Poll workers in Tate County could be receiving a raise in pay beginning in August when the primary election rolls around.
County election commissioners attended the Board of Supervisors meeting Monday, June 5, requesting an increase from $125 to $200 per day in an effort to recruit additional poll workers and reward the current ones who typically put in long hours on election days.
“It’s getting tougher to find people who want to work,” said Dolores Wooten, election commissioner for District I.
In April, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed Senate Bill 2353 increasing the maximum compensation poll workers and ballot carriers can receive on Election Day.
Circuit Clerk Eddie Hadskey said it usually takes approximately 10 to 15 poll workers to staff each of the 19 voting precincts in Tate County during a primary election and half that number for a runoff or general election.
The $75 pay raise proposal will cost the county an estimated $20,000 in addition to what it typically pays for a primary election, according to County Administrator Cole Massie.
Supervisors agreed to consider the increase in pay for poll workers and vote on the issue at its recessed meeting Monday, June 19.
“We need the raises for the upcoming elections,” commented Ellis Blount, District 5 election commissioner. “I hate to ask somebody to work for $125 for 15 hours a day.”
Anyone 16 years of age or older interested in serving as a poll worker in Tate County for the upcoming election, fill out the required form on the Mississippi Secretary of State website at https://www.sos.ms.gov/elections-voting/poll-worker-portal
The Secretary of State’s Office will send your information directly to the circuit clerk and election commission. Local election officials will contact you if your services are needed.
Filling out the form does not guarantee you will be hired, and it does not commit you to serve as a poll worker should you change your mind at a later date. For those working in lieu of pay, The Secretary of State’s Office will supply proper documentation for proof of completion of any required training and election day duties.
Contact the elections hotline at 601-576-2550 if you have any questions or concerns regarding the Poll Worker Portal.
