The state is putting up one-half million dollars to lure students into polling places—as election clerks.
Secretary of State Robin Carnahan wants young people to start taking a more active role in today’s higher-tech elections. She’s offering 500-thousand dollars to counties and metropolitan election boards to train students, 18 and older, and to use them on election day.
Carnahan says there are a couple of specific roles for those young people. One is “almost like a greeter,” a person who makes sure voters are taken care of, get into the right lines, and who trouble-shoot problems. The other role is that of “super poll workers” who can go from one polling place to another to make sure things are working well.
She says 82 counties already have asked for some of that money. Carnahan hopes this initiative, plus another million-and-a-half dollars to train and hire clerks of all ages will produce about 76-hundred additional poll workers for Missouri in August and November–especially in November. Carnahan says Missouri might set a turnout record in the general election.