The kids are alright: At a Philly polling place, teens are running the show

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Most polling places in Philadelphia are manned by longtime residents who have worked Election Day for years.

Lincoln High School in Mayfair is not one of them.

Inside the school’s cavernous gymnasium on Tuesday where six divisions cast their ballots, nearly all of the poll workers were teenagers. Some Lincoln students. Others recent grads.

“The kids know what they’re doing here, they get good reviews here. The adults who are here with them always give us very positive feedback. The community gives us positive feedback,” said Sarah Caswell, a special education and science teacher.

Caswell started recruiting students to work the polls during the pandemic, when the ward was down poll workers. She started with eight kids. For Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary, she has 35.

Caswell hopes the experience will motivate them to become voters. Young people typically vote at a lower rate compared to the general public.

According to the Pew Research Center, about two-thirds of the country’s voting-eligible population cast a ballot in 2020, the last presidential election — about 15 percentage points higher than the estimated voter turnout for young people aged 18-29.

“If you don’t see yourself in a space, you don’t see yourself in that space, and you feel like it’s not for me. By introducing them here, and getting them comfortable, and helping them understand the process, we’ve had many kids who have registered, many who are first-time voters, and many who have gone on to get other family members who have never voted to register and vote,” said Caswell.

It’s helped make working Election Day, a day off for Philadelphia public schools, a real draw among Lincoln students. It also doesn’t hurt that poll workers are paid for their service — $200 for the 14-hour shift, plus $80 to be trained on using the voting machines and poll books.

Caswell chooses students — juniors and seniors — based on grades and attendance.

“If you can’t get to school on time, you’re probably not going to show up at 6 a.m. on Election Day. And if you’re not here, you’re not helpful to us to get everything set up and the polls open,” she said.

For Victorya Santos, being a poll worker is not about politics.

It’s about getting out the vote. She’s also still a senior in high school and hasn’t been able to apply for certain jobs that require a diploma. Being a poll worker allows Santos to earn money to help her mom pay the bills or cover expenses for college.

“For me, it’s more of starting to want to be independent financially, and not have to depend on my mom for everything,” said Santos, who also plans to work the general election in November.

Maria Moreira graduated from Lincoln last year. She’s back at the polls because she enjoyed the experience of working with people her age.

“Everyone is just kind of learning everything together and you don’t have to be embarrassed that some people are more ahead of you,” said Moreira.

The time also goes by faster when you’re stuck in a gym on a day off during a sleepy election with low voter turnout, she said.