A new YouGov survey on poll workers finds that 39% of Americans think it is at least somewhat likely poll workers will attempt to tamper with the November election, though fewer think those attempts will be successful. The survey also explores whether people trust poll workers in the community and in the U.S. to administer a free and fair election — they trust local poll workers more — and what the experience of being a poll worker has been like for those who have done it.
39% of Americans say they believe it’s very or somewhat likely poll workers will attempt to tamper with the election in November. A majority (55%) of Republicans believe this is likely, an increase from 45% in October 2022 about the following month's elections. 34% of Independents and 28% of Democrats say the same. The 9% of Americans who have ever worked as poll workers are about as likely as everyone else to think tampering is likely: 36% think it is very or somewhat likely. (The small sample size of this group means the margins of error for estimates of its attitudes are large.)
If a poll worker did attempt to tamper with the election, 27% of Americans believe the attempt would be successful. Americans who have ever been poll workers are just as likely to think this would be successful (26%). Republicans (39%) are more likely than Democrats (15%) to believe this. 21% of Americans say the person attempting this would not be successful, and 36% are unsure.
60% of Americans say they at least moderately trust poll workers in the U.S. to administer a free and fair election, including 25% who trust them a great deal and 25% a moderate amount. Democrats (80%) are more likely than Republicans (47%) to trust the country's poll workers at least a moderate amount.
Trust in Americans' own communities' poll workers is slightly higher: 68% of Americans say they trust their local community’s poll workers to administer a free and fair election: 33% trust them a great deal and 35% trust them a moderate amount. 83% of Democrats and 65% of Republicans trust their community's poll workers at least a moderate amount.
17% of Americans believe poll workers in their community could access voting records to figure out who someone has voted for. Far more (53%) say they do not think this could happen. Among people who have been poll workers at least once, 21% think a poll worker in their community could access voting records to see who someone voted for and 73% think they could not do this.
Americans are far more likely to say that the last time they went to vote, poll workers at their precinct were very or somewhat helpful (54%) than to say they were unhelpful (5%). Democrats (63%) are more likely than Republicans (55%) to say the poll workers were helpful last time they went to vote.
Around two-thirds (67%) of people who have been poll workers have done so for at least two elections. 38% have worked between two and five elections, 16% have worked between six and 10 elections, and 13% have worked more than 10 elections. 32% of people who have ever been poll workers have worked only one election.
Most poll workers describe the experience as somewhat or very easy (63%), while 36% describe it as somewhat or very hard. Among Americans who have never served as poll workers, 37% think it would be an easy job and 42% think it would be a hard job.
Among people who ever have been poll workers, 58% say they have worked this job because they thought it was their duty as a citizen, an increase from 47% in October 2022. 44% say they did so because they wanted to experience the democratic process, and 35% did so because they wanted to make extra money. Slightly fewer (31%) became poll workers because they wanted to learn more about politics and government.
Two-thirds (66%) of poll workers say being one is rewarding, up from 52% in 2022. 48% describe it as exhausting, 33% describe it as exciting, and 24% say it is boring. Fewer say it is nerve-wracking (19%) or frustrating (18%).
Who should be allowed to be a poll worker? About one-third (36%) of Americans say a person who was convicted of a felony and completed their sentence should be allowed to be a poll worker. Democrats (46%) are far more likely than Republicans (19%) to say this.
Few Americans think that members of a candidate’s staff (11%), members of a candidate’s immediate family (10%), or a candidate (7%) should be allowed to be poll workers.
— Taylor Orth and Carl Bialik contributed to this article
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See the results for this YouGov poll
Methodology: This YouGov poll was conducted online on September 5 - 8, 2024 among 1,127 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given prior to November 1, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 31% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
Image: Getty
