House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Many election officers work for the entire duration of the voting period, when polls open at 7 a.m. to at least the closing of polls at 8 p.m. This equals at least a thirteen-hour workday. Depending on the amount of compensation an election officer receives under current law, he or she may be paid an hourly wage that is below the current minimum wage.

Philadelphia has a difficult time staffing polling places on Election Day because people are reluctant to run for Election Officer positions. This is a serious threat to our democratic process. It is my hope that fair compensation will provide better incentive for citizens of the Commonwealth to become election officers.

I am looking to address this with legislation to change the salaries of election officers in counties of the first class to an hourly wage range of $15 to $17, depending on the position of the worker, or the current per diem rate, whichever is higher.

Serving as an election worker is one of the most important duties in our democracy, and I believe every election worker should be paid a fair wage which reflects the importance of the vital work they do. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact my Harrisburg office at 717-705-1925.