind of on the right track," Johnson said.

The poll worker position has come under scrutiny in recent years.

White County Elections Supervisor Amie Veater said she thinks the position has become more high-profile because of a misunderstanding of the process.

"I think that, maybe the public doesn't quite understand how thoroughly and efficiently they do their job," Veater said.

Veater encourages people with questions to become a poll worker in their county. If you're in White County, there are still spots open.  

"We know that we're going to need a very robust staff of elections workers with this kind of more high-profile, bigger election year," Veater said. "So we are definitely kind of rebuilding to get back up to where we need to be for this year."

Veater said right now the county has around 65 poll workers, and they are hoping to get up to 80.

Poll workers are paid a flat rate in White County, and they are paid for their training.

On March 19, White County will hold a poll worker recruitment drive from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the White County Elections and Registration Office in Cleveland, GA.

To read more about the requirements to be a poll worker and the pay in White County, click here.