Election draws volunteers in DC ahead of schedule, and more youth

By Payton Anderson

Community volunteers and election officials throughout Washington, DC, prepared for Election Day by encouraging first-time voters to register and volunteer. And it looks like the efforts paid off. The D.C. Board of Elections Office’s primary role is to fully staff, organize and set up 94 voting centers by Election Day. The office was also responsible for distributing mail-in ballots to every eligible voter and collecting them from all 55 mail ballot drop boxes.

Senior Policy Advisor Alice Miller said the office’s biggest challenge is gathering enough volunteers to staff the voting centers each election year. However, Miller said the office was able to meet its annual quota of 2,000 volunteers two weeks ahead of schedule this year.

“We’ve been able to recruit and train all of our volunteers two weeks ahead of time,” Miller said. “There’s a lot of excitement and energy associated with this election, and we don’t need to train any more workers because of the excitement behind this election.”

Wanda Fox, a resident of Northeast DC, has been volunteering with the Board of Elections Office for almost 10 years after she retired in 2013. Fox will be a site coordinator at the Turkey Thicket voting center for this upcoming election. “It’s something I always wanted to do and I thought it would be a good way to contribute back to my community,” Fox said. “It’s exciting to be part of the democratic process, and it’s exciting watching others exercise their license as a citizen in the democratic process.”

Young Volunteers Step Up

Fox said she is looking forward to welcoming the young volunteers the office was able to recruit this year, as there have never been this many in past years.

“The Board of Elections here makes a really big effort with reaching out to [high school] students,” Fox said. “They are some of the greatest workers, I must say. They come and they’re excited to be here.”

According to Fox, the Board of Elections Office has recruited “well over 100 high school students” to help before and on Election Day. She said she hopes the excitement from these young volunteers will translate to an increase in young voter turnout.

“This is your way at which you can become part of the democratic process,” Fox says to young voters. “This is the way you can voice your opinions and give input to the future of your community.”

Head of Voter Education and Outreach LaDawne White agreed with Fox that she hopes young voters will participate in the upcoming election. To help young voter turnout, White said the office organized about 60 voter education workshops this year at local high schools and colleges.

“We try to focus more around providing voter education opportunities to first-time voters which includes providing voting equipment for hands-on demonstrations,” White said. “This gives them an opportunity to walk through it and experience it so they’re not overwhelmed on Election Day, especially first-time voters.”

White said she hopes getting more young people engaged with the election through these events will also increase youth voter education, something she says is just as important as voter registration and turnout.

“I encourage them to make sure they’re educated about the process,” White said. “Educate themselves on the contest and the candidates, of course, but educate themselves about the registration process too.”