OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Americans are encouraged to do their duty and vote for Election Day. But in Nebraska, some residents must go further: they must contribute to the conduct of elections.

Nebraska is the only state in the United States to use mandatory election duties to hire precinct poll workers, election office assistants and ballot deliverers, among other tasks, according to the National Conference of State Legislators . Anyone who ignores a summons could be charged with a criminal offense and fined up to $100.

Twenty years ago, Dawn O’Brien was busy teaching and transporting children to school and practice when she received a letter telling her she had been selected for election duty. She had lived in Omaha for about 25 years at the time and had never heard of mandatory voting duty.

“I was surprised,” she remembers. “I remember thinking, ‘Boy, how am I going to juggle this?’ » »

But like many Nebraska residents recruited for the job, O’Brien found himself with a new appreciation for civic service. She now volunteers to participate in most elections.

“I learned so much about what it takes to have free and fair elections,” she said. “Doing this and doing it well takes considerable effort. »

So far, only Douglas and Sarpy counties — among the state’s most populous in the Omaha metro area — are using the project. Indeed, with nearly 500,000 of the 1.25 million registered voters in those two counties, they need thousands of workers to help at hundreds of polling places.

Finding all this help, especially at a time when election workers are facing threats And security concerns — can be a challenge, said Douglas County Election Commission Brian Kruse. For the upcoming election, Douglas will employ approximately 3,000 poll workers, 45 percent of whom are enlisted.

While other states rely on election officials to recruit workers, with some turning to churches or community civic organizations to ferret out volunteers, Nebraska’s system works much the same as jury duty: registered voters are randomly selected to serve on Election Day. State law allows exemptions for anyone 70 or older, those with documented health conditions or other reasons deemed acceptable. This also allows those with young children to postpone service until the children are older.

The only other way to evade electoral duty?

“You need to remove yourself from the voter rolls,” Kruse said. “Most people don’t want to go that route.”

Unlike jury duty, those selected for the Nebraska Election Project are not only required to work in the upcoming election. They are threatened by four elections.

In addition to those who volunteer, candidates for office receive a minimum wage of $12 an hour. State law requires employers of recruits to provide paid leave to perform their duties, although employers can deduct election work pay from paid leave.

Power the Polls, a national initiative launched in 2020 to recruit poll workers, is keeping an eye on Nebraska’s approach, which has been in practice since at least the 1950s.

Marta Hanson, national program manager for Power the Polls, said the project is an innovative way to ensure diversity among poll workers and recruit younger workers in a field dominated by over-60s.

“One of the biggest requests we hear from election administrators across the country is for election workers who are tech-savvy and comfortable using an iPad or tablet when upgrading the election technology nationwide,” Hanson said.

If she hadn’t been drafted, O’Brien said she probably never would have thought about volunteering.

“It didn’t even cross my mind,” O’Brien said. “It gives me a sense of pride to know that I am helping to promote democracy. There are a lot of people in other parts of the world who would probably be happy to have the right to vote.”