With Illinois’ March 19 primary approaching, election officials are ramping up efforts to recruit thousands to work the polls and be on the front lines to “keep democracy going.”
And, they say, the stakes couldn’t be higher for their recruiting efforts.
“We need help, real help, to prop up democracy. Because if we don’t get the election judges there, it allows these other factors to win,” Ed Michalowski, the Cook County deputy clerk of elections said. “When good people could serve as election judges, and they don’t, it allows for some of that negativity to creep in, and some of those false statements.”
But finding enough workers has become increasingly challenging. A downturn in recruitment from political parties has shifted the onus onto government agencies to find poll workers, and an increase in threats and harassment is plaguing workers nationwide. More than half of jurisdictions reported in 2022 that it was difficult to recruit poll workers, according to a report from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
Election officials are quick to acknowledge the drawbacks of the job that can make positions so tough to fill, even while emphasizing their importance.
“It’s long hours, it’s not much pay for those long hours, and you are at the center of what can be a very politically fraught day,” said Max Bever, a spokesman for the Chicago Board of Elections.
Through “The Democracy Solutions Project,” WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times and the University of Chicago’s Center for Effective Government at the Harris School of Public Policy are examining the challenges to our democracy and potential solutions in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election.
Election officials around the Chicago region have tried to find workarounds to incentivize residents to serve, such as increasing pay and simply making elections function with fewer workers.
“The way that the election code is written is that election judges really are the heart of the democratic process,” Bever said. “And when we can’t get enough judges, election day doesn’t run as smoothly.”
At the Cook County Clerk’s Election Operations Center in Cicero, rows of 1,430 large metal boxes that hold voting equipment for election day are ready to be shipped to suburban precincts.
“It always reminds me of the Indiana Jones first movie when they’re going with the Ark of the Covenant, and the warehouse keeps going and going and going,” Michalowski said.
But the sheer scale of the operations can be daunting. Ideally, each precinct would have five election judges — meaning the county needs 7,150 election judges who have to be trained. There’s also poll workers who work on mail ballots, early voting and election technicians in the field, adding up to roughly another 900 workers.
While the November presidential election can boost interest — about 4,700 people had signed up to serve as election judges by early January — Michalowski estimates they won’t have enough election judges to be fully staffed.
In Chicago, about 6,500 election judges are needed, a dramatic decrease from the roughly 11,000 needed before the number of precincts was reduced by 40%.
“The only reason we were able to fully staff our last three election days in Chicago fully was because of precinct consolidation,” Bever said.
To encourage residents to serve, some election authorities have increased pay. This year, Cook County polling place technicians will make $400, a $15 increase from last year, and election judges will be paid $250. In Chicago, new election judges can make up to $230, with additional pay for taking on more responsibilities, and election coordinators, who require more training, are paid $450.
Illinois law requires election judges from both political parties be present, and as the power of the committeeperson has waned in Chicago politics, recruitment from local ward organizations has fallen along with it, election authorities said. Instead, they’ve made a push for groups such as veterans and students to fill the gaps. In the last three elections held in Chicago, nearly 20% of the election judge workforce was high school or college-age students, Bever said.
A bill sponsored by state Rep. Daniel Didech, D-Buffalo Grove, would allow college students to earn academic credit for serving as election judges rather than getting paid. It passed the House of Representatives 100-12, but has not been voted on in the Senate.
Working the polls helped demystify the voting process for Austin resident LaShaone Hatchett, who is a lead election judge trainer for the Cook County clerk’s office.
“The more you know about it, the less you fear it,” Hatchett said. “It quells all of the … concerns that people may have with the security of it.”
Tessa Weinberg covers Chicago government and politics for WBEZ.
This story is part ofThe Democracy Solutions Project, a partnership among WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times and the University of Chicago’s Center for Effective Government. Together, we’re examining critical issues facing our democracy in the run-up to the 2024 elections.
