ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Early voting is underway across Central Florida, and officials have reported seeing record numbers when it comes to participation.
There are a few things that might look a little different in Orange County as you cast your ballot for this year’s historic election, including the ballot itself, which is two pages and double-sided. But who you turn your ballots into might look a little different as well, thanks to a new Gen-Z poll worker program created by Orange County Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean, and one inspiring high school senior named Prateek Seela.
As people started the week in long lines, waiting for their chances to be amongst the first early voters, work is still going on beyond the walls of the elections office to assure that voters are getting the best quality experience when casting their ballots. Additionally, the next generation of poll workers are also being prepped to make their debut on Nov. 5.
Gilzean, who also has an education-driven background, said that he was approached by a high school senior with an issue surrounding Gen-Z students and the notion that they don’t care about anything. The pair met months ago during the State of the County address, when Seela told Gilzean they needed to find a solution.
“He said, ‘Glen, we have to solve this problem of making sure that Gen-Z has a voice in this process, especially with this very important, very historic election cycle,’” Gilzean explained.
As the conversation continued, the two tackled the best way to attract students and engage them in the world of civics, and then the Gen-Z poll worker program was born. The first ever program in the country, according to Gilzean that works to not only fill the poll worker staffing issues that many elections offices are seeing but also bridging the gap between the next generation and the importance of their civic duty to vote.
“What this program entails is recruiting high school seniors to actually come in, work the polls either day of or prior to,” said Gilzean. “They will receive volunteer/community service credits that they can apply to Florida Bright Futures and be able to use that to help them graduate high school.”
Most of the time, poll workers include those who are retired or are veterans. Which, officials say is not a bad thing. However, the objective of the Gen-Z poll worker program is to teach students how the election process works, providing the students with hands-on experience that Prateek shared is not happening within the education system.
“Lots of high schools don’t push civic engagement forward. Lots of high schools don’t have civic curriculum and lots of high schools don’t have civic opportunities,” he explained. “We want to solve those issues all in one through our program where we allow people to get hands-on experience and also learn about civics from any side of the library.”
Seela said the program is non-partisan with a clear focus on creating a pathway for Gen-Z students to learn about civics while they are in school.
“There’s a lake of catering towards Gen-Z,” said Seela. “There’s no pathway to facilitate Gen-Z getting into civics until a lot later in their life; which is exactly why we see most poll workers being people in older age generations.”
Voters will see the Gen-Z poll worker program in action on Nov. 5, with about 55 students already signed up to volunteer. Any students who are registered or pre-registered to vote are eligible to become a poll worker. Pre-registration is available for students aged 16 to 17.
Officials from the Supervisor of Elections office shared that ideally, they are hoping to get anywhere from 100 to 200 Gen-Z students at the polls volunteering for this election.
The program has been extended to all public Orange County high schools. Gilzean said the program is student led, and that’s what makes the program so unique.
Anyone older that does not fit into the Gen-Z poll worker program criteria can still apply online to become an election worker. You just have to be registered to vote.