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Allegheny County in need of poll workers ahead of upcoming primary

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — To hold an election, Allegheny County needs around 6,600 poll workers.

With the May 17 primary just three weeks away, county election officials said they still need around 500-700 workers to sign up.

“We cannot hold an election without the volunteers and election officers,” said David Voye, the county elections manager. “They’re the backbone of the election process.”

The county has 1,300 polling places and officials say they like to have five poll workers at each polling place.

If they don’t have enough workers, they will assign police officers to oversee voting locations.

“Rest assured your polling place will be open on Election Day,” said Voye.

People who sign up to work the polls will make between $150 and $175 on Election Day.

They’ll be required to work from 6 a.m. to around 9 p.m.

Voye says the pandemic has made it more difficult to find poll workers since traditionally, most workers are seniors.

“Since COVID started it’s been getting harder and harder,” he said. “It’s not only Allegheny County, this is typical from all the counties in the state.”

Officials say you can apply to work the polls up until election morning, but they’d prefer people do it sooner rather than later.

“It’s just a quick, simple process. Someone will contact you to place you in a precinct,” said Voye.

To sign up to become a poll worker, you can call the election division or click here.