Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner is inviting registered voters who are able to read and speak English and Spanish fluently to become part of his election day team. Bilingual poll workers are needed at the polls to ensure that Spanish-speaking voters are able to exercise their rights to vote without any language barriers. A federal court order issued earlier this year, and subsequent directive from the Florida Secretary of State require supervisors of elections to provide Spanish language election materials, including ballots, and translation assistance at the polls, beginning with the March 17, 2020 presidential preference primary election, as well as the August 18 primary and the November 3 general election and during early voting. 

To be a poll worker, one must be a U.S. citizen and registered to vote (or pre-registered) in Sarasota County; be able to read and speak the English language; complete a minimum of three to four hours of training before each election; have transportation to and from the training classes and polling places; and be willing to work a minimum of 14 hours on election day (beginning at 6 a.m. to help to set up the polling place for voting, and helping to close the polling location after the polls have closed and all voters have voted). For more information, email [email protected] or visit sarasotavotes.com.