Poll Workers Brave 16-Hour Shifts, Low Pay

Early Tuesday morning, before the first Sacramento County voter had set foot in a polling place, members of the Women’s Thursday Club in Fair Oaks were busy stacking ballots and checking lists.

They’d set up voting booths in their clubhouse two nights before, and were getting ready for an Election Day shift that would last from 6 a.m. to as late as 10 p.m., when the last ballots from their precinct would be delivered.

Their total compensation for all that work: $100, plus $25 to attend a required three-hour training.

“It’s one long day, but most of us have a strong feeling that we’re doing something good,” said Terry Emmett, a poll worker for the last five years. “It’s something you can do that’s important that’s over in a day.”

The 2,350 precinct officers helping voters across the county Tuesday are the unsung heroes of the election season—a mish-mash of retirees, college students and the unemployed with minimal training and a sense of patriotism. They navigate the often-complicated election process in exchange for what one poll worker called  “volunteer wages.”

Seventeen-year-old Sarah Kempker of Elk Grove can't even vote herself yet, but she was still helping voters inside at 4900 Elk Grove Blvd. She said she felt like she couldn't encourage people to vote unless she was doing something to help the process herself.

"It's a big deal and I really think people should vote," said Kempker, a recent graduate.

She said more young people should vote, adding she has been encouraging her friends to come see her throughout the day–and vote while they're at the store.

Another poll worker at the Raley's, Allyn Wald, drove two hours from Santa Rosa to work with her niece, Dawn Sirstad.

Sirstad has worked the polling place inside Raley's ever since it opened, and guessed she has worked about 13 elections.

Some poll workers are drawn by the chance to make a little extra money—like former home care worker Don McGovern, 51.

“I’ve been out of work for almost a year, “ said McGovern, who was manning the polls at a Fair Oaks fire station. “You grab what you can nowadays.”

Others said the work helps them feel connected to their communities.

"We just wanna do our civic duty," said Elk Grove resident Paul Pane. "It's just dedication to the community."

Fair Oaks poll worker Mike McGovern was even more passionate about the importance of voting.

“I feel people who don’t vote deserve who’s elected,” said McHenry, a retiree who’s also knocked on doors for the U.S. Census Bureau. “They have no right to complain.”

McHenry said he waived his pay for the training. “It’s just a way to do our part with all the budget shortages and all that.”

Poll workers must be registered voters fluent in English (some high-school students can also serve) and are forbidden from discussing politics or wearing campaign buttons. When the flow of voters slows—as it often does during a low-turnout primary election like this one—they pass the time by reading or talking about the places they’ve traveled.

Longtime election helpers said they’ve seen many changes over the years, including the arrival of voting machines and California’s new top-two primary system for state offices. This year, those registered ‘Decline to State’ aren’t allowed to vote the Republican Presidential Primary, which poll workers said has led to a few irritated voters.

Voters also get peeved when they arrive after 8 p.m. and are told the polls are closed, said Emmett. “If they insist, we give them a provisional ballot so they can go home,” she said. “But it doesn’t count.”

Other than that, “people are very well-behaved,” said Emmett, who’s working alongside her granddaughter this year. “They often thank us for our service.”

But if you really want to know what motivates poll workers, talk to 76-year-old Marshall Mitchell, who with 15 years under her belt is one of the county’s more experienced poll inspectors.

“It’s a labor of love,” she said Wednesday night from Livingstone’s Reform Church in Sacramento, where she was setting up polls. “Somebody has to do it. Why not me?”