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DuPage trying to recruit more election judges

With the midterm election two months away, DuPage County officials are ramping up efforts to recruit and train election judges.

DuPage Election Commission officials say they're hoping to have 4,650 judges working in the county's 268 polling places during the Nov. 6 election. That would provide five judges for each precinct.

So far, there are roughly 1,600 registered DuPage voters who have been trained - or are scheduled to be trained - to serve as election judges. Their duties will include opening and closing polling places, checking in and processing voters, registering voters, and maintaining the record of election activities.

"We will be able to conduct the election," said Suzanne Fahnestock, the commission's interim executive director.

But Fahnestock said Tuesday "it would be better if we had more judges to help us." She said she believes it's possible to get more than 4,000 election judges in DuPage.

"We have people calling every day," Fahnestock said. "We just want to make sure they keep coming every day. We don't want to sit and wait."

To encourage more people to apply to become a judge, the commission issued a news release in July. Fahnestock also spoke last month during an event sponsored by the League of Women Voters Naperville.

"It's a matter of making people aware that the election is around the corner," Fahnestock said. "This is a way for them to contribute to the election process."

In addition to Election Day, the commission needs judges to help with vote by mail and early voting.

Election judges must be registered voters.

Each judge receives $130 for working on the day of the election. They also get $30 for attending the training session. Election judges also can receive $10 an hour if they work as an early voting judge or as a vote by mail verification judge.

"We are going to continue to recruit more judges all the way up to the Monday before the election," Fahnestock said

Anyone interested in serving as an election judge may call the commission at (630) 407-5600 or visit dupageco.org/Election/JudgeApplication/ and complete the online application.

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