When the Fulton County elections office realized its need for people who could use computers at their polling sites, officials went to where they could find hordes of tech literati.

They went to the county's high schools and colleges and added a youthful twist to the legions of seniors and retirees who have long staffed polling places.

Gwinnett and DeKalb counties have used the same strategy. They've tapped the high schools to recruit poll workers, particularly those who know their way around a laptop, in anticipation of high voter turnout in November.

"Since the presidential preference primary, when we sat down and kind of evaluated what took place at the polls, we definitely made it part of our strategic plan to go after college students and high school students, who are more familiar with working on a computer," said Mark Henderson, Fulton's voter education coordinator.

Henderson said the county was looking for about 200 additional workers. Election officials visited high schools across Fulton as well as Georgia State, Georgia Tech and the Atlanta University Center colleges, among others, setting up tables in lunch rooms and talking to civics classes.

Since the recruitment began after the February presidential primary, the office has received 800 applications, Henderson said.

DeKalb County's election has about 60 people signed up between the ages of 16 to 24. Cedar Grove, Lithonia, Miller Grove and Southwest DeKalb high schools in particular have responded with workers.

"The younger people seem to be a little more computer literate," said Linda Latimore, voter registrations and elections director. "We'd love to have more students."

The office is still recruiting for the general primary on July 15 and the November general election.