The Ohio National Guard, who have been called on to distribute food and oversee virus testing during the current pandemic, are now being suggested as a solution to a possible shortage of poll workers during the November General Election.

State Rep. Thomas West (D-Canton) says he has sent a letter to Gov. Mike DeWine, urging him to consider deploying members of the guard as poll workers if county boards of elections continue to face shortages heading into the November election.

"For those Ohioans who choose to vote in-person on Election Day, it is absolutely crucial that we ensure our polling locations are adequately staffed. We must consider all options at our disposal to ensure that happens," said Rep. West. "As we continue to monitor poll worker staffing levels for our counties, I hope the governor will take this suggestion under careful consideration."

West's letter comes after the Stark County Board of Elections announced results of a poll worker survey it was required to conduct by an order from Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

 The survey asked 2,700 people who had formerly served or recently indicated an interest in serving as a poll worker whether they would do so in November. One thousand people responded, and of those, 54 percent said they would, 35 percent they would not, and 10 percent were unsure.

Thirty-five thousand poll workers are required to operate the state's 4,000 polling locations. LaRose has said that if the 88 counties cannot field the required number of poll workers, affected polling locations would not be able to operate, according to Rep. West.

Trumbull County Deputy Elections Director Ron Massullo said that as of Tuesday, about 80% of the needed 657 poll workers he says are needed to handle the county's 158 precincts. 

Invitations have been sent out to another 250 potential poll workers who would begin training at the end of September.

Columbiana County Elections Director Kim Fusco says they have been getting more positive than negative responses to their poll worker surveys, and she's hoping to get 100 more workers than the 348-minimum needed for the county's 87 precincts.

The Mahoning County Board of Elections has not yet responded to 21 News' requests for survey results.

The use of the National Guard at elections is not without precedent, and not without controversy

More than 200 Kentucky National Guardsmen were called up for Kentucky's June 23 primary. However, they served out of uniform performing nonelection officer duties, such as setting up and cleaning poll locations and assisting with traffic, parking, and crowd control in a non-law enforcement capacity.

The Kentucky guard did not perform duties reserved for trained election officials, such as handling ballots or screening voters to determine who can vote.

During Wisconsin's primary election earlier this month, the National Guard assisted local election officials as poll workers.

In May, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law sounded an alarm regarding the deployment of the National Guard, state police, and local law enforcement for security purposes as voters prepared to cast ballots in primary elections just days after the police-involved killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

"History has shown that law enforcement can have a chilling effect on African Americans and voters of color," the Committee said in a statement. "Deployment of military and law enforcement, along with their militarized equipment, not only unnecessarily escalates tensions on the ground with demonstrators but also can stand to discourage people from freely casting their ballot."

21 News has reached out to the Governor's office for a response to Representative West's letter but has not yet heard back.

You can sign up to become a poll worker by following the below link

Rep. West's letter to Governor DeWine may be read below.