Michigan clerks are looking for more help as they prepare for November’s election and the state’s nine‑day early voting period.
Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie says nearly 2,000 poll workers took part in Michigan’s August primary — but clerks across the state continue to face staffing challenges as they manage expanded early voting and a growing volume of absentee ballots.
The Michigan Chamber Foundation is trying to help fill those gaps. Its Support MI Clerks campaign is recruiting and training paid poll workers, while expanding outreach and advertising to encourage more people to sign up.
Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum says she’s encouraged by the response so far — but more workers are still needed.
“Well, the August primary election was a big election with a long ballot,” Byrum said. “A 22‑inch ballot, front and back in Ingham County. There's always a need for additional poll workers in Michigan.”
Election officials say Michigan’s new nine‑day early voting period requires additional workers to staff early voting centers, run equipment, and process ballots each day.
Clerks also need more people to handle absentee ballot verification and counting — work that used to be concentrated on Election Day but now stretches across multiple days. Larger ballots, like the one used in August, also slow down tabulation and require more trained workers to keep lines moving.
Lansing City Clerk Chris Swope says the city will need up to 100 more workers for November.
“We had about 475 shifts,” Swope said. “And because we have early voting and early AV processing, we filled that with about 350 people.”
Swope says Lansing is relying on a mix of experienced workers and new recruits.
“Now we do have some workers that have worked for us before that we'll be communicating with, but we're always in the market for new election workers,” Swope said. “Since we have to assign them by party, we're especially always looking for Republicans. We tend to have more Democrats here in the city.”
Byrum says local city and township clerks are responsible for hiring and training their own poll workers. She says that keeps Michigan’s elections locally run — but it also means clerks need residents to step up.
“I've been very happy to see members of the community step up and serve as poll workers,” Byrum said. “I think it's great that people are interested in becoming more involved in election administration, and I look forward to more people joining.”
Swope agrees and says community outreach is helping.
“People find it very rewarding,” Swope said. “We can't promise people working in their own neighborhood, but they're working in their community or near their community, and it's a good opportunity to meet neighbors and be part of your community.”
People interested in becoming poll workers can sign up through their local city or township clerk’s office.