You could spend a few hours today waiting to cast your ballot, but for over 300 Athens voters the election process started before dawn and will continue hours past sunset.
Every election year Penny Brooks, deputy director of the Athens County Board of Elections, is responsible for hiring and training an equal number of party-affiliated poll workers for every precinct in Athens County.
This year, Brooks has a total number of 324 poll workers plus standbys, not including workers stationed at Baker University Center and the Board of Elections office.
Each worker receives compensation both for their time during Election Day as well as time spent at a mandatory poll school for training. Workers earn $91.70 for the day, plus $20 to attend training, Brooks said.
The Athens County Board of Elections will spend approximately $36,000 to compensate today's poll workers.
Workers are at their polling locations from about 5:30 a.m. to at least 7 p.m.-
but what I need now is a couple of Republican workers Brooks said. In two different locations I need a Republican poll worker.
When there is a shortage of workers for a party, Brooks said she canvasses the area for registered voters willing to work.
We talk to voters registered in that area other poll workers
central committee people
party chairs ' just about any way we can drum up some poll workers
Brooks said.
One of the biggest problems in recruiting Republican workers is finding someone who is willing to work the long day, said Pete Couladis, Chairman of the Athens County Republican Party, adding the number of Republicans in Athens is significantly smaller than the number of Democrats.
Our numbers are just not there
Couladis said. The Dems have a bigger pool to pull from
and it's tough to find people who want to be there.
In addition to the workers for each precinct, Brooks is required to recruit extra standby poll workers from each affiliation in case a scheduled worker cannot make his or her shift.
A lot of people don't want to be a standby because then if they get called
they have to go straight to work and if they don't
they only get half pay
Brooks said.
Joni Dumm, an Athens citizen, has volunteered as a poll worker about five or six times and keeps coming back for the voters. The most important part, she said, is the hope that voters can make things change.
It's very important to me to get people out to vote. I think that when you have people who are happy to be there you get more voters to show up
