County clerk seeks poll worker changes / LJWorld.com

Kansas Legislature

J-W Staff Reports

February 19, 2007

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Douglas County looking to increase compensation for election day volunteers

If you are volunteering to work the polls on election day, expect to get paid about 6 dollars an hour and work 14 hours a day. But one Douglas County clerk is trying to fix that. Enlarge video

Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew wants the Kansas Legislature to allow election polling place workers to be able to work split shifts.

Shew testified last week before the Senate Committee on Elections and Local Government in support of a bill that would allow the split shifts. He has worked on the bill with Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence.

Currently, poll workers must work a 14-hour shift on election days. That makes it difficult to recruit workers, Shew said.

In Douglas County, more than 30 election workers - 10 percent of the election work force - dropped out for various reasons in the 72 hours leading up to the November general election, he said.

After depleting the pool of substitute workers, Shew said he resorted to staffing the polls with people hired through a temporary labor agency.

Shew said Douglas County was using a variety of ways to recruit more poll workers, including allowing county employees to work the polls and increasing compensation.

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