2020 will be a hectic election year in Georgia with the rollout of new voting equipment, so Hall County elections officials are looking to hire additional poll workers.
Elections Director Lori Wurtz said last week she wants to hire about 150 additional people to help staff the county’s 31 polling precincts, starting with the March 24 presidential preference primary and E-SPLOST vote.
“We have over 300 right now,” Wurtz said. “But we’ve been told by the Secretary of State’s office to ramp it up because there are a few new elements to be considered for these elections with the new election machines.”
The state has spent $107 million to update its voting equipment after complaints that the old system, in use since 2002, wasn’t secure. With the new system, voters will continue to make their choices on a touchscreen. But they will now print out a copy of their ballot, which they can review for accuracy, before placing it in a scanner which will be used to tabulate the votes.
Elections officials believe the new system is easy to use, but they acknowledge it may take longer to vote the first few elections as people get used to the equipment.
To be considered for a job as a poll worker, applicants must be at least 16 years old and be able to read, write and speak the English language. But Wurtz said she hopes some bilingual applicants will also apply.
“We need poll workers who speak other languages as well,” she said. “So if you speak Spanish or any other language we would really love to interview if you’re interested in being a poll worker.”
Poll workers will need to be available for 15-16 hours on each election day during the year. Those include the presidential primary in March, the general primary in May, the general primary runoff in July and the general election in November.
Poll workers are paid for their work. Poll workers earn $9 per hour, assistant poll managers earn $10 per hour and poll managers earn $11 per hour.
“We may hire some of all (positions), but we do have a huge need for clerks at this point,” Wurtz said.
Training for poll workers will begin in February, so Wurtz encourages anyone interested in a position to apply quickly.
“Early voting does begin on March 2, so we hope to have all of our poll workers secured at some point by the end of February,” Wurtz said. “And it will be OK if they get to the last training. That’ll be just as good as the first.”
To apply to become a poll worker, call the Elections Office at 770-531-6945 or complete an application on the Hall County Elections website.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2020/1/868554/hall-county-elections-office-is-hiring-poll-workers