The nonprofit We the Veterans is finishing its “Vet the Vote” campaign to recruit veterans and their family members to work the polls during the November presidential election after securing nearly 160,000 volunteers.
With only one month until Election Day, the group transitioned from recruiting election workers to trying to inform the U.S. population that veterans will make up a large swath of the volunteers at election sites this November. During a time when misinformation is eroding trust in U.S. elections, the group believes veterans are the key to quashing skepticism and restoring confidence.
About one out of every 10 election workers in November will be a veteran or a family member of a veteran, according to We the Veterans.
“Many of our poll workers for this current election are actually from the veteran and military community family. We are a very trusted population of Americans,” said Julie Hendricks, director of operations for Vet the Vote. “The big push from now on is making sure that as many Americans as possible know that this group of trusted individuals are there to make your vote count when you head to your local jurisdiction.”
Between 800,000 and 1 million temporary workers will be needed to staff polling locations across the country this November, said Thomas Hicks, chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Those workers welcome and check in voters, issue ballots and explain how to use voting equipment.
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The U.S. Election Assistance Commission acts as an independent agency that supports state and local officials to administer elections. The agency partnered with Vet the Vote to help boost the nation’s confidence in the November election.
“There’s been so much negativity about elections and the way that they’re run, and it should be noted that the people who are doing this are our neighbors,” Hicks said. “They’re the folks that are part of the PTA, people you’re seeing at church, and so forth. If you go into a polling place, you’re likely to know these folks. Know that they’re doing their best to serve the country and serve you.”
We the Veterans brought on other partners to help spread their message, including NASCAR, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, Microsoft and Walmart.
The group traveled across the country this year, hosting events to teach communities about the election process and recruit poll workers. We the Veterans worked with secretaries of state in New Hampshire, Montana, Rhode Island, Vermont and Michigan to host those events, Hendricks said.
“It’s really important that we were able to partner with the people in charge of elections in those states to show communities that elections are local,” she said. “Although we count numbers nationally and talk about poll workers nationally, this is hyperlocal and state regulated. Not everybody understands that.”
The group is holding another event in Jacksonville, Florida, on Wednesday as a “thank you” to those veterans and military family members who are volunteering. Attendees will be able to talk to Florida and Georgia election officials and interact with ballot equipment to learn more about the voting process in those states.
This story was produced in partnership with Military Veterans in Journalism. Please send tips to MVJ-Tips@militarytimes.com.
Nikki Wentling covers disinformation and extremism for Military Times. She’s reported on veterans and military communities for eight years and has also covered technology, politics, health care and crime. Her work has earned multiple honors from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors and others.