Poll worker shortage a concern ahead of midterm elections; Area board of elections weigh in

MIAMI VALLEY — The election is three weeks away, but with mid-terms coming up some states are concerned they might not have enough poll workers to staff polling locations.

News Center 7′s John Bedell checked in with the local board of elections to see if they are being impacted by this shortage.

It’s two weeks into early voting in Ohio.

There are a few poll workers staffing the Montgomery County early voting site now, but they’ll need hundreds more at precincts across the county for Election Day.

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“We are actively recruiting and training poll workers for the 2022 general election,” Sarah Greathouse, Montgomery County Board of Elections deputy director said.

Of the 1,600 poll workers Montgomery County will need to staff polling locations on Election Day, they still need to hire 100.

Greathouse said the county is not experiencing a shortage and has seen an uptick in people signing up to be poll workers.

The Greene County BOE said they are fully staffed with poll workers for Election Day.

Warren County BOE said they are doing alright with poll worker staffing and have a few positions open on the Democrat side.

Clark County also said they are not experiencing a shortage.

>> Early voting begins; How you can cast your vote in person, by mail

News Center 7 also reached out to Miami County but has not heard back at the time of reporting.

Being a poll worker is a paid position, Greathouse explained the rates for Montgomery County workers.

“If you are a poll worker, you’ll earn $120.00 for election Day. If you do in-person training, you’ll earn an additional $25.00. We do have polling location supervisors who earn a bit more,” Greathouse said.

In Ohio, people can sign up to be poll workers in the county they’re registered to vote, you can find out more here.

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