Philadelphia, PA – Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt today joined Philadelphia City Commissioners Chairman Omar Sabir and Commissioner Seth Bluestein at the Philly Votes: All-Star Poll Workers Recognition and Recruitment Event in the City Hall Courtyard.
“As Pennsylvania’s chief election official and a former Philadelphia City Commissioner who administered elections here for 10 years, I know the critical role that poll workers play in our democracy,” Sec. Schmidt said. “We depend on about 45,000 poll workers staffing more than 9,000 polling places across the Commonwealth each Election Day. It’s hard but rewarding work that enables their fellow citizens to exercise their constitutional right to vote and keeps our elections safe and secure.”
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission designated August 11, 2026, National Poll Worker Recruitment Day to inspire civic engagement and encourage people to sign up to become a poll worker.
“Poll workers are at the frontline of making sure every Philadelphian has equal access to the ballot,” said Commissioner Sabir. “The best thing you can do today to join that frontline is to sign up to be one of the thousands of everyday Philadelphians who make our elections happen, who run our polling places smoothly, and who ensure that every one of their neighbors on every block of the city has a chance to have their voices heard.”
Sec. Schmidt urged all eligible Pennsylvanians to consider serving as a poll worker.
“Counties always need new recruits,” Sec. Schmidt said. “Many counties specifically need bilingual poll workers, especially those who speak Spanish and Mandarin, to help voters who require language assistance.”
Philadelphia, Lehigh, and Berks counties are federally required to provide voting materials in certain other languages. Other counties -- such as Lancaster, Lebanon, and York -- are proactively providing interpretation services for registered voters who need assistance.
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 work on Election Day.
Registered voters interested in becoming a poll worker should fill out the Department of State’s Poll Worker Interest Form. Seventeen-year-old high school juniors and seniors who 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