Sponsor: Property Tax, Records & Election Services
Title
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Compensation Rate for Election Judges
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Recommendation
recommendation
1. Rescind the compensation schedule for election judges authorized by the County Board in Resolution B2016-283.
2. Establish hourly compensation rates for election judge, effective January 1, 2021:
i. Absentee ballot board judges $22.00 per hour
ii. Voting system judges $22.00 per hour
iii. Area logistics judges $20.00 per hour
iv. Head judges $20.00 per hour
v. Assistant head judges $18.00 per hour
vi. Precinct & Student judges $16.00 per hour
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Background
background
The Elections Office is responsible for administering state and county elections for the County and, under contract, to perform similar duties on behalf of 12 municipalities and 5 school districts in the County. Minnesota Statutes section 204B.21 sets forth the duty to appoint election judges and Minnesota Statutes section 204B.31, subd.1(4) requires election judges to be compensated for their service. Election judges are County employees and the County Board sets the compensation of all County employees under Minnesota Statutes section 383A.282.
Serving as an election judge is one of the most valuable methods of civic engagement available to County residents, and election judges play an essential part in the administration of elections in the County. The dramatic increase in absentee voting has created an even greater demand for these services at our early vote centers and administrative offices to process absentee ballots.
Neighboring municipalities have set election judge compensation starting at $17 per hour. To ensure the County remains competitive amid the election judge recruitment process and can recruit an election judge pool reflective of our county’s population, the Elections Office is requesting the County Board approve establish the following hourly compensation rates, effective January 1, 2021:
i. Absentee ballot board judges $22.00 per hour
ii. Voting system judges $22.00 per hour
iii. Area logistics judges $20.00 per hour
iv. Head judges $20.00 per hour
v. Assistant head judges $18.00 per hour
vi. Precinct & Student judges $16.00 per hour
County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☐ Well-being X Prosperity X Opportunity ☐ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
The Elections Office recognizes the need to remain competitive with other local jurisdictions in the election judge recruitment process, to ensure election judges reflect the diverse community which they serve, and to value the commitment to serving as an election judge by providing an equitable hourly wage. The Elections Office is working with the County’s trusted community partners to perform voter outreach and recruit election judges, which has enabled the County to focus outreach on specific communities and precincts. The County’s community partners have also translated voter outreach and election judge recruitment videos and are attending public events on the County’s behalf.
The Elections office follows the 1965 Voter Rights Act which requires election administrators to provide language assistance tools in the polling places. The County has been able to meet and exceed this expectation through the work with the community partners, who have helped the County recruit an increased number of election judges who identify as non-white and/or are bi-lingual.
Community Participation Level and Impact
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X Inform X Consult X Involve X Collaborate X Empower
Fiscal Impact
The total amount of compensation required for election judges, approximately $1,500,000, has been included in the 2020-2021 budget for the Elections Office and is primarily funded by the local municipalities that contract with the county for election services.
County Manager Comments
County Board approval is required to change compensation for County employees.
Last Previous Action
On July 19, 2016, the County Board approved a compensation schedule for election judges (Resolution B2016-283).
Attachments
1. None.