The report of the Election Assistance Commission on the 2004 presidential election, that polling stations across the country had too few poll workers. 5,252 polling places or precincts were inadequately staffed - 5.8% of polling places. The worst was Lousiana with 64.7% of precincts inadequately staffed. Link.

I was an election observor in the 2005 election in an inner city precinct, and I saw just what this means first hand. We need to fix that gap. Nothing but bodies on the ground can make a difference.

The American Association of University Professors / Maryland Professors at the Polls project aims to attack this critical shortfall.

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an orgnization / union the represents thousands of professors across the country.

The AAUP's purpose is to advance academic freedom and shared governance, to define fundamental professional values and standards for higher education, and to ensure higher education's contribution to the common good.

The Professors at the Polls project is one example of an effort to contribute to the common good. The project and resources being provided are a nice example of what a small grassroots project to protect the voting process can be.

Maryland Professors at the Polls is an initiative to encourage civic participation by the faculty of Maryland colleges and universities and is being funded by The Carnegie Corporation. The AAUP is collaborating with the Center for the Study of Democracy of St. Mary's College to manage the project in Maryland . The AAUP and the Center are organizing faculty from around the state to serve as elections judges in 2006. (Primary Day is September 12, 2006 and General Election Day is November 7, 2006.)

. . . The American Council on Education (ACE) also endorsed the idea of Maryland's professoriate to volunteer in this very important part of the electoral process, and to encourage their students to serve as well.

The website provides useful information, such as the Maryland State and County Election Rules & Regulations

The project has made good use of existing institutions. For example, the Center for the Study of Democracy at St. Mary's College of Maryland is working on the project. And Salisbury University has set up a program designed to support Maryland Professors at the Polls.

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Many of my students were eager to serve as election observors last election. Faculty and students are a great resource that can be tapped into in the service of a fundamental democractic institution and to preserve and make genuine our right to vote.

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