Orange County adds hundreds of poll worker positions ahead of Election Day

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — It’s been less than 24 hours since the primary and Orange County is gearing up for the general election.

The supervisor of elections is predicting the turnout will be similar to the 2012 presidential election, when many voters got stuck waiting in line.

Orange County is looking for hundreds of extra poll workers to get voters into the booth faster on Election Day.

The county needs to fill 600 positions.

The elections supervisor said the turnout could be as high as 70 percent in the county, so signs are being posted soliciting new poll workers to keep the lines moving.

“I need the extra money. They are paying pretty well,” said resident Walter Collins Jr., who is applying to be a poll worker. “I have a cousin that’s doing it now. She did it yesterday. She’s putting it on Facebook for everybody to come down and do it.”

Orange County will need 2,590 poll workers for the upcoming election.

That’s a significant difference to the roughly 2,000 needed for Tuesday’s primary, or the 1,847 for the 2012 election.

More voters and a higher interest in the race for the White House are to blame.

“Hopefully it’s going to be a smooth experience on Nov. 8 for the voters, and we won’t see long lines like we’ve had,” said Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles.

He said the 2012 lines were unique because the ballot was unusually long.

“On top of that, they had shortened early voting down to only seven days or eight days in every county,” said Cowles.

Poll workers can make up to $240 a day.

“They need a lot of people, so I figured I’d come down,” said Collins.

Workers will need to go through mandatory training to prepare for the voters.

The county has set aside an extra $128,000 to pay for the extra staff.

Cox Media Group