With Election Day Near, Placer County Needs Poll Workers
PLACER COUNTY (CBS13) — We're just four days away from California's June primary election, but Placer County officials say they need more poll workers.
"People that have a love of service, we really appreciate because this is a service job," said Ryan Ronco, Placer County Clerk and Registrar of Voters.
It's all hands on deck at the Placer County Elections Office. But with 224,000 residents looking to cast their votes, the county says they still don't have all the hands they need.
"Well, we're excited it's our time to shine," Ronco said. "What we need is poll workers, we're a little short."
Ronco says they still need to fill 30 positions in various roles.
- Inspectors are in charge of each precinct and tasked with making sure the rules are followed.
- Judges work as the back up to the inspectors.
- Clerks are in charge of handing out ballots and making sure voters are properly identified.
"If I don't have a crew, then I can't run the ballots and so forth the way they need to be run," said Debbie Leung, a Receiving Center Supervisor who started volunteering in 2005.
She says they even try to accommodate different schedules.
"Almost everything runs off of volunteers; at some level you need volunteers," Leung said. "It's not hard, there's lots of different jobs but there's something for everybody."
So what kinds of people should volunteer?
"Ideally, it's somebody that's actually worked in a polling place before either here in Placer County or in some other county," Ronco said.
But anyone who is willing to serve and have a front row seat to the voting process is encouraged to sign up.
"I go after teenagers, the young people!" Leung said. "I groom them. It's kind of my thing."
"We're also seeking people who speak Korean and speak Spanish," Ronco said.
Volunteers can make $85 to $125 dollars per day, depending on their role.
"You're not going to get rich doing it but it's giving back, that's the biggest thing and understanding that there's more that goes on," Leung said. "It's fascinating!"
To find out how you can volunteer, visit the elections site, or call 530-886-5650 or email election@placer.ca.gov. Elections staff will train new volunteers on Saturday at 9 a.m.