Officials overseeing elections in Chicago and suburban Cook County say they each need as many as 1,000 election judges just two weeks before municipal races come to a close on April 4.
Suburban Cook County’s election administrators this week put out an urgent call for more people to work as paid election judges, describing it as a “critical shortage.”
“Without the election workers, this is not going to work,” Cook County Deputy Clerk of Elections Edmund Michalowski said.
The county is recruiting election judges to manage precincts and assist voters as well as polling place technicians who also set up and maintain voting equipment, Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough said.
The required training and one long day of work will earn judges $250 and technicians $385. She encouraged veterans, students, those who are bilingual and all residents registered to vote in the county to apply. The county will hold training sessions for people who sign on as election workers through March 28, she said. Online training will also be offered, Michalowski said.
“This is not just a job. Democracy is on the ballot. Get in the game,” Yarbrough said.
Election workers can expect to receive mailed checks in the weeks following the election, Michalowski said. Chicago voters can also be suburban Cook County election judges, he added.
Almost every year, election officials in Chicago and the suburbs put out a call for election judges. Organizing voting for the suburbs’ election contests is always a momentous task, Michalowski said. This year, the county is operating 800 different ballot styles in 13 languages featuring 2,000 candidates, he said.
“We can’t do any of it without the support of election judges,” he said.
The county aims to staff each polling precinct with five judges, Michalowski said. Most precincts currently have three, though some only have two, he said.
Suburban Cook County voters will elect leaders to serve as city clerks, treasurers, library trustees, school board members and park district commissioners. The suburbs’ numerous contests include seven contested mayoral races.
Chicago’s election authorities also are seeking 1,000 more election judges for the April 4 runoff election featuring a mayoral contest between Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson and former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, as well as 14 aldermanic runoffs, Chicago Board of Election Commissioners spokesperson Max Bever said Tuesday.
While the city is staffed for early voting, which began this week, and election workers who handle voting equipment, Chicago currently has around four judges for each of its almost 1,300 precincts, Bever said. The target is five judges, he added.
The additional judges would help election authorities prepare for inevitable resignations and no-shows, he said.
“We always need more election judges. We want to be not just fully staffed on Election Day, but overstaffed,” Bever said.
The elections board has had some trouble getting judges who worked the Feb. 28 municipal election to also work the April 4 runoff because the city has been slow to pay them, Bever said.
Returning judges make $255 in Chicago, while new judges make $230, he said. The election board plans to advertise the openings and reach out to old judges and ward offices, he added.
“Our whole Election Day system is based on election judges signing up,” Bever said. “They are the Election Day in Chicago.”
To apply to serve as a Cook County election worker, visit cookcountyclerk.com/work or 312-603-0970. To apply to serve as a Chicago election judge, visit pollworker.chicagoelections.gov.
jsheridan@chicagotribune.com
