Voters in Elkhart County can expect their polling places to be fully staffed on Election Day. There was concern last week that wouldn't be the case because officials were having trouble finding people to fill the positions.
Both the Republican and Democratic parties are responsible for finding the 5 people to staff each polling place. Dozens of people attended a training session Tuesday to become poll workers. But even though all the positions are filled now, there's still not enough substitutes to cover any last minute changes.
"Some things will come up," said Elkhart County Democratic Chairman Shari Mellin. "People will get sick or they'll have family emergencies or something and they won't be able to work. I only have 7 right now, people to fill in."
"If somebody wants to train we would be glad to have them as a substitute," said Elkhart County Republican Chairman Dale Stickel. "We can't guarantee they'll work, but it's pretty likely that they would get called if they would come in. If we don't have enough substitutes we just have to run the polls with fewer people and that can create some delays."
The last training session for poll workers is Thursday in Goshen. Inspector and Judge training is at 6pm in the County Office Building. Clerk training is at 2pm in the Public Service Building. All 3 are paid positions. You even get paid for attending the training.
For all the details and requirements for being a poll worker, click here.
