• The US faces a shortage of poll workers, as many seniors sit out this election cycle over fears of contracting the coronavirus.
  • A growing number of businesses are stepping up and encouraging their employees to volunteer as poll workers by giving them paid time off to do so.
  • Old Navy and Tory Burch are some of the companies extending this benefit to their workers.
  • Other companies like Starbucks and Salesforce are partnering with a nonprofit organization called Power the Polls, which aims to recruit 250,000 poll workers for Nov. 3
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

There’s a looming shortage of poll workers right now amid the coronavirus pandemic. Historically, the majority of poll workers are over age 60, making them at-risk for the virus.

But a growing number of companies are stepping into civic engagement to help avert a crisis.

250,000 workers

On Tuesday, Old Navy announced it will pay its store employees to work the polls on Election Day. The company, which has 50,000-plus employees, said it is working with Civic Alliance, a nonpartisan coalition of businesses, and Power the Polls, an organization aimed at recruiting 250,000 poll workers “to ensure polling sites stay open and operate efficiently across the country” on Election Day.

Old Navy said it will compensate store associates who serve as poll workers with eight hours of pay, in addition to any compensation they receive from their local jurisdictions.

Nancy Green, president of Old Navy, said in a press release that "every voice in this country matters and deserves to be heard at the polls."

Getting engaged

The clothing retailer is part of a growing trend of businesses promoting civic engagement.

On Wednesday, fashion company Tory Burch announced it would also compensate workers who volunteered or worked at the polls for their day off.

"Sustaining our democracy requires hands-on, active participation, and the lack of poll workers potentially puts the voting process at risk," Tory Burch, founder of the company, said in a statement provided to Business Insider.

"As a businesswoman and a citizen, it is important to me to do what I can to help provide solutions," she added.

DC-based coffee company Compass Coffee is also compensating workers who take the day off to serve as poll workers.

"We want to be engaged. We want to be a part of democracy," district Manager at Compass Coffee told DC CBS affiliate WUSA9.

Other companies like Patagonia, Salesforce, and Starbucks are also working with Power the Polls, the organization leading the effort for more companies to sign on to their mission of getting more poll workers.

A national trend

Earlier this year, more than 380 companies including Deloitte, Dell, and JPMorgan Chase announced their partnering with the nonpartisan Time to Vote coalition to encourage workers to cast their ballots in the 2020 US presidential election.

The participating companies are either giving workers the day off, providing information about early voting or vote-by-mail options, or are making Nov. 3 a day without meetings.