Marchers in downtown Newark taking the streets for voting rights on January 15, 2022. (Photo credit, Josie Gonsalves for Public Square Amplified)
NEWARK, NJ – As early voting in the 2026 midterm election begins, poll workers help ensure people’s ability to represent themselves. Poll workers are present during early voting and on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3rd, assisting voters with questions, checking individuals in at polling stations, and ensuring equal opportunity to cast a vote. In-person voting hours are from 6-8 p.m. across polling places in New Jersey.
During the 2024 Presidential Election, counties across the country organized more than 630,000 poll workers across nearly 78,000 polling stations, according to the National Association of Counties. Of those, 30,000 poll workers in New Jersey staffed approximately 3,200 polling locations, said state Division of Elections spokeswoman Alicia D’Alessandro regarding the 2024 Election.
Aaronae Emerson, a junior at Rutgers University–Newark, became a poll worker in 2025. Emerson, born and raised in Newark’s South Ward and later in the North Ward, has been a community organizer with the Gem Project and the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice (NJISJ).
It was in her work on the Vote16 Project that she discovered the essential role poll workers play in democracy. “While doing an organizing workshop for the Vote16 Project, my research led me to the important role of a poll worker – and I was inspired. I signed up, and this will be my first time,” said Everson.
“It's good to see a familiar face when you're going to vote. If you decide to become a poll worker, you're doing your civic duty and showing that you value your community,” Emerson continued. “I think as young people, we are in a very unique position. It’s important to bring a fresh perspective to the conversations that have been happening before any of us were born.” In New Jersey, citizens aged 16 or older can apply to serve as a poll worker.
Poll workers not only help assist with voting check-in or questions, but are available to speak to if people feel intimidated while voting. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, examples of intimidation include hostile questioning about voter qualifications and disseminating disinformation about voter requirements, among other forms of harassment.
You can report intimidation to poll workers, county and state officials, your Attorney General’s office, the Election Protection Hotline at (866)-OUR-VOTE, or the U.S. Department of Justice Voting Rights Hotline at 800-253-3931.
“You have the right to vote free from intimidation, obstruction, and voter discrimination. All of those three things are prohibited by state and federal law. Democracy and voting are so important, but you have to keep working at it to make sure that it is representing people and that they’re able to vote,” said Nuzhat Chowdhury, Director of the Democracy & Justice Program at the NJISJ. The NJISJ works with other state organizations to form the New Jersey Election Protection Coalition, which works to ensure that people can vote without discrimination at polling sites.
New Jersey legislation, including the John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act (NJVEA) signed into law on July 2, 2026, provides legal protections to fight discriminatory voting practices, expands voter language assistance for those with limited English proficiency, and provides a remedy process for the violation of the bill’s provisions.
“Any voter who walked into a polling location should not have to present their ID. Voters have the right to ask anyone– a friend, a family member, an acquaintance– to help them at the polls. This could include someone who’s there to help translate for them, to assist them in filling out their ballot. You have a right to take someone of your choosing into the polling location,” Chowdhury continued.
Everson, who will be at the polls on November 3rd, encourages people to vote if they have not done so already. “Voting is important, and I want all young people who are registered to vote to come out and vote,” said Everson.
Voter rights and accessibility information is available at New Jersey’s Voter Information Portal. You can find your polling location at the portal’s polling place search.
