With the general election in November on the way, different county governments in mid-Missouri are working to establish voting centers.
Each voting center in Missouri requires a minimum of four election judges: two registered Republicans and two registered Democrats. These judges check in registered voters, answer questions and assist with other functions of running voting centers.
Without enough election judges, a polling center might be forced to close.
Take Howard County, which had a population of about 10,000 in the 2020 census. County Clerk Shelly Howell said the county plans to have seven voting centers for the November election, but she’s run into issues finding people willing to become election judges.
“I beg,” Howell said. “I beg people to be a judge.”
Howell said that if the county can’t find a minimum of 28 judges, they will have to start closing polling locations ahead of the election.
“If I don’t have enough, then I have to close that polling location and try to explain to those voters why I’m having to close it," Howell said. "And they still get irate because they still don’t want to be an election judge, but they still don’t understand.”
Meanwhile, Boone County had a population of about 180,000 in the 2020 census, and it has run into a different issue when it comes to recruiting election judges.
Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said the county has more than enough people willing to become election judges, but finding equal representation among political parties is the challenge for her.
“We don’t have enough Republicans, ever, for any election,” Lennon said. “And we are constantly trying to get more Republicans to serve as election judges, and then get enough experience to serve as our supervisors, so that they can help run our polling locations.”
To recruit Republicans to serve as election judges, Lennon gets help from Tony Lupo, chairman of the Boone County Republican Central Committee. Lupo said part of the issue with recruiting Republicans has to do with timeliness.
“Republicans seem to sign up later for things,” Lupo said. “Also, I have noticed for some Republicans that are a little on the older side … 14, 15 hour days is an awful lot to get up at 3 a.m. and go all the way to 7, 8 p.m.”
In an effort to recruit more election judges, Lennon implemented half shifts, where a pair of people can split the day into smaller parts. However, she said the partisan nature of becoming an election judge will continue to be a barrier.
“I think it’s tricky because a lot of folks don’t necessarily subscribe to either political party,” Lennon said. “We have a lot of people that don’t want to be affiliated with a party at all. And they have to choose one of them in order to be an election judge.”
People interested in becoming an election judge in mid-Missouri can sign up through their county clerk’s office. Election judges receive training before working at voting centers and are typically paid a daily rate that varies by county.
Many counties are looking to recruit judges ahead of the general election on November 5.