What happens if there are not enough poll workers on an election night?
Oklahoma election officials say it’s not worth finding out. Depending on the severity of the shortage, it could mean anything from basic result delays to a breakdown of a vital component of democracy: fair and accurate elections.
But lawmakers and election officials are hopeful a new incentive to recruit and retain poll workers will help avoid either of those scenarios.
It’s a 100% pay raise, and it kicked in on July 1, thanks to last year’s bipartisan Senate Bill 290.
That means Oklahomans who volunteer to collect ballots and voting machines, set up polling stations, monitor them, and then deliver cast votes to their county election boards can earn up to $225 for a 12-hour shift.
Misha Mohr, State Election Board spokesperson, said that while registered voters of all ages are encouraged to volunteer, there is an emphasis on recruiting young people for the job.
“Certainly, anyone who does take this position must be willing and able to work long hours, have reliable transportation, and work in the county where they are registered to vote,” Mohr said. She said college students tend to need the money and have the time.
“As the mom of college students herself, I can speak on that,” she said. “We have many college students out there who have various schedules for classes, so we do have many that perhaps have that opportunity to work.”
She says she knows that isn’t everyone, but now that there's a cherry on top to sweeten the deal, she hopes more people will make it a priority to sign up and engage with the state’s election process.
“As we are approaching that November 5th general election, we will need to have precinct officials for all of our nearly 2,000 precincts out there,” Mohr said. “And by state law, all of those precincts have to have a minimum of three officials. They need an inspector, a judge and a clerk.”
Inspectors now earn $225, while judges and clerks earn $200. Courtney Callison is the secretary of Payne County’s Election Board in Stillwater. She said her team has been actively recruiting poll workers for the past year by going to public events and posting helpful information on social media platforms like Facebook. Callison said the board's last training session in May had a great turnout following the recruitment efforts.
“We are sitting at about 200 volunteers as opposed to 101 when we started,” she said, explaining that only 90 workers are enough to staff the whole county. Still, she said, the people volunteering don’t include many high-stamina college students who can commit to multiple elections despite Oklahoma State University’s prominence in Stillwater.
She has realized many students don’t know they can register to vote in the county where they study, which would enable them to volunteer without having to travel.
Callison, like Mohr, also hopes the cash entices students.
“I would love to break into that student population. But I just haven't found the right end just yet,” she said. “I kind of throw that money out there pretty quickly because college kids need money. But I really couldn't tell you the definite answer to why I haven't been able to get, you know, a good chunk of them.”
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