NEW YORK – In the US midterm elections on November 8th, more than one million polling workers will perform their duties in more than 200,000 polling stations across the country. Due to Covid-19 and the threats of violent incidents in the upcoming elections, many US states are facing a severe shortage of polling personnels.
Although, early voting is going on in most of the states since October 29 due to Covid-19 precautions. While the general election in the United States is scheduled for Tuesday, November 8th.
In the US, there is no central election commission, each county has its election board to conduct elections. These election boards are responsible for presidential and federal elections along with local and State elections.
Unlike many other countries, in the United States, there are very few civil servants in the workforce. Anyone, who is a private individual, whether he/she is a US citizen or a permanent resident of the United States can submit his/her name as a polling worker.
In the United States, there is a full-scale federal election agency called the US Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Which consists of thirty members. The EAC has an office in the Silver City of Maryland State. This institution is involved in providing information and assistance to the official election boards of various states in the process of conducting transparent and fair elections.
The names of the polling staff in the USA vary according to their responsibilities. The presiding officer and in-charge of the polling station are called the Coordinator. Whereas other polling staff, are called and used by Election Clerks, election judges, inspectors, scanning inspectors, and commissioners. On average, eight polling personnel are required for a polling station.
Traditionally, in the United States, the majority of poll workers are old people. Most of them are usually retired, civilians. A vast majority of women are involved in election duties. According to a report, 81% who performed polling duties in the 2020 elections were women.
In the US, the compensation paid to poll workers are differ in different states. In some states, polling workers are paid $17 an hour. In New York, polling workers are paid $15 an hour on Election Day. While $25 is given separately to complete the election training. In Philadelphia, the minimum wage is $200 per day. Most States provide additional bonuses to high-paid workers in addition to regular exchanges during elections.
