Perimeter Students Get Up Close Civics Lesson Working the Polls

COVINGTON, Ga. – With early voting underway for Georgia's presidential preference primary in February and early March, students at Georgia State’s Perimeter College received an up-close and personal civics lesson by working as poll workers in Newton and Rockdale counties.

The 11 students are enrolled in Barbara Robertson’s Honors American Government course and her Perspectives class on the Newton Campus.

Many spent a weekday training at the Newton County elections and registration office, learning voting protocols, including the dos and don’ts of helping people at the polls: "You can’t give out water or food," one student said. Other students worked with seasoned poll workers in Rockdale County precincts to learn the ropes.

Skyelan Martin and Kaitlyn Harvey are among those trained, with both signing up to work the presidential preference primary. All poll workers are paid for their service.

“We were trained as poll workers, working the voting pads and poll monitors and making sure no one was talking during the voting process,” Martin said.

The Covington resident is studying health sciences and also worked the November 2022 midterm elections while a student in Robertson’s American Government course.

Martin jumped at the chance to work at the polls a second time—despite knowing that she needed to get up at 5:30 a.m. to travel to her assigned precinct in Loganville.

“When I learned I would be in Professor Robertson’s class, I knew I wanted to take it—I loved her American Government course and worked the polls then.

"I am not political, but I enjoyed helping people at the polls," Martin said.

As a Perimeter honors student studying political science, Harvey needed to find a project that enhanced her American Government coursework. She chose to be trained as a poll worker. Harvey, a Monticello resident, said that the experience of working at the Turner Lake Senior Center precinct during midterm elections in November 2022 inspired her to stay involved in the political process.

While she enjoyed meeting people and helping with the poll pads as part of her responsibilities, Harvey noticed that she was the only young person in the building.

“No one my age came to vote,” she said.

Harvey said she wants more young people her age to step up to help in the polls.

“We need to get involved in the process," she said.

"Going through the experience of working the polls lit the spark about why I got involved in political science in the first place. I want to help mobilize younger people to get involved."

Robertson doesn’t require students to work at the polls while taking her classes, but she does offer the opportunity to engage in their communities. The political science lecturer is always looking for ways to connect her students to the content they’re learning in class, offering events for Constitution Week and a ‘study-away’ program in Washington, D.C.

It was before the 2022 midterm elections, that Robertson had the idea of exploring whether her students could work the polls during an election. She reached out to Angela White Davis, who is the Newton County Board of Elections and Registration director.

Would Davis consider training some of her students as poll workers?

“She was on board with it and gave me deadlines when students should have their applications in. And the students were responsive—they filled out their applications pretty quickly,” Robertson said.

It also was a big ask of her students, said Robertson. A poll worker's shifts are as long as 14 hours. Some students would have to get up before 5 a.m. to get to the polls before 6:30 a.m.

This year, Robertson contacted the Rockdale County Board of Elections and Registration. Several students who live in Rockdale County will work the polls there as well.

For students like Harvey, the time spent working the polls is worth it.

“Since I turned 18, I’ve constantly heard you need to go to the polls, you need to vote," she said.

"I never understood why. When I worked the polls, I saw that my demographic was not represented. This is why you need to vote."

She noted that when she finished her shift during the November 2022 election, she went to vote in her precinct in Jasper County.

She worked the polls during early voting and the presidential preference primary on March 12.

“Working the polls is a good experience and a good way to meet different types of personalities and see how the polls work,” Harvey said.

"When you go through the experience yourself, you see they are fair, and a lot of love and care is put into the process of making sure your vote is secure.”

Story by Rebecca Rakoczy

Photo by Bill Roa