On National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, Secretary of the Commonwealth Encourages Pennsylvania Voters to Volunteer to Work the Polls for the Nov. 4 Election

Reading, PA – Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt and Berks County Commissioner Michael Rivera today encouraged eligible Pennsylvanians to serve as poll workers for the Nov. 4 municipal election.

“Serving as a poll worker in your community is one of the most important and rewarding  acts of civic engagement you can perform,” Schmidt said. “As someone who ran elections at the county level for 10 years and now oversees Pennsylvania’s elections statewide, I know that voting couldn’t happen without the roughly 45,000 poll workers who staff more than 9,000 voting locations across the Commonwealth each Election Day.”

The Shapiro Administration is committed to ensuring free, fair, safe, and secure elections in Pennsylvania. That commitment includes protecting Pennsylvanians’ right to vote, improving the efficiency and transparency of our elections, and ensuring every eligible ballot can be counted. Poll workers play a vital role in helping achieve these priorities.

Schmidt and Rivera spoke this morning in the Berks County Services Center to highlight National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, which the U.S. Election Assistance Commission established to inspire civic engagement and the continuous need for poll workers.

Five Berks County poll workers joined Schmidt and Rivera today:

• Mike Reese, a longtime judge of election in Reading,
• Brandon Snyder, a judge of election in Sinking Spring,
• Patricia Vlaska, an interpreter for voters in Reading,
• Jamie Kyle, a judge of election in Boyertown, and
• Tanner Sweigart, a former student poll worker while in high school who returned from college to work the 2025 primary election as a machine inspector.

“The fundamental expression of ourselves as citizens of the United States of America is participating in a democratic election. It is the work and dedication of over 1,000 poll workers, interpreters, and elections staff that makes those free, fair, and secure elections a reality in Berks County,” said Rivera, who heads the county’s Election Board. “We always need Berks residents to staff and supervise polling places by serving as judges of election, inspectors of election, machine inspectors, clerks or translators.”

Pennsylvania’s poll workers must be registered voters, which means they must meet voter registration eligibility criteria. Pennsylvania also allows 17-year-old high school juniors and seniors to serve as poll workers if they obtain permission from their school principal and their parent or guardian. Poll workers are paid for their time at trainings and for their Election Day work.

Schmidt noted that many counties specifically need bilingual poll workers and interpreters, especially those who speak Spanish or Mandarin.

“The Shapiro Administration is committed to removing barriers that might prevent eligible voters from casting their ballot,” Schmidt said. “Three Pennsylvania counties – Philadelphia, Lehigh and Berks – are federally required to provide voting materials in certain languages. Other counties, such as Lebanon and York, are proactively providing interpretation services for registered voters who need language assistance.”

Registered voters interested in volunteering to be a poll worker should fill out the Department of State’s Poll Worker Interest Form. High school juniors and seniors who are at least 17 years old and are interested should fill out the Department’s Student Poll Worker Interest Form.

For more information about becoming a poll worker in Pennsylvania, follow #ReadytoVotePA and the Department’s accounts on social media:

• Instagram/X: @PaStateDept
• Facebook: @PADepartmentofState
• LinkedIn: @pa-department-of-state