Elections & terms
poll worker
A temporary local official who checks in voters, issues ballots, and closes out the precinct. Usually paid a small stipend and trained by the county.
In full
Poll workers are ordinary residents, often recruited in bipartisan pairs so no single party controls a station. They are the people who actually administer an election: verifying registration, issuing provisional ballots, and reconciling the count at close. Most jurisdictions face shortages, and many now recruit high school and college students.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.