When people think of election day, long lines and ballot boxes usually come to mind, not students. However, students sometimes play a notable role behind the scenes. 

This Nov. 4, students at The Baldwin School — notably from Dr. Athan Biss’ Politics and Civics course — helped facilitate polls across the Philadelphia area, helping manage voters all day. Students engaged in poll working to fulfill their civic engagement requirements for the semester.  

“[Poll working] allows you to see the mechanics of how our government works. It’s not a glamorous process,” Dr. Biss said. 

Among the different roles of poll working, many are limited to adults or experienced workers. Thus, most high school aged workers work as clerks or machine operators.

Dani Loveman ‘27, who worked as a machine operator and clerk on Nov. 4, felt that she gained valuable insight from the experience. 

“It definitely shifted my view on civil participation,” Loveman said. “It’s long and although I’ll get paid in quite some time, I did feel like I made a connection I wouldn’t [otherwise] have with the older generation.”

Piper Skoglund ‘26, who worked as a poll worker at Lower Merion High School, highlighted the logistics that the work entailed. 

“Democracy is a lot more tedious than it sounds. A lot of sitting there and telling them where to put ballots and how to fill out,” Skoglund said. “My whole job was telling people how to put ballots in the machine. We had paper ballots that were fed and counted in the machine.”

One experience that was a highlight for Skoglund was helping a 96-year-old woman fill in her ballot.

“It made me think about the range of people that Election Day unites for a common goal of participating [in democracy],” Skoglund said.

While Election Day can be a uniting experience, the mechanics of handling elections can be frustrating for poll workers and voters alike. Ayesha Sayeed ‘26 shared her experience of being relocated while poll working. 

“Two days in advance, I got a call from the woman organizing the poll working asking if I could move to a precinct that was 10 minutes from my house,” Sayeed said. “Then, the night before the poll working, there was an emergency and another precinct 15 minutes away needed another worker. I was happy participating in poll work, but the abrupt changes to my assignment were very confusing and a bit stressful.” 

Sayeed’s experience with poll working also caused her to think about the deterrents that may prevent people from voting. 

“A woman came at 6:15 a.m. waiting to vote, but we only opened at 7 a.m.,” Sayeed said. “[There are] limitations that de-influence people from voting.”

For many of these students, the day made one thing clear: young people have a meaningful role to play in sustaining democracy. The willingness of students to step in wherever needed ensured that precincts ran smoothly, while also reminding that youth democracy is more than an abstract concept.

Ultimately, students in Dr. Biss’ course not only learn about democracy in the classroom, but also experience facilitating democracy. 

“Poll working allows you to be grateful for all people who give their time to make it happen,” Dr. Biss said. “You learn a lot and have a deeper understanding of how the government operates.”