On this edition of WCCO's "Behind the Ballot", Ari Bergeron takes a look at the critical role that Election Judges play on Election Day.
"It's the people that you're interacting with, that are greeting you when you come into the polling place, helping you get signed in, getting you your ballot," says the Minneapolis Director of Election and Voter Services Katie Smith.
Although Minneapolis is fully staffed, she says anyone can apply for another jurisdiction.
"If there's anyone that's wanting to work and hasn't been able to get assigned at their own jurisdiction where they live, you can serve anywhere in Minnesota"
That doesn't mean one party is allowed to "pack" a polling location either. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon told WCCO Radio in August there is a party balance regulation at polling places to make sure things are fair and there are protections in place. Not all volunteers have to assign themselves to a party, but Simon explains that there needs to be representation from both sides.
"There has to be at least some critical mass in each polling place of both of the major political parties," he said. "So they can kind of keep an eye on each other and make sure everything's fair."
While judges in some states may not feel safe, Smith says that's not the case in Minnesota.
"Our polling places are safe," Smith says. "We've really taken a lot of safeguards to protect our election workers, to protect our voters and it's just not the experience that we're having."
She also says there's a statute in place that prevents uniformed personnel at polling places.
"We don't want anyone to feel intimidated," Smith adds.
The number of judges at each polling place depends on the size of the precinct. Judges also help maintain safety and security.
"The work itself is performed accurately and we have a whole lot of safeguards in place whether it's always having more than one person around the ballots or whether it's the party balance regulations when someone is helping our curbside voter."
Although Minneapolis is fully staffed, Smith says to call the elections department to see if other jurisdictions have availability. Sec. Simon says the state needs approximately 30,000 people to be Election Judges in order to staff every location.
Besides greeting, getting voters signed in and handing out ballots, there's that ever important "I Voted" sticker to hand out too!
You must be eligible to vote in Minnesota and able to read, write and speak English.
Some restrictions include:
• Relatives (spouse, parent, stepparent, child, stepchild, sibling or stepsibling) cannot serve together in the same precinct at the same time.
• Relatives of candidates, and anyone who lives or stays in the same house as a candidate, cannot serve in the precinct where that candidate is on the ballot.
• Candidates cannot serve in a precinct where they are on the ballot.
You can find out more by contacting your local city or county election office. Visit the Become An Election Judge webpage at mnvotes.gov for links to some election jurisdictions’ application processes and more information about the subject.
MORE:
See all of WCCO's Behind The Ballot stories here.