Nebraska county drafts poll workers into service
Finding poll workers can be tough for election officials, particularly in the heightened threat environment targeting election workers. But one Nebraska county has found a novel way of ensuring polling places are properly staffed on Election Day: a draft.
Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse told ABC News about 45% of the county's 3,000 election workers were drafted into service.
Douglas County is the most populous county in the state and one of two counties that uses an election draft. All voters registered in the county are eligible and may receive a letter in the mail letting them know they are required to participate -- a system akin to jury duty. The system has been in place for about 25 years, but Kruse says some people aren't familiar with it and are surprised when they get the notice. "Their first reaction is, 'Is this real?.' We field lots of those questions after we send letters out, but most people are good sports about it."
Some of the benefits of using a draft, according to Kruse, are lowering the average age of poll workers, creating balance among parties, and helping people gain a better understanding of how the election process works.
"A lot of people who would have never volunteered or been part of the process now come in and find out what all it takes to do it and how safe and secure it is and so they become great ambassadors for our office and many of them continue to be volunteers after their four turns are up," Kruse said.
Volunteers who are drafted are required to complete an online training course and serve during four elections. The election office will work with anyone to postpone their duty who has a trip planned, a medical issue or a spouse or family member who is a candidate, but the only way to be completely exempt from the draft is to be over 70 years old.
Douglas County also has new security measures in place for ballot drop boxes. Over the summer they county added a dry fire suppression system to all 13 of them. Kruse said there were no specific threats or concerns that led to the addition.
"The election commissioner in Hall County said she was looking into it, and she had done it and once she got a little more information then we decided it was reasonable," Kruse said.
There are also cameras monitoring the drop boxes that have been in place for at least two years.
-ABC News' Tonya Simpson