Power the Polls Recognized in Politics & Policy Category of Fast Company’s 2023 World Changing Ideas Awards

First-of-its-kind initiative to recruit the next generation of poll workers named for the second time as one of the top creative solutions to the biggest issues facing our nation today.

May 3, 2023 — Power the Polls, the first-of-its-kind, nonpartisan initiative for recruiting the next generation of poll workers to help ensure safe, fair, and secure elections, was named an honorable mention in the politics and policy category of Fast Company’s 2023 World Changing Ideas Awards. Fast Company’s 2023 World Changing Ideas Award honors sustainable designs, innovative products, bold social initiatives, and other creative projects that are changing the way we work, live, and interact with the world. This is the second time Power the Polls has been recognized as a World Changing Idea since it launched less than three years ago.

Power the Polls was founded in 2020 to address concerns around a potential mass poll worker shortage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the goal of recruiting the next generation of poll workers among younger, more diverse populations that have not historically filled these roles. In 2022, the initiative connected almost 300,000 potential poll workers with election administrators nationwide and supported nearly 600 priority jurisdictions across 42 states to fill poll worker needs. This included recruitment for poll workers speaking over 25 languages.

Power the Polls and its founding partners – Civic Alliance, Civic Responsibility Project, Comedy Central, Fair Elections Center, Pizza to the Polls, MTV Entertainment Group, and Center for Secure & Modern Elections – work closely with over 400 nonprofit organizations and businesses to recruit potential poll workers who reflect their communities, and to ensure that local elections officials have the poll workers they need to run each election.

“Poll workers are essential to our democracy. Our elections simply cannot run without them, so it is absolutely critical that all of us – businesses, non-profit organizations, celebrities, neighbors – are finding ways to support poll workers and encourage more people to step up to serve their communities,” said Marta Hanson, national program manager for Power the Polls. “Power the Polls has been a collaborative initiative from the start, and we’re so honored to be recognized for a second time as one of Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas. We’re thrilled with the excitement from thousands of people – especially young people – who have raised their hands in 2020 and 2022 to be poll workers in their local elections, and we’re gearing up to connect with even more people across the nation who want to support democracy in their own communities.”

This year’s World Changing Ideas Awards showcase 45 winners, 216 finalists, and more than 300 honorable mentions—with health, climate, energy, and AI among the most popular categories. A panel of Fast Company editors and reporters selected winners and finalists from a pool of more than 2,200 entries across urban design, education, nature, politics, technology, corporate social responsibility, and more. Several new categories were added this year including rapid response, crypto and blockchain, agriculture, and workplace. The 2023 awards feature entries from across the globe, from Italy to Singapore to New Zealand.

HOW POWER THE POLLS STARTED

To sign up to be a poll worker or learn more, please visit www.powerthepolls.org.