Northeast Michigan Clerks hope to bolster staff as early voting begins in 2024
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ALPENA -- With as many as four elections next year, some Northeast Michigan municipalities are seeking workers to man the polls.
Alpena Township is looking for people so it can fully staff the township's five precincts and to be on the board that counts absentee ballots.
As Michigan's new early voting rules are implemented, other local governments may also need additional help.
An election worker must be a registered voter.
Next year, there will be a presidential primary election early in the year, a general primary election in August, and the presidential election in November. If Alpena County chooses to have a special election for a proposed public safety millage in May, the need for workers may increase, township Clerk Michele Palevich said.
Palevich said some of the past and current election employees are getting older and others have other jobs, which makes the long day tough to do. She said the controversy surrounding recent elections nationally may have also motivated people to walk away from the job because they are fearful of being accused of wrongdoing.
"It is a long day," Palevich said. "They get there at 6 in the morning and are there until 9 at night, sometimes later, and that is a long day and exhausting. Plus, people are getting wary of elections and are nervous about all of the allegations you see in the media, and I think people don't want to be a part of it."
Palevich said precinct chairpersons, who lead the teams at each precinct, currently earn $15 an hour, co-chairs earn $13 an hour, and general election workers get $12 an hour.
Each precinct is made up of a team of employees who confirm people are registered to vote, issue ballots, help with tabulator duty, and tabulate the results at the end of the day before the preliminary totals are forwarded to the county Clerk's Office.
Alpena County Clerk Keri Bertrand said she is unsure if other communities in the county have enough election workers for the upcoming elections or not, but she said she anticipates they may have to add staff because of the extended time polls need to be open for people to vote before Election Day.
"I'm sure there will be townships out there who may want to add help because of the extra nine days of voting before Election Day," Bertrand said.
In November 2022, Michigan voters approved a constitutional amendment that gives voters the right to vote early and in person at early voting sites before statewide and federal elections. Communities may also choose to provide early voting for local elections.
The Michigan Department of State website says early voting will begin the second Saturday prior to Election Day and end the Sunday before an election.
However, communities may decide to provide additional days of early voting. Under state law, communities can offer up to 29 days of early voting.
If there is a shortage of workers, Election Day can drag on longer and results will be slower to be released, Bertrand said.
"It takes the work longer to do for the election workers and longer for the local clerks to do their job," she said. "It also takes longer to get the results to my office."
Palevich said anyone who is interested in working the upcoming elections or has questions can call her office at 989-356-0297, ext. 6. More information is available on the township's website, AlpenaTownship.com.