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Poll workers sought ahead of November election

Tuesday was Help America Vote Day.

In recognition, Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth Leigh Chapman encouraged Pennsylvanians to serve as poll workers for the Nov. 8 election.

“It takes thousands of poll workers staffing the more than 9,000 voting locations to make safe and secure elections happen in the commonwealth,” Chapman said. “Poll workers are your friends, family members and neighbors, and they come from all walks of life to make democracy a reality.”

Warren County Director of Elections Krystle Ransom is looking for more people to work the polls.

“Right now, we could use anywhere from 15 to 20 poll workers to create full election boards in each precinct,” Ransom said. “A full board would be a judge, a minority inspector, a majority inspector, and two clerks.”

That there is a need for more workers this year is not unusual. The county is regularly short on poll workers. “We make do with what we have,” Ransom said.

For now, Pleasant Township and Sugar Grove are particularly short.

She said Sugar Grove had a “skeleton crew” for the primary. That would be more challenging in a general election. “I anticipate it being pretty busy,” Ransom said.

There are 33 election precincts in the county and, ideally, poll workers work in the precincts where they vote. Often, some workers have to be moved to other precincts, she said.

Warren County School District works with the county to provide students to work the polls.

The positions are paid, she said. Any required training time is also paid, but those are typically held before primary elections. “As of this year, I’m going to do a hands-on training in the fall,” Ransom said. “Unpaid, non-mandatory.”

“We can do on-site training,” she said. “They’re given a job and trained on it. It’s not hard work at all.”

“My door is an open door, if someone wants to come in, I can go over something specific,” she said.

Those who are interested in working at the polls may call Ransom at (814) 728-3406, stop in at the Elections and Voter Registration office at Warren County Courthouse, or fill out a poll worker interest form at either www.warrencountypa.gov or vote.pa.gov.

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