Cole County commissioners move to pay election judges at minimum wage, keep mileage for trips over 10 miles

Cole County commissioners on July 14 approved changing election judge pay so workers receive at least the applicable minimum wage and directed reimbursement of mileage only for travel beyond 10 miles at the county rate.

The proposal was advanced by a committee member who said the county had not raised election judge pay since 2019 and that moving to minimum-wage pay would both increase fairness for judges and simplify accounting. "I would propose is we we meet the minimum wage requirement for workers," the committee member said during the discussion.

Staff presented two options: pay judges based on minimum-wage times a standard shift length (discussed as roughly 14 hours) or use flat per-day rates. Commissioners cited projected costs for the county’s share — staff noted a projected county exposure of about $31,600 for the August election and a similar figure for November if the minimum-wage approach were chosen — and debated whether to retain mileage reimbursement for long drives.

The approved motion directs the county to meet minimum-wage pay for election workers and to continue reimbursing mileage only to the extent travel exceeds 10 miles, using the county’s mileage rate (the transcript cites 70¢ as the current county rate). Supporters said the change would help the county keep pace if the state minimum wage increases and reduce the number of small reimbursement checks processed by finance staff.

Commissioners also discussed supervision pay, noting supervisors have additional duties and are paid more because they must return materials and complete end-of-day tasks. The motion was approved by voice consent.

Next steps: staff will update payroll and budget projections to reflect the change and return with any necessary budget amendments or implementation details.