COLUMBUS – Governor Mike DeWine says he isn’t ruling out using members of the Ohio National Guard to serve as poll workers during the fall election as the state faces a potential shortage due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Representative Thomas West (D-Canton) says he sent a letter to DeWine Tuesday urging him to consider deploying members of the Guard as poll workers if county boards of elections face shortages.
“I’m going to rely on…the Secretary of State – he’s all over this – but if we see a problem, we’re open to any kind of suggestions,” DeWine said.
Many poll workers are older volunteers who either cannot work in polling places or are unwilling due to safety concerns.
West’s letter comes after the Stark County Board of Elections announced results of a survey of poll workers ordered by Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose in which 54 percent of respondents said they would return to their post at a polling place while 35 percent said they would not and 10 percent were unsure.
According to West 35,000 poll workers are required in order to operate the state’s 4,000 polling locations and LaRose has warned that, if all 88 Ohio counties cannot field the required number of poll workers, some polling places would not be able to operate.