Tucson Standard

Pima County is offering to raise the pay of poll workers by $75 on election day, on top of the $150 that poll workers were already going to get, citing an increasing complex process.

New voting centers and e-poll books were implemented in Pima County in place of precincts, which made additional training necessary. The county also needs more Republican poll workers, as both parties must be equally represented under state law. Elections Director Constance Hargrove told county officials of the change Nov. 1, according to a story by KOLD.

“I will be back before the board to ask for permanent increases for the poll workers since I am requiring them to come to additional and longer classes,” she told the county Board of Supervisors.

County Administrator Jan Lesher told the supervisors that most staffing needs had been met, but more needed to be done.

“121 vote centers are fully staffed,” Lesher said. “Eight vote centers need either one Republican or one Democrat to be fully staffed.”

Hargrove said she was surprised by the complexity of change.

“I did not, at the time, I didn’t know there was so much work that needs to be done to actually implement the election poll books,” she said.