The Office of the Connecticut Secretary of the State is accepting applications for its Next Gen Elections program through Friday, March 28. The program, which first launched last year, is designed to train Connecticut college students to be poll workers, according to the office’s website.
Arienne Orozco, the director of outreach and engagement at the Office of the Secretary of the State, said the program seeks 30 students who are interested in gaining skills and serving as poll workers next year.
“We’re looking for 30 civic-minded students around the state who want to learn more about the democratic process, gain leadership skills, and serve their communities during the 2025 municipal elections as poll workers,” Orozco said in an email.
According to the website, successful applicants will be trained as moderator-level poll workers. They will also be exposed to resume-building experiences and networking opportunities with election officials and leaders, as well as engage with other young people as a program ambassador at their university campus.
Students can expect to be paid for their work and reimbursed for travel costs regarding training, working and post-election convening, according to Orozco.
Orozco said that the program ran successfully last year, with 70% of participants reporting that they were likely to return to election work after the program and 80% claiming the program motivated them to vote in elections and be more civically engaged.
“We had great success in the first year of the program with our 2024 Cohort. Registrars of Voters found students to be invaluable additions to their teams, noting that they were ‘beyond wonderful’ and ‘highly motivated,’” Orozco said.
According to Merly Downey, assistant director of the University of Connecticut Office of Outreach and Engagement, 18 of the 40 students in last year’s cohort were from UConn.
“Last year, 18 UConn students participated out of 40 in the cohort, and we’re hoping to have even more UConn students from all campuses represented this year,” Downey said in an email.
The application is open to students who are 18 years or older, eligible to work in the United States, registered to vote in Connecticut and enrolled in a college or university in Connecticut during the 2025-2026 school year. Students must also be able to remain nonpartisan and “committed to treating everyone, including peers, mentors, and the general public, with dignity and respect at all times,” according to the website.
Interested students can apply by filling out the form linked on the office’s website. Applications will be accepted until midnight on Friday and applicants will be notified of final decisions by April 25.