Secretary Raffensperger Partners with the Georgia Realtors® to Recruit Poll Workers

(Atlanta) -- Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is partnering with the Georgia REALTORS® to recruit poll workers for elections in November. The Secretary is spearheading this partnership with the Georgia REALTORS® to ensure county elections officials have the staff they need on and in the weeks before election day.

 “The Georgia REALTORS® will help us reach a wide variety of Georgians to help staff polling locations around the state on election day,” said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “When COVID-19 swept through Georgia, Georgia’s vulnerable elderly poll workers stayed home to minimize their exposure to the pandemic. Through public-private partnerships, like the one with the Georgia REALTORS®, we will fill the gaps with younger poll workers and help provide a smooth and efficient experience for Georgia’s voters in November.”

“REALTORS® are known for being civically engaged,” said Faron W. King, 2020 Georgia REALTORS® President. “We constantly strive to be involved and give back to our communities. With the current need for poll workers, we are proud to step up to the challenge and do what we can to ensure that all of our neighbors can exercise their right to vote.”

Georgia poll workers were on average above 65 years old. When the COVID-19 pandemic swept through the United States, this particularly vulnerable population understandably opted to stay home and avoid the risk of exposure to the virus. As a result, polling locations across the state were short-staffed on election day and limited in their ability to train new poll workers due to the constraints of the pandemic.

To fill this gap, Secretary Raffensperger is partnering with numerous organizations in the state to help recruit younger, less-at-risk populations to staff the polls on election day. By working with a wide array of private and nonprofit organizations, Raffensperger is hoping to reach new areas of Georgia to pull people off of the sidelines.

On June 9, Georgia saw record turnout for a statewide general primary election. Notwithstanding a state record for absentee ballots cast by mail, Georgia saw over 800,000 people vote on election day itself. More than 300,000 voted early, in person, during Georgia’s three weeks of early voting.  

In-person voting remains as important as ever. Looking forward to November, turnout is expected to be as much as three times as high. This means, county officials need a stable of young poll workers to step up and help their communities on election day.

About the Georgia REALTORS®

Georgia REALTORS® is a voluntary professional association of approximately 43,000 licensed real estate brokers and salespersons engaged in all aspects of the real estate business throughout the state.  Georgia REALTORS® is the leading advocate for the real estate industry in Georgia, committed to protecting private property rights and free enterprise, maintaining ethical and professional standards, and enhancing the public's awareness and confidence in REALTORS®.

Georgia is recognized as a national leader in elections. It was the first state in the country to implement the trifecta of automatic voter registration, at least 16 days of early voting (which has been called the “gold standard”), and no excuse absentee voting. Georgia continues to set records for voter turnout and election participation, seeing the largest increase in average turnout of any other state in the 2018 midterm election and record primary turnout in 2020, with over 1.1 million absentee by mail voters and over 1.2 million in-person voters utilizing Georgia’s new, secure, paper ballot voting system.

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