In December 2005, my Marine regimental combat team planned to provide security for elections in Fallujah, one of Iraq’s most violent cities. We anticipated a volatile day with low voter turnout. After all, very few people voted in Fallujah in the prior election just 11 months earlier.

That Election Day, as the sun rose, I watched from a machine gun turret as scores of Iraqi poll workers in Fallujah set up local polling stations. The presence of these local poll workers, few of whom wore protective flak jackets, helped instill confidence with other war-weary residents. Shockingly, by evening, more than 70% of eligible Iraqi citizens had risked their lives and voted in Fallujah.

My experience in Iraq gave me an even greater appreciation for our system of elections here in the U.S. As vitriolic and divisive as our politics can be today, election administrators across the country work hard to ensure our elections are free, safe and accessible to all eligible voters.

Even so, in this time of division and chaos, it’s difficult for many Americans to think about ways they can actually make a difference in our civic life. It’s a natural instinct to disengage. This is especially true for the near majority of Americans who don’t want to be partisans; according to Gallup, 43% of Americans now identify politically as independents.

However, this election season, regardless of political affiliation, any American can do something that can make a difference: take a day, work the polls.

According to the Election Assistance Commission, it takes about 1 million poll workers to responsibly execute a general election in a presidential election year. And election administrators across the country are facing critical needs for poll workers as we barrel ahead toward what may be one of the most contentious elections in our history, and at a time when public confidence in elections is waning.

Poll workers are the guardians of electoral integrity. These normal citizens check in voters, answer technical questions, ensure unfettered access to ballots, verify voter eligibility, and help citizens with language limitations or disabilities participate in their civic duty.

Years after my military service in Iraq, I witnessed a similar scene in Kenya, a relatively young multi-party democracy where I volunteered as an election monitor with the Carter Center and the International Republican Institute. Thousands of Kenyans of all ages volunteered and worked the polls, many of them for more than 14 hours, setting up before dawn and turning in well after dusk.

American poll workers may also be asked to work 14 hours on Election Day (though some jurisdictions do offer shifts, and the role is almost always paid). All poll workers — whether for elections in Iraq, Kenya, or here in America — play a similarly important and inspiring role in the democratic process.

Inspired by these experiences, I recently joined the Advisory Council of Power the Polls, a national, nonpartisan initiative committed to recruiting the next generation of poll workers to ensure fair, free and accessible elections. Through Power the Polls, you can quickly find the local poll worker requirements, schedule, pay, and apply to work the polls in your community.

Serving as a poll worker increases trust in the elections process. Poll workers often find their experiences rewarding, and are eager to serve again.

Our nation gives freedoms and opportunities unimaginable to most humans who have ever lived. America doesn’t ask much in return. For most citizens, the only service that’s actually required is jury duty, if summoned. In fact, fewer than 2% of Americans now serve in military or civilian service in the United States.

Full-time service is not realistic for many Americans. Nonetheless, those Americans are serving you. In the military, they are defending your freedoms. In civilian service like the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps, they are strengthening democracies and making our nation better. In the offices of election administrators, they are doing the work to run safe and smooth elections.

This election season, do more than vote. Serve. It will make a difference, and you don’t have to be partisan. Take a day. Work the polls.

Rye Barcott is co-founder and CEO of With Honor, a cross-partisan political nonprofit that fights polarization in Congress with principled veteran leadership.