OMAHA, Neb. 鈥� Joe Ricceri is busy preparing for the general election with the Douglas County Election Commission. Right now, he works at the customer service desk. But on Election Day, he鈥檒l be a district supervisor.
Ricceri is currently a volunteer. But he didn鈥檛 start out as one. He was drafted.
He was actually drafted when his children were little, but deferred until they were old enough to drive themselves home from school.
鈥淭hen immediately, when the youngest was 16, [the county] contacted me. So, they were all over it. They did a good job there,鈥� he said with a wry laugh.
Finding is a for election officials. But Nebraska has a unique solution: It allows counties to draft workers to fill needs, like it鈥檚 jury duty.
The secretary of state鈥檚 office says it鈥檚 only aware of two Nebraska counties using a poll worker draft this election cycle: Omaha鈥檚 and just south of it, Sarpy County.
In Douglas County, any registered voter is eligible and may receive a letter in the mail requiring them to serve. Even though it鈥檚 been used for years, Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse said many voters aren鈥檛 familiar with the draft and are skeptical when they receive the letter.
鈥淚 would say most voters in Douglas County, probably their reaction is, 鈥業s this for real?鈥欌�� Kruse said. 鈥淚 mean, one of my best friends is the COO of a company here in Omaha, and one of his employees got [the letter], and he called me up, and he was like, 鈥業s this for real?鈥� And I said, 鈥榊es.鈥� And he said, 鈥楥an I get him out of it?鈥� And I said, 鈥楴o.鈥欌��
Kruse laughed at the memory, but he鈥檚 not kidding. Voters here can鈥檛 get out of the draft unless they鈥檙e over 70 years old, don鈥檛 speak English, or they take themselves off the voter rolls. Kruse said that is rare.
And if a draftee doesn鈥檛 show up or doesn鈥檛 answer that letter, they could face a misdemeanor charge.
The draft offers "confidence" in staffing the election
In recent years, about half of the county鈥檚 3,000 general election workers were drafted.
鈥淲e try to get as many volunteers as we can still,鈥� said Election Board Coordinator Brandon Olson. 鈥淲e don't want to just go, 鈥極K, we're just gonna draft everybody.鈥� That's not what we're doing, but 鈥� it gives us a confidence that we aren't going to be worried about finding people.鈥�
That鈥檚 unlike a lot of the rest of the country, even if the situation has somewhat recovered from a nationwide election shortage during the peak of the COVID pandemic, according to Marta Hanson, national program manager for the group Power the Polls.
鈥淚 would say, generally speaking, about 40% of jurisdictions we're in touch with have been like, 鈥楢ctually, we're set, we're good, we're fully staffed, we have no issues. Please don't send us more people, because they'll just be disappointed,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淎nother 40% are in desperate need of more people.鈥�
Douglas County鈥檚 draft also fills staffing needs with a more diverse group of people 鈥� especially when .
Commissioner Kruse added that those drafted must be balanced in political party, so it鈥檚 not all registered Republicans or all Democrats. The county works to ensure all five of Nebraska鈥檚 political parties and nonpartisans are represented.
Carolina Lopez, executive director of the Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions, was excited to hear about the program.
鈥淚'm going to say it: I was geeking out. I was like, 鈥楾ell me more. I've heard about this in practice. I want to see it,鈥欌�� she said.
Lopez said she鈥檚 rooting for Douglas County and can鈥檛 wait to see how the draft works this year.
鈥淲hile this has been in practice in Douglas County for some time, this idea has the potential to be equally impactful for other elections communities across the country,鈥� she added.
Kruse said some other jurisdictions have shown interest in the method, but he hasn鈥檛 seen other states employ anything like it 鈥� yet.
Douglas is the only Nebraska county that regularly uses the draft, and Kruse thinks it may be because other jurisdictions are smaller, with fewer polling places, so they don鈥檛 have as much trouble finding enough workers.
A window into understanding how fair elections work
Some voters may view the poll worker draft as a pain, but Kruse said many of the draftees turn into longtime volunteers 鈥� like Ricceri.
And he said the draft also helps more people understand fair elections.
鈥淲e have all kinds of processes and procedures in place, but it definitely gives us a broader base and we reach out to a lot more individuals, and so those individuals can see how the process works,鈥� Kruse said. 鈥淭hey can go back to their neighborhoods, their PTAs, their schools, daycares, churches, synagogues, country clubs, grocery store, wherever they may socialize, and tell folks about the experience. We do hear over and over: 鈥業 had no idea what all went into the process.鈥欌��
Kerri Harris received her draft letter in the mail before the primary election in May. The concept was new to Harris, who had lived in the county for 18 years. She remembered she had mixed feelings about it.
鈥淏ecause I was like, well, I should serve and be a good citizen. And then it was like, that's a long day, and what if I wasn't available? You know, how do they do all that? Like, what happens to me if I don't do it? You know, it seemed kind of serious, really, like you're supposed to do this,鈥� she said.
Harris said she never would have volunteered to be an election worker; she does not have a big interest in politics, and she prefers to be outside rather than sitting inside a polling location.
All those who are voluntold must serve not just one election, but four. Once someone serves in four, they won鈥檛 be drafted again. Harris will serve in the November general plus two more before she completes her draft duty.
Harris鈥� service comes as some voters are questioning elections.
鈥淚've learned a lot that I don't question the integrity of the election at all, because I see everything that everybody has to go through to make sure that the right people vote,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o, I think it says a lot for the integrity of Douglas County.鈥�
Draftee-turned-volunteer Ricceri said he sees value in playing a role in the democratic process.
鈥淵ou're doing the justice for the people to vote and allowing them to vote and have a voice in the government. So that's important.鈥�
And it鈥檚 an important election year in Nebraska. Voters can look forward to a packed ballot filled with six initiatives 鈥� including on and 鈥� as well as and the president. It鈥檚 also the first general election in which voters are .
As of now, the drafted election workers and volunteers have completed their online training. But they may still get one more letter telling them they鈥檙e not needed for this election, and to keep their mailboxes open for the next one.
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