A person who wants to be become a pollwoker in Elkhart County must meet the following requirements:

1. Be a registered voter of the County.
2. Be able to lift up to 20 lbs.
3. Be able to work 14 hours on election day (5:00 a.m. to approximately 7:00 p.m.).
4. Attend 2-3 hours of training classes as required by law.  Click Here to see more information about pollworker training.

At each precinct, there is a five member board consisting of one (1) Republican Inspector, one (1) Republican Judge, one (1) Democrat Judge, one (1) Republican Clerk, and one (1) Democrat Clerk. Per County Ordinance 98-233, precinct election officers are paid as follows:

Inspector: ...................$110 plus $10 food allowance and $10 for attending training.

Democrat Judge: .......$70 plus $10 food allowance and $10 for attending training.
Republican Judge: .....$65 plus $10 food allowance and $10 for attending training.
Clerks:.........................$65 plus $10 food allowance and $10 for attending training.
IC 3-6-6-7 Requirements for election officers and inspectors
An otherwise qualified person is eligible to serve as a precinct election officer unless any of the following apply:

1. The person is unable to read, write, and speak the English language;
2. The person has any property bet or wagered on the result of the election;
3. The person is a candidate to be voted for at the election in the precinct, except as an unopposed candidate for a precinct committeeman or state convention delegate;
4. The person is the spouse, parent, father-in-law, mother-in-law, child, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece of a candidate or declared write-in candidate to be voted for at the election in that precinct. This subdivision disqualifies a person whose relationship to the candidate is the result of birth, marriage, or adoption. This subdivision does not disqualify a person from serving as a precinct election officer if the candidate to whom the person is related is an unopposed candidate. For purposes of this subdivision, an "unopposed candidate" includes an individual whose nomination to an office at a primary election is unopposed by any other candidate within the same political party;
5. The person did not attend training required by section 40 of this chapter; or
6. In addition to the above, a person is not eligible to serve as an inspector if the person is the chairman or treasurer of the committee of a candidate whose name appears on the ballot.

If you are interested in being a pollworker, please contact either the Republican or Democrat parties at the following numbers:

• Republican Party.................238-5657
• Democrat Party...................875-9440

For each election, the County Election Board employs between 500-700 people for various election-related positions. While most of these positions are pollworkers, there are various other opportunities for temporary employment:

• Absentee Voter Boards - Temporary Full Time for 5 weeks
• Traveling Absentee Voter Boards - Part Time
• Maintenance - Part Time
• Equipment Delivery and Pick Up - Part Time
• Canvass Boards - Election Night Only
• Absentee Ballot Delivery - Election Day Only

If you are interested in knowing more about any of these positions, please call Wendy Hudson, Clerk of the Circuit Court, or Christopher Anderson, Chief Deputy Clerk, at 535-6469.