Washington, D.C. – Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) recently introduced H.R. 6339, the Federal Employees Deserve to Volunteer on the Elections Act of 2008, which allows federal employees to serve as non partisan poll workers and have the time off of work be categorized as administrative leave. Under current law, federal employees already receive administrative leave when they serve on jury duty. Under this bill, service as a poll worker would be documented in the same manner. In addition to creating incentives for federal employees to serve as poll workers, the bill also provides grants to states to recruit and train individuals to serve as poll workers. Current co-sponsor include Reps. Tom Davis(R-VA), Steny Hoyer (D-MD), James Moran (D-VA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

“Properly trained and engaged poll workers are crucial to the success of any election,” noted Rep. Zoe Lofgren. “Since federal employees are among the most dedicated public servants our nation has, this bill gives them the opportunity to serve their communities is a new and fulfilling way. By including a grant process in this bill, we also give states the tools necessary to train these new poll workers. The health of our democracy is directly related to the quality of our voting systems, this legislation is a good step in strengthening those systems.”