Lycoming County to adopt new pay schedule for poll workers, effective with 2026 terms

Lycoming County’s Board of Commissioners voted to approve a new pay schedule for poll workers that the county’s director of elections said will take effect with the new terms beginning in 2026.

Forrest Layman, director of elections and head of the county’s Office of Voter Services, told commissioners that poll workers staff 81 precincts and that the county deploys about 400–500 poll workers on a typical election day. He described the voting system as “about a million plus dollars worth of equipment” and said the office maintains voter registration for roughly 75,000 registered voters.

The pay schedule was presented as part of routine business. Layman said poll workers are on site early and frequently work past polls-closing, sometimes until 9 p.m., and then return equipment to the county office. He said the county cannot raise compensation midterm for elected poll-worker positions and therefore scheduled the raise to coincide with new terms starting in 2026.

Layman also described ongoing accessibility improvements and other election administration work: he said about 30 voting sites have been completed with improved accessibility, another roughly 30 sites are slated to begin work in the spring, and the office is preparing for candidate petition circulation for upcoming local elections. He warned that the average age of poll workers in the county is about 60 and said recruitment of younger volunteers is a continuing challenge.

Commissioners moved and seconded the item and approved it by voice vote. The motion as recorded in the meeting minutes was to accept the proposed pay schedule for poll workers, with no mover or seconder named in the transcript.

The director also referenced ongoing work related to recent U.S. Department of Justice challenges and described long-term projects to improve physical accessibility at polling places. He emphasized that local elections require more administrative work than presidential years because petition circulation, candidate filings and campaign reports are handled at the county level.

The item was presented during the commissioners’ consent/agenda section and was approved without further amendment. The county’s elections office will implement the schedule with incoming elected poll-worker terms starting in 2026.