A “Vote Here” sign outside a polling location at Dreher High School in Columbia on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024 (Abraham Kenmore/SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA — Two of South Carolina’s most populous counties are still recruiting poll workers with just days to go before Election Day.
York and Richland Counties are looking for several hundred people to help out for the final day of voting.
York County, which has more than 197,000 registered voters, had recruited over 900 poll workers at one point. But people started dropping out earlier this week.
By Wednesday, the county just south of Charlotte, North Carolina, was down to a little over 800 workers for Tuesday, said Alan Helms, the county’s election director. He didn’t know why. Reasons varied for those who gave one.
“We got a good number to start with, and as we get closer to the election, we’re seeing some drop off,” he told the SC Daily Gazette.
He’d like to have at least 1,000 for the county’s 100 precincts. He encouraged people interested in working to sign up online.
The county is good for the two-week early voting window, he said, when there are few polling locations and it is easier to move staff around between understaffed locations. (York County offers six options for early voters.)
Richland County, which is notorious for election glitches resulting in long lines, is also still recruiting poll workers.
“Always, until the last possible hour,” said Travis Alexander, the county’s election director. “The more people you got available, the less issues you’ve got.”
The county’s 149 precincts have between 560 and 6,200 registered voters each. Several have more than 4,000 registered voters, according to state Election Commission data.
Even if 40% of the county’s 267,159 registered voters cast their ballots early, thousands of people could be voting on Election Day in some precincts, Alexander said.
Alexander said he has about 1,300 poll workers lined up for Tuesday, but he’d like to get to 1,400.
Anyone interested can show up to the Richland County Council building at 2020 Hampton Street on Saturday for a training from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., he said.
Potential poll workers should bring their Social Security card, banking information for direct deposit and a state or federal identification if they want to sign up on the spot.
SC needs thousands of poll workers for November. Recruitment is underway.
Those are the only two counties that have told the state they are still recruiting, according to John Michael Catalano, spokesman for the state Election Commission.
Other counties were ahead of the mark.
“We should be plenty staffed,” said Isaac Cramer, director of Charleson County elections.
Cramer, who also serves as president of the South Carolina Association of Registration and Election officials, said Charleston County had about 2,000 poll workers, compared to 1,500 in 2020. He did not know of any other counties that were still short.
All the election directors interviewed said they hoped people would continue turning out for early voting and not wait for Election Day.
On Election Day, polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but poll workers must be there by 6 a.m. to get ready for voters and must stay as long as it takes for people still in line at 7 p.m. to vote, then process ballots.
Poll workers must be registered voters in South Carolina, and poll clerks who lead a precinct must be registered to vote in the county they are working in. Teenagers who are 16 or 17 can work as assistants.
Pay for the day starts at $135, which is paid by the state, although both York and Richland counties pay a small stipend on top of that.
Voters can check their precinct and sample ballot at the State Election Commission website.