First Five Now: Student Activism and the Poll Hero Project

Ryan Schwieger, a senior at Princeton University and co-founder of the Poll Hero Project, talks about his organization’s goal to recruit thousands of young people to be poll workers on Election Day.

The Poll Hero Project was founded by a group of high school, college and graduate students who were concerned that a lack of poll workers was one of the most significant unmet needs in the proper functioning of the 2020 Election.

A majority of poll workers are older Americans who, this year, are more likely not to work the polls due to higher susceptibility to COVID-19.

Since the launch of the project, more than 30,000 young people have signed up to be poll workers.

First Five Now is a Freedom Forum conversation that explores topical issues and features current newsmakers who are using the five freedoms of the First Amendment to guide their work.