WASHINGTON – Committee on House Administration Ranking Member Rodney Davis today issued this statement on National Poll Worker Recruitment Day.

"As I continue to listen to election administrators across the country, recruiting enough poll workers to serve on and ahead of Election Day continues to be a concern," said Davis. "The majority of poll workers are over the age of 60 making them part of the at-risk population for the coronavirus. We need to recruit a new generation of poll workers, which is why I've introduced legislation to create a student loan repayment program through the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to recruit younger individuals to serve as poll workers. I hope Democrats will work with me to pass the EASE Act when the House returns."

Anyone interested in serving as a poll worker in their area can learn more here: HelpAmericaVote.gov.

Throughout August, Davis held three virtual roundtables with election officials in Illinois, Georgia, and Wisconsin hearing about issues they are facing ahead of Election Day, including the importance of recruiting additional poll workers.

In July, Davis introduced H.R. 7905, the Emergency Assistance for Safe Elections (EASE) Act, to help states recruit poll workers, provide safe in-person voting locations, make mail-in voting more secure, and more. CLICK HERE to read more.

Election administrators and experts agree that the EASE Act is critical to helping recruit poll workers across the country:

"States are in desperate need of funding from Washington without the costly mandates that are associated with it. Congressman Davis's bill would help states like Louisiana keep our polling places safe, recruit poll workers, and maintain the integrity and honesty of our elections. I call on the House to pass this important piece of legislation." – Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin.

"I believe encouraging healthy citizens to serve as poll workers by forgiving student loan debt is an excellent idea and would be a good way to entice people to help. One of the greatest needs for election officials is finding capable people to serve as poll workers. That's the case with every election, but especially now during this pandemic." – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate

"The EASE Act is key to providing state and local officials the resources they need to run successful elections during COVID-19 and avoids imposing the top-down approach that can handcuff local election officials. This legislation recognizes the pivotal role local government plays in the administration of elections, addresses the poll worker shortage that has plagued election administration in the age of COVID-19, and will help Georgia maintain the integrity of its elections through cleaner and more accurate voter rolls." – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger

"Congressman Davis's EASE bill not only provides additional needed funding to state and local election officials to meet the additional costs of running safe elections during this pandemic, but also includes practical and common sense ideas that will incentivize college grads to serve as poll workers, support the development of guidelines for election technology, and increase confidence in our elections through sound voting integrity measures. Election administrators across the country will welcome this help." –Christy McCormick, U.S. Election Assistance Commission

"America currently has a crisis in the recruitment of an adequate number of poll workers to facilitate the right to vote on Election Day. I am encouraged by this unique approach to incentive the training of a new generation of poll workers to serve their neighbors and community in the exercise of Democracy." – Don Palmer, U.S. Election Assistance Commission

"Even during this pandemic, voters have shown a preference for voting in person, as it is the most secure form of voting. The EASE Act would assist the states in administering safe in-person voting, through funding to protect both voters and poll workers from COVID-19 and assisting states to recruit poll workers to help administer the election. It respects the decentralized nature of our election system, offering support without transferring additional control over election administration to Washington." – Lawyers Democracy Fund Vice President Tom Spencer