Young people are also frequently employed by EMBs as voting staff and other roles on election day and during the electoral phase in general. This is a good way to “get them while they are young,” and can have a positive impact on youth – educating them about politics, building trust in government, and building their employment skills. It also benefits the EMB, which needs to employ large numbers of people over a short time, and re-employ this workforce periodically at every election. Youth also are frequently employed as “Democracy Ambassadors” or “Youth Ambassadors” – motivating and assisting youth and other groups to register and vote. 

Example: In many jurisdictions in the United States and Canada, youth aged 15, 16 and 17 are employed in “Youth at the Booth” programs. These are paid roles, providing work experience for the young people. In recent British Columbia elections, Elections BC used youth workers who they considered as tech-savvy to find voter information on the internet quickly so as to enhance voter experience at the polls. In Ohio, the Youth at the Booth program recruits high-school students. Ohio law specifically allows for 17-year-olds who are enrolled in the senior year of high school to serve as voting officers. 

Example: In Australia, 16- and 17-year-olds are employed as voting assistants by the Australian Electoral Commission – providing a training ground for them to be employed as regular voting officials after they turn 18. In the lead-up to the 2018 Victorian state election, the Victorian Electoral Commission released a video advertisement specifically aiming to recruit young people aged 16–25 – to work as casual employees at the election. 

Example: “Day Off for Democracy.” In Ohio, in the US, the election board instituted a program to engage the business community and government agencies in the election process, called “Partners in Democracy.” Participating businesses and agencies were encouraged to give their employees a “day off for democracy” to allow them to serve as election workers.[i] 

Example: In Nigeria, the EMB has used young people who are part of the National Youth Service Corps as additional officials at voting stations, helping to deepen the levels of youth interest in the elections.[ii]

Example: In Namibia, the EMB recruited young people to work as Youth Ambassadors to promote the active engagement of young people in elections.[iii] 

Example: The Victorian Electoral Commission’s “Be Heard” Democracy Ambassador was a peer-based electoral education program specifically designed for the 2018 Victorian state election, in Australia. Over 40 community members were recruited, trained, and supported to provide face-to-face voter information to groups identified as facing barriers to electoral participation. The 2018 Democracy Ambassadors were a diverse group, including: people with disabilities (intellectual and physical), people who were homeless, people from CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, “at-risk” youths, and others. Youths were specifically targeted and mentored during the program, based on an understanding that a peer-to-peer approach to youth participation is one of the most effective methods. See Annex: VEC Some Youth Inclusion Programming. 

As social media is a vital part of any EMB’s communications strategy, creating a social media coordinator position is a good way to attract talented young people, and is preferable to simply adding these duties onto someone else’s workload. 

Example: Georgia’s Central Election Commission ‘Open Door Day’. In 2018, the Central Election Commission (CEC) in Georgia held an ‘Open Door Day’ to youth as part of their educational programming. Participants visited a photo exhibition on the history of elections in Georgia, and mock elections were held. Representatives of the CEC Training Center provided the youth with detailed information on E-day procedures and voters’ rights.