Arapahoe County wants to hire up to 800 election judges for Colorado's November election
County election offices are ramping up as we get closer to counting ballots for the November election. In Arapahoe County, they're hoping more community members will sign up for vital jobs to help with the process.
The county is hiring 700 to 800 people to work as temporary election judges. Election judges are hired on a bipartisan basis, but the county is actively looking for more Republican election judges.
Depending on your needs and schedule, the county will offer a position that works best for you. It's a paid job, and those employed will be temporary employees of Arapahoe County. It's a job that many election judges take seriously.
Vinny and Mary Martin, registered Democrats who are married, have been working as election judges for about eight years. The presidential election is the third election they'll work this year.
"We enjoy it. It's a responsibility that we both take very dearly," said Vinny, who helps open and process ballots. "This job is really important to me. Each ballot that we handle is a vote. It's the voice of some person," said Mary.
Dick Eason, a registered Republican, has also been working elections for about eight years. He's already worked a dozen elections, and the presidential election this November will be his 13th election to work.
"If you have a desire to serve, it's it's a good way to do that," said Eason, who works as an election judge at a voting service polling center.
Eason said one of his favorite aspects of the job is helping voters vote.
"It's very rewarding actually being able to interact with the public, seeing first-time voters," said Eason. "I've had voters come in on their 18th birthday to vote. I've had voters come in directly from their naturalization ceremony."
Whether it's collecting ballots at drop box locations and taking them to the warehouse, or processing ballots back at the warehouse, they all work in teams to get the job done, regardless of political affiliation.
"You have two people from different parties that do everything, and it's a way to maintain election integrity," said Eason.
"I think that's most important, to just dispel any of the fears people may have that the election is not what it's cut out to be," said Vinny.
Katie Sims is the Community Services Manager in the Elections Division for Arapahoe County. She said many election judges have been working in the position for years, while others are new to the process.
"Because they were curious about the work that we did, or maybe they had questions about the security of our elections, and they were able to see firsthand what those election processes look like, and be able to take part in the democratic process," said Sims.
Sims said it's an easy process to apply online and takes about 10 minutes. Applicants must pass a background check and then are brought in for training if they're hired. The county is looking to staff 32 voting centers in the area. So far, they only have about 200 to 300 positions filled.
"Election judges are the backbone of the work that we do. We wouldn't be able to process as many ballots as we do without the work of those bipartisan election judge teams," said Sims.
As for these judges, it's a paid gig, a chance to make friends and interact with others, and be a part of the process from start to finish, in a time where election integrity has been brought into question.
"People have come to work here, and they were very skeptical about the process, and after a couple of days seeing how everything works, they were totally converted," said Mary.
"It really helps to see it from the inside, and really will boost your confidence in the election process," said Eason.
The county is currently hiring to fill many of those positions. Some of the positions are already ramping up work. Some are a full-time job for a few weeks, while others are for only a few days. Hours and days vary with different positions. Some of the people who are hired for certain positions will start their temporary jobs by the end of the month.
