Middlesex County elections staff says training slots sufficient but seeks more poll workers in some towns

The Middlesex County Board of Elections on a routine meeting reported that poll-worker training will begin next week and officials said they have scheduled more training slots than the number of workers expected to require full retraining.

Elections administrator Linda (surname not specified) told the board that ‘‘we don't have as many people needing the full work training this cycle than we have in the past couple of years’’ because many workers were automatically retrained with the poll book rollout. She said the office scheduled enough slots ‘‘for new and existing poll workers to train twice that amount,’’ and that training will continue up to the Saturday before the election with an open house the Sunday before the election for workers who want to review equipment.

Staff member Steve (surname not specified) described completion of work in the poll-book room and ongoing checks of printers and poll-book parts: "we're literally just checking all the poll book parts inside the cases, transferring all the... printers and putting them up with the poll books and having everything all together." The board discussed and adjusted some meeting times for commissioners to review challenged signatures and ballots.

Members of the public and local party chairs pressed for stronger recruiting and outreach. Sharon Hoverman, speaking on behalf of Sam Blake, and other commenters urged the board to share state or county lists of poll-worker applicants with local party chairs and volunteers so chairs can call prospective workers directly. One commenter said the state previously provided an applicant list and that access to similar lists helped fill slots in prior cycles.

Public commenters also suggested using existing local billboards to advertise poll-worker pay and recruitment; a resident said billboards in neighboring counties advertise poll-worker pay and asked whether Middlesex could use the same approach. Several commenters offered to call applicants from provided lists to help fill remaining vacancies. A board staffer said the office does use applicant lists and forwards town-specific names to party chairs or designees when appropriate.

The board said Woodbridge needs additional Republican poll clerks; during the meeting staff indicated the office was seeking about 30 Republican poll clerks for that town. Commissioners and staff encouraged anyone interested to contact the Board of Elections directly.

The office said it will share a preliminary training schedule with local and county chairs within days, and reiterated that training materials have been updated incrementally based on feedback but remain substantially consistent with prior cycles.

The board also noted an open-house demonstration for machines and satellite equipment will be held on the Sunday before the primary for anyone who wishes to inspect equipment without taking a full training class.

Public commenters and chairs said local outreach and easier public transit to the elections office would improve access for seasonal and part-time poll workers and for residents who need to visit the office.

The board did not vote on any new recruiting policy at the meeting; the discussion primarily covered scheduling, outreach, and use of applicant lists.