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Board approves early-voting worker list; members press for pairing new chief judges with experienced staff
Summary
The Harnett County Board of Elections approved a list of trained early-voting workers and discussed recruitment strategies and chief-judge assignments. Several members urged pairing inexperienced chief judges with seasoned judges during early voting to reduce the risk at busy precincts.
The Harnett County Board of Elections approved the elections office’s list of trained early-voting workers after staff said the list included Republican, Democratic and unaffiliated workers who have completed training. "So the list that you're approving is just the worker. Not the assignments," Unidentified Speaker 5, the elections director, told the board; members voted in favor of the list and asked staff to proceed with assignment logistics.
Board members discussed recruiting additional poll workers, including outreach to community colleges, chambers of commerce and civic groups, and two road shows aimed at people comfortable with poll pads and computers. The director said the office will also continue to recruit 17-year-old high-school students for limited roles (with principal and parental consent) as pages or support workers.
Several board members expressed concern about assigning new chief judges to high-turnout precincts. "Isn't it better to pair a newbie with an experienced judge so they can watch experience instead of just thrown into the fire?" Unidentified Speaker 6 asked, and other members echoed that sentiment, noting high-traffic precincts where a mistake could have outsized operational impact. The director responded that pairing and cross-training are standard practice during early voting and said staff will ensure new chief judges have experienced judges nearby on the dates in question.
Members also discussed recommended staffing levels (generally 10–15 workers per site to allow rotation and breaks) and the office’s plan for moving staff between sites to cover shortages. The board was shown staff suggestions for alternates to election-day judge appointments and was asked to review those highlighted names before final election-day assignments are made.
Next steps: staff will begin outreach and road shows for recruitment, confirm assignments and pairings for chief judges during early voting, and finalize election-day alternates after consulting party chairs.
