Alverno College will give its campus community the day off on presidential Election Day to commit to effective citizenship, one of the school’s eight core abilities. Nearly 200 Alverno students will use the day off on Nov. 6 to take part in the political process serving as poll workers.
“It is so important for our students to be engaged, effective citizens,” said Mary J. Meehan, Ph.D., president of Alverno College. “It is part of the foundation of the Alverno experience. We want our students to make informed choices and be involved in community issues.”
Alverno has been providing training to students assisting at the polls to prepare them for Election Day as well as encourage them to practice effective citizenship.
“This will be the third major election that the Alverno community has been involved in, and students’ experiences as poll workers have been very positive,” said Susan Leister, director of Alverno’s Internship office and the coordinator of the Poll Worker Training Project. “They gain a trust in the election process and a new awareness of the responsibility they have as citizens to vote, especially after observing the obstacles some voters overcome to get to the polls.”
Alverno held 10 training sessions on campus throughout October. Training was funded by a grant from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which distributed 15 grants nationally. The grant Alverno received also supported recruitment efforts for poll workers including several Spanish-speaking students.
Poll workers will greet voters, verify voters’ polling sites, register new voters, assist chief election inspectors, hand out ballots, monitor voting machines and help voters move efficiently through the voting process. Student workers will be stationed at voting wards throughout Milwaukee and will be paid for their efforts.
