VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Onondaga County Board of Elections puts out call for poll workers
Jessica Nester: The Onondaga Board of Elections is putting out a call for public volunteers. Democratic Commissioner of Elections in Onondaga County Dustin Czarny describes what they’re requesting. (00:10)
Dustin Czarny: We’re looking for poll workers, not just for the primary but for the general election as well. We hire about 1,200 poll workers countywide every year.” (00:09)
Nester: The position is paid about 300 dollars for a full, 15 hour day of work during elections.
Czarny: We have the longest polling hours in America, 6 am to 9 pm. And that means our inspectors are usually there from 5 am to 10 pm.
Kevin Ryan: It is a long day on primary day, but really it’s not a tremendous time commitment.
Nester: But the time commitment starts before election day. Workers have to take a four hour training class to make sure they understand the process. Poll site managers take a second training on the equipment itself. According to the Republican commissioner of elections Kevin Ryan – the commitment is worth it. He says volunteers being pulled from the community works to benefit the voter.
Ryan: I think that the voter does prefer to see people they’re familiar with and from their neighborhood at the polling location. I think that gives them a sense of familiarity.
Czarny: They’re your friends and neighbors at the polls doing all of this work, and it’s not some nameless third party. These are the people in your community.
SYRACUSE, N.Y (NCC News) – The Onondaga Board of Elections is putting out a call for public volunteers, specifically poll workers and election inspectors for both the primary and general elections.
The position is paid $272 for a 15-hour day of work during each election. Democratic Commissioner of Elections in Onondaga County, Dustin Czarny, described why the time commitment is higher than in other areas.
“We have the longest polling hours in America, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and that means our inspectors are usually there from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.,” said Czarny.
Republican commissioner of elections, Kevin Ryan, said the workload is manageable.
“It is a long day on primary day but really it’s not a tremendous time commitment,” said Ryan.
But the time commitment starts before Election Day. Workers are required to take a four-hour long training class to make sure they understand the process and their responsibilities during election days. Poll site managers take a second training on the equipment itself.
Ryan said the commitment is worth it. He said volunteers being pulled from the community, as opposed to elected officials, works to benefit the voter.
“I think that the voter does prefer to see people they’re familiar with and from their neighborhood at the polling location,” said Ryan. “I think that gives them a sense of familiarity.”
Dustin Czarny agreed with this. He said long-time poll workers get to know the people they see each year.
“They’re your friends and neighbors at the polls doing all of this work, and it’s not some nameless third party,” said Czarny. “These are the people in your community.”
Residents have to be registered with either the Democratic or Republican Party in Onondaga County to apply. As part of New York law, there must be as close to an equal number of bipartisan presence at each polling location as possible.
Czarny said they typically get between 1,300 and 1,400 people applying to be poll workers annually, but only accept around 1,200. Interested parties can apply on the New York elections website.