Clarion County is facing a serious shortage of poll workers.
Cindy Callihan, the county’s interim director of elections, said at Tuesday’s county commissioners meeting that poll workers are “desperately needed.”
“A lot of our poll workers are getting older and we need people to replace them,” Callihan said. “We need people who will stay with us.”
“The students learn from the experience and they are paid for their work,” said Callihan. Three school districts in the county currently participate in the program.
“I try to have at least one experienced worker at each polling place,” said Callihan. “In one precinct I have four new people.”
Callihan said it is preferable for the poll workers to live in that precinct, but that isn’t always possible.
“If I have more people than I need in one precinct I ask one of them to help out in another precinct that might be shorthanded,” she said.
“We have two precincts where we have no poll workers at all,” Callihan added. “It is getting desperate. We need new people, people who want to help the community.”
She said some of the poll workers are people who take a personal day from their workplace to help at the polls. The county pays the poll workers for the day and mileage for training.
The location for Monroe Township will move from the township building to the Zion church starting with the May 16 primary election.
The Hawthorn Borough precinct will from Calvary United Methodist Church to the borough fire hall starting with this year’s primary.
And the board also approved a facilities use agreement with Clarion University for the use of Marwick Boyd for Clarion Borough’s 3rd precinct during the primary.
The commissioners also approved these agreements.
Heasley said it may be possible to reduce the number of polling places, which would also reduce the number of poll workers.
In other business at Tuesday’s commissioners meeting, the panel approved several contracts with PA. On Display, a branch of the Pennsylvania Tourism Bureau, for the printing and distribution of informational rack cards at several places along interstate highways.
Clarion Litho will print the cards.
The commissioners also approved Facebook ads totaling $9,000 and TV ads for $70,000. The TV ads will be aired in several urban areas to promote tourism in the county.
Funds for the tourism advertising were taken from the hotel tax fund.