Clerk’s Office needing poll workers for General Election

The Daviess County Clerk’s Office is seeking poll workers for the General Election on November 8. Officials said they only have about 120 people committed to working of the 200+ they need.

Poll workers get paid $175 for working and attending a training class. 

For anyone interested in working the polls, paperwork can be emailed or picked up at the County Clerk’s Office (212 Saint St.) in room 107 at the Daviess County Courthouse. Paperwork cannot be signed electronically so it will have to be printed and returned. Call 270-240-5771 or email Daviess County Elections Supervisor Kelli Shively at [email protected] to request paperwork.

Shively said qualifications to serve as a poll worker include the following:

1. You must be a qualified, registered voter. If you will be 18 years old on or before the General Election, you can serve as an election officer.
2. You cannot serve if you are a candidate during the election year.
3. You cannot serve if you are the spouse, parent, brother, sister, or child of a candidate who is on the ballot.
4. You cannot change your party affiliation for one (1) year prior to your appointment as an election officer. However, if you are not registered to vote, you may register to vote prior to volunteering to serve as an election officer. 

An election officer must be a qualified Democrat or Republican (or in some cases an Independent).

Shively said those interested “must be a responsible person who wants to serve the community in a very important role.” 

“An election officer is a very important person who works the polls all day on election day to ensure that voting is conducted fairly and orderly in each polling center,” Shively said. ”Poll workers are assigned a job and a polling location by their Democratic or Republican representative but their jobs can change if need be.”

According to Shively, a list of duties one must perform while serving as an election officer include:

1. Attend the required training session before the election;
2. Your election day will begin at 5:30 a.m. when you report to your polling place;
3. Arrange your polling place with all the necessary election materials and voting equipment in a way to ensure privacy for each voter and security in the voting process;
4. The voting center must open by 6 a.m.;
5. Process voters and provide any assistance;
6. Administer all election laws;
7. Treat every voter with respect and courtesy;
8. Close the polling place after the last voter in line at 6 p.m. has voted;
9. Complete all necessary paperwork; and
10. Return all election materials to the County Clerk’s office that evening.

Please visit elect.ky.gov (click “voters” and then “become an election officer”) for more detailed information on duties and jobs.