Thousands of election officers are needed to work at the polls on election days throughout the Washington region. Like these election judges, shown at the Wheaton High School polling location in Maryland during April’s primary, most workers are at opposite ends of the age spectrum, either over 50 or in high school. Photo by Barbara Ruben

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On Maryland’s primary election day in April, Thomas Mann got to his polling place a little before 6 a.m. — and didn’t leave until around 10 o’clock that evening.

No, he didn’t spend 16 hours waffling between congressional candidates or figuring out Maryland’s new paper ballots. Rather, Mann serves as a chief election judge at his precinct in Bethesda.

Mann is responsible for getting the polling place set up and making sure the equipment is working, as well as supervising other election day workers.

“It’s a very long day, and I’m not a youngster anymore at 67. But it’s part of the process. It’s nice to know I can still do it,” said Mann.

While the election day hours may be long, it’s a job that generally only requires working a few days every other year. Like an electoral Brigadoon, polling places, which are often situated in schools, pop up — from voting machines and partitions, to ballots and voter rolls — just hours before the election starts, and then vanish by the next day.

So it takes a lot of person power to make it happen. Just in Montgomery County, Md., about 3,200 election workers — called “election judges” by the county — are needed for each election.

Most election workers are at either end of the age spectrum. In Montgomery County, about 80 percent are over age 50. In Fairfax County, Va., older adults make up 86 percent of the workers.

Older high school students, who usually have the day off, also help out. While pay varies by jurisdiction, most election workers end up earning about $10 to $18 per hour.

More workers needed

It’s always a struggle to recruit and train as many election workers as are necessary to keep the polls running smoothly, said Leslie Woods, election worker program coordinator for Montgomery County. Bilingual judges who speak Spanish are especially needed, she said.

“It’s a challenge countywide,” she said. “Some people think it’s just going to happen, and it’s not just going to happen. We need people to participate in the process.”

That’s why the county has worked harder to recruit high school juniors and seniors. It’s also created several types of part-time positions to entice those who worry that a 14- to 16-hour day is too grueling.

Fairfax County has had the same difficulties. “If we need 2,500 workers, we’ll say we need 3,000 simply because so many people cancel, or have emergencies, or just don’t show up. It’s just really hard to get people interested in it,” said Jane Hong, Fairfax County’s election officer coordinator.

“I feel very energized by being part of this process,” said Stablein, 72. “I get a tremendous sense of satisfaction working as a team, seeing democracy in action.”