REDWOOD CITY - Twenty-three seniors from Ashley Gray’s Government class at South San Francisco High School will be serving as poll workers on Election Day as part of a pilot Student Poll Worker project co-sponsored by the South San Francisco School District and the San Mateo County Elections Office. They will be placed in 22 precincts in South San Francisco and one precinct in San Bruno.

"With the hotly contested November 2nd Presidential General Election just days away and the largest number of registered voters in the history of San Mateo County, these 23 seniors will have a front-row seat in one of the most historic elections of our time," said Warren Slocum, Chief Elections Officer for San Mateo County. "I believe we are investing in our democracy by having students working at the polls on Election Day."

"This is a great opportunity for these students," said Gray, Government Teacher and Social Studies Chair at South San Francisco High School. "It is important for the students to be involved in civic participation at an early age. Through this project, these students will be part of the democratic process, be exposed to a wide cross section of the community and in doing so, provide a valuable community service."

Michael Coyne, Principal of South San Francisco High School shared his thoughts in saying, "A presidential election is a prime opportunity to engage students in the national debate about the future of our country and to teach students about voting." He added, "It is a stirring thing to witness our fellow citizens exercising their right to vote. It is my hope that when these students are eligible to vote, they will do so with passion and conviction."

Although the Governor’s veto of AB 1944 will deprive the school district of the student ADA (average daily attendance) funding, South San Francisco opted to participate in the pilot anyway. "We are very pleased to be working with the South San Francisco School District. Their principal, Michael Coyne, has been extremely supportive, innovative and sought community support to fund the project," said Slocum.

Poll workers must learn how to do a job, do it well and do it well on the first and only day of the job. It's an unusual situation. To prepare the students for their Poll Worker responsibilities, they are required to attend a 2-hour training session where they will learn not only what is legally required on Election Day, but what to expect on that day.

"On Election Day, the students will work from 6:00am – 9:00pm and experience the entire process of opening, operating and closing the polling site in accordance with the legal requirements of the elections code," said McElroy who oversees the polling operations at Elections. "They will be operating in an official capacity, they will have the same experience as our veteran poll workers and they will receive a poll worker’s stipend of $105 ($25 for the training and $80 for Election Day) for their effort. We’re counting on them."

"We are hoping through the success of this program that we can expand it to include more schools and their students in future elections," said Slocum. "It is exciting to include a new generation of prospective voters in the process."