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Pay raises help elections officials staff the polls

Quinn Kirkpatrick
/
Delaware Public Media

As the 2024 general election approaches, state elections officials hail a move earlier this year they say helps retain poll workers.

While many states are having trouble finding poll workers, the Delaware Department of Elections’ Cathleen Hartsky-Carter says staffing the polls here is going smoothly. Part of the reason, she says, is a big pay raise for election workers passed by state lawmakers earlier this year.

“This pay raise is huge," she said. "$400 for inspectors, you get $325 if you're a judge, and $300 if you're a clerk. And that's actually over $100 more than people were getting in previous elections. And that has proven very popular.”

Hartsky-Carter calls election workers community-minded Delawareans who are proud to provide a necessary service. The pay raise, she says, is a way of respecting their commitment.

“Everybody understands that serving as an election officer, it's a service, even though you're paid for it ," she said. "The demands on election officers and the whole political climate really demands that we respect and pay people as their duties entail.”

Each polling place in Delaware has one inspector, who manages the site, along with two judges and several clerks. Election Day is November 5. Early voting begins on October 25.

Martin Matheny comes to Delaware Public Media from WUGA in Athens, GA. Over his 12 years there, he served as a classical music host, program director, and the lead reporter on state and local government. In 2022, he took over as WUGA's local host of Morning Edition, where he discovered the joy of waking up very early in the morning.