🗳️How Associations Can Support Michigan Elections

The Michigan Chamber Foundation recently launched the Support MI Clerks initiative in response to growing concerns from local election officials about poll worker shortages across the state. With expanded early voting and increased administrative demands, local clerks have reported growing difficulty maintaining adequate staffing levels on Election Day and during early voting periods. Support MI Clerks is designed to help bridge that gap by connecting community organizations and associations with clear, actionable ways to support poll worker recruitment efforts.

Associations play an important role in this effort, offering two primary ways to get involved: educating members through a presentation given by Support MI Clerks and sharing our digital toolkit to promote poll worker opportunities.

#1 - Bring Support MI Clerks to Your Organization

We are actively scheduling presentations for association meetings, conferences, and member events.

These briefings walk through:

• How to sign up as a poll worker
• The current poll worker shortage and its impact on elections
• What poll workers actually do on Election Day
• Easy next steps for organizations that want to participate

If your association is interested in hosting a presentation, we can tailor the discussion to your membership and event format.

To request a presentation, please email jwilliams@harborstrategic.com

#2 Utilize the Digital Toolkit

To make outreach even easier, Support MI Clerks provides downloadable materials that associations can distribute directly to their membership, including:

• Printable posters
• Frequently asked questions
• Digital graphics for newsletters and email

These resources are designed to make it simple for associations to share poll worker opportunities and encourage participation across their membership.

Why This Matters

The number of available poll workers in Michigan has been steadily declining while demand continues to grow due to expanded early voting and evolving election administration needs. Strengthening recruitment efforts helps ensure local clerks can adequately staff polling locations and maintain smooth election operations. Supporting these efforts is essential to maintaining the integrity and reliability of Michigan’s elections.