MILWAUKEE — The City of Milwaukee has more than enough poll workers signed up to work Nov. 3.
Claire Woodall-Vogg, Executive Director at the Milwaukee Election Commission, said they needed a small amount of Milwaukee residents to help at what is known as central count, the site where tens of thousands of absentee ballots will be processed.
"Everyone wants their vote to count, and if I can be a part of that process, then I’m really happy to engage in it," said Colleen Foley.
Colleen, who spends her days leading the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, recently applied to help with absentee ballots.
"I’ll be taking the day off from my job and encouraging staff to do the same. It’s important to participate in the democratic process that matters to all of us."
The commission has more than 600 applications from people wanting to work. The city said on Thursday that it no longer needed any more workers.
Typically, they have 150 people per shift working the site, but this time they aim to double that.
"It is a very administrative task. You have to follow very particular rules and procedures. Paperwork is involved and then it really is for people who are there to work really hard and diligently. There’s not much chance for side conversations," said Woodall-Vogg.
The city anticipates 150-200,000 absentee ballots will need to be processed.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin is just one of the groups encouraging citizens to get involved with your local election.
"I think a lot of people here in Milwaukee felt like April was such a big wake up call to what can happen if there aren’t enough poll workers, and so really encouraging folks to step up and I think people have in a really big way," said Molly Collins, Advocacy Director at the ACLU of Wisconsin.