PEORIA, Ill. – Peoria County wants you to be an election judge.
The county’s Election Commission is seeking to recruit 100 more election judges to help with November’s midterm elections.
Executive Director Jessily Joseph says the extra judges are needed because turnout is expected to be 50% for November. Races on the ballot this year include the governor, statewide elected officials, Congressmen, and an open United States Senate seat in Illinois.
“We want the voter experience to be as positive as possible,” Joseph said. “One of the largest complaints is generally that they have to wait in a long line. So we’re trying to mitigate that to the best of our ability.”
Duties of an election judge include setting up polling locations, checking in and assisting voters, closing the polls, and tallying the results at their poll location.
Election judges must also follow requirements such as being a U.S. citizen, a Peoria County registered voter, being able to speak, read, and write English, being a member of an established political party, and cannot be a candidate for any office or an elected Precinct Committeeperson.
Election judges are also compensated $250 for working the day.
Joseph says election judges must also undergo about 10 hours of training in-person and online.
The Election Commission is hosting two open houses this month for those interested. The first is on July 16th and 5:30 P.M., and the second is July 24th at 9:00 A.M. The open houses are at the commission’s office at 4422 N. Brandywine Drive.
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