Poll Worker Excused Absence Policy: Pilot Project for Fall 2006 General Election
Approved by the Faculty Senate, September 13, 2006
Whereas:

Major deficiencies have occurred in Cuyahoga County-managed elections during
the past several years, causing national and international opprobrium, and serious
questions as to the accuracy of the reported results;

Legitimate voters have been blocked from casting valid ballots that could be
legally counted in part because of poll worker errors;

Significant security risks are posed for the accuracy and integrity of election
results when poll workers are not knowledgeable, alert, and assiduously carrying
out their duties to protect from tampering the voting machines and security access
cards;

Voters in polling places have been subjected to illegal suppression and
intimidation tactics in recent elections, tactics that poll workers are charged to
recognize and eliminate by ejecting such uncredentialed persons from the room–
yet too often are ignored to the detriment of minority and indigent populations;

The May 2nd election was by most evaluations disastrous, pervaded with a range
of problems traceable to poll workers;

the November 2006 election will be more demanding at the polling places than
the May election because of new laws governing voter ID, provisional ballots, and
disabled voter access, and whose correct implementation requires analytic, highly
competent poll workers;

the County Board of Elections is undertaking a major effort to recruit new persons
into serving as Cuyahoga poll workers for the November 2006 elections, with
over 7000 persons needed to qualify and serve as poll workers;

CSU’s Center for Election Integrity is conducting the major national study on
college/university poll worker recruitment and service, a study that is to generate
the “Best Practices” for use nationally;

over the summer of 2006, the federal agency approved a partnership between
Cuyahoga County’s Board of Election and CSU as a pilot project for
college/university poll worker recruitment;

within the past week (following managerial re-tasking), the Board of Elections
has determined its plans for poll worker recruitment for the November election,
and needs substantial assistance from this University to fill available poll worker
slots with qualified students;

the Faculty Senate enacted a Missed Class Policy for the University in 2005 that
includes: in section (B):
"the University recognizes certain activities as legitimate reasons for
absence from class. This policy recognizes participation in Universityauthorized activities, approved by the appropriate University authority
as a legitimate class absence";

The policy’s "University Authorized Activities" are defined in a manner that does
not clearly incorporate serving as a poll worker in a major election causing CSU
students to worry whether they can serve as a poll worker without academic
penalties– thus greatly reducing the number of students who will be willing to
serve as poll workers;

the CSU Center for Election Integrity has documented with CSU students who
were released from one class in order to serve as poll workers that despite a desire
to serve, none served because of the risk of a quiz or a penalty of some type from
the classes where they were not released;

fewer than 60 days remain before the November election, with the Sept 13, 2006
Senate meeting both the first and last meeting where this matter can be redressed.
It is, therefore, resolved that the Missed Class Policy should be amended to include the
following provision:
1. CSU faculty are required (a) to excuse from class attendance during the period
November 6 (Monday night) from 6:00 pm through November 7 (Tuesday,
Election Day), 2006, all students who serve in any of the official poll worker and
polling support (including Public Monitor) positions (which can include, e.g.,
polling place translators, technical support for e-voting machines) for Cuyahoga
County and other Ohio counties, and (b) to allow such students to make up any
assignments, quizzes, and other work otherwise due during this period, as
specified under point 2 (below).
2. Any CSU student who desires to exercise the excused poll worker service
option must: (a) have officially applied and been selected to serve; (b) be
scheduled for or have completed training by October 20, 2006; (c) inform the
faculty whose classes are affected in writing (electronically or in whatever
manner the particular faculty member requests) no later than by October 20, 2006;
(d) arrange to make up any course work or quizzes due to their absence; and (e)
provide official documentation to the faculty member at a later appropriate point
of having served as a poll worker or in a polling support position. At all times the
responsibility for making up coursework rests with the student.
3. The CSU Center for Election Integrity will conduct a review of the pilot
project and file a report with the appropriate Faculty Senate Committee(s), the
Student Senate Committee(s) and the University Administration so that they may
assess whether to amend the Missed Class Policy to incorporate explicitly Poll
Worker absences.