Early voting poll workers in Pulaski County will see a bit of a bump in pay come November’s General Election.
The Pulaski County Council Monday night considered a proposal from the election board to make the change. Volunteers are compensated for processing voters who wish to cast a ballot early, but the rates vary by county.
Election Board member Laura Bailey says volunteers in Pulaski County are compensated at $50 per day if they are exclusively working early voting operations.
“So what we’d like to do, and this still keeps them at the bottom of the local average around us,” says Bailey. “We would like to change that early voter working pay per day to go from $50 to $65 because of the early voting extended hours.”
That is considered low compared to the neighboring counties. Further, Pulaski County extended the hours of early voting with changing the pay scale this spring.
Pulaski County has deemed their Election Day changes from May’s primary a success, and are hoping to build on those efforts.
Bailey says the duties of the poll workers is different under the vote center and early voting model compared to previous years.
“They had some days that they were processing 80, 90, and 100 people a day,” says Bailey. “So it’s not the same job as it was when it was in the courthouse.”
The Election Board says it has the funds available in its budget to help pay for the increase.
The Pulaski County Council approved the changes, unanimously.
