A shortage of poll workers and volunteers for election day has officials worried.
Currently, the number of available staff is less than desired as many older poll workers have retired.
As fears continue about safety and security at voting sites, one central Indiana county has finalized a pay raise for absentee voter board workers and election day staff.
The Indianapolis City-County Council passed General Resolution #42.2024, which authorized the move. Marion County Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell said the increase is well deserved.
“The city-county council worked together and realized that the poll worker shortage that we face,” said Sweeney Bell. “Part of that is because it averages out to under minimum wage for many poll workers who we asked to work up to 16 hours at a time.”
Per day rates for election-day clerks will increase from $100 to $180. Inspectors will see their rate at $200 go to $240.
A poll worker signs in registered voters, provides ballots, explains equipment, and monitors the voting process. Residents wanting more information can visit pollworker.indy.gov.
According to the Pew Research Center – 2022 Election Administration and Voting Survey, Indiana’s 92 counties had between eight and ten poll workers per voting site in the 2022 primary election.
Safety and security at voting sites is a recurrent fear among poll workers and in-person voters.
A nonpartisan law and policy organization, the Brennan Center for Justice, reports election officials have faced elevated threats, harassment, and abuse since the 2020 election.
Sweeney Bell explained that Marion County poll workers have expressed their concerns.
“There are conversations that come up with poll workers during training about safety and security,” said Sweeney Bell. “We teach de-escalation tactics and we teach our poll workers the different laws that are applicable for poll workers and voters.”
Senate Bill 170 passed earlier this year and makes it a felony to intimidate poll workers.
She said that her office was happy to support the bill because “without our poll workers, we don’t have elections, and we need elections to have a functioning democracy.”
Sweeney Bell noted that law enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security are on notice for anyone who harasses, intimidates, threatens or causes any sort of disruption at voting sites.
