Whole Plant Direct is Proud to Support the Unsung Heroes of Election 2020: POLL WORKERS!
CHICAGO: For immediate release: Local Chicago Business, Whole Plant Direct, donates PPE to Polls to Protect Poll Workers
Whole Plant Direct is proud to be a part of history! Our Team has already voted, but many ballots are still waiting to be cast and counted. We worry about the Unsung Heroes of our Election: Our Poll Workers. We are proud to be a part of history! Eddie voted by mail and Jenny voted early in-person. For years, both have volunteered to get out the vote, but this year is unlike any prior, and takes a bit more care. As Whole Plant Direct began contacting County Clerks, we were struck at the seemingly unending need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including individual bottles of Hand Sanitizer — one that you can keep in your pocket. Whole Plant Direct is proud to expand the #PPE 4Polls campaign in the last few days of the “Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” i.e., Election season!
In a statement from Whole Plant Direct the Team noted,
”The 2020 Presidential election amidst COVID-19 will forever serve as a cornerstone to our future. Today, we are announcing an initiative that we began a few weeks back, protecting our poll workers. Like you, each day, we see stories that detail the lengths that our fellow Americans have gone to in order to cast their ballot. Whether long lines, confusing narratives surrounding the reliability of mail-in voting, complicated voting processes, or tracking the lifecycle of your ballot as if it were that long awaited, “private” Amazon order that is still ten stops away, voting has now become the Ultimate FOMO event of 2020.
We are inspired by the true American Spirit of our friends and neighbors waiting in miles-long lines and the “only-in-America” cast of characters that continually show up to entertain the voters. — We simply want to do our part to show our appreciation.”
Pocket-Sized Hand Sanitizer: ‘PC Load Letter’ Meets Elections
Who are these unsung heroes? To quote the wisdom of Sesame Street, these are “…the people in your neighborhood. They are the people that you meet when you’re walking down the street, the people that you meet each day.”1 Yes, that’s right, these people are the ordinary citizens like us who are transformed into extraordinary Poll Workers, with superpowers to answer our endless questions and quell our anxieties as WE attempt to remain six feet from one another, lost in the new normal of arrows, masks, and lines. But our Poll Workers aren’t so lucky, they may need to come closer than six feet, which is why we are proud to offer the additional protection of pocket-sized hand sanitizer.
Poll Workers are on the front lines and need protection just like all of the other Essential Workers we protect. These extraordinary citizens take time to kindly point us in the right direction and troubleshoot the inevitable glitches at the crossroads of humanity and technology. And they do so selflessly to ensure our Civic Right— the power to vote, a right that has not been easy to earn or to continually enforce. Generally, Poll Workers were retired or more mature in age, as the US Election Commission notes,
”Most poll workers have traditionally been over the age of 61, making them especially vulnerable to complications if they contract COVID-19. This has resulted in a critical need for poll workers who are willing and able to assist with the administration of in-person voting and ballot drop off on and before Election Day. Poll workers are critical to the success of an election. Having an adequate number of poll workers to staff polling places on and before Election Day can ensure voters receive the assistance they need at the polls and can help provide a positive and smooth voting experience for all. By signing up to be a poll worker, you can Help America Vote. While specific duties and compensation vary depending on location, poll workers are the face of the election office during voting. Most jurisdictions task election workers with setting up and preparing the polling location, welcoming voters, verifying voter registrations, and issuing ballots. Poll workers also help ensure voters understand the voting process by demonstrating how to use voting equipment and explaining voting procedures.”2
If you would like to become a Poll Worker, please visit PowerThePolls.org or see the Compendium of State Statutes and Regulations.3
‘Democracy is a Team Sport!’
There are countless efforts from many organizations. Two which caught our eye are More than a Vote, which offers an entire listing of state partnerships and Power the Polls, whose goal is to recruit 250,000 Poll Workers.
Did you know that earlier this year up to 85% of Poll workers who signed up did not show up?
“This is your chance to be essential in this Election…because none of us wants to look back after this historic election and wish we had done more…if we want this Election to work, we need to work this Election.”— Power to the Polls
We hope that many of our friends will join us in protecting our National Treasures of 2020: Poll Workers. If you are interested in donating a few bottles or boxes, please visit WholePlantDirect.com/Donate or share this link on Social Media with the hashtag #PPE4Polls! Fitting to the occasion, in addition to credit/debit cards we also take Bitcoin — vires in numeris!
