Primaries give local boards big headache

Finding poll workers gets harder as judges drop out, balk at bad weather or are intimidated by technology

‘‘What we call them are our snowbirds that go away for the winter,” said Charles County elections director Tracy Dickerson, who needs to replace about 50 of 389 judges and eight chief judges within the next five months.

Retirees make up the largest demographic of election judges, and some of those who head south for the winter aren’t coming back early to work the polls. New election technology, greater scrutiny of their performance and general attrition also have driven some older workers to call it quits.

‘‘We’re losing some of our longtime judges,” said Calvert County elections administrator Gail L. Hatfield. ‘‘The elections are so technical now. It’s too difficult for them to handle.”

Local boards have stepped up their recruiting efforts.

Montgomery County is reaching out to area businesses and having a greater presence at community events earlier than usual, said spokeswoman Marjorie Roher. On Wednesday, the board issued a call for more election judges, particularly those who are fluent in Spanish and English.

Montgomery has commitments from 2,300 judges, but still need to fill 1,700 slots, Roher said.

The fear of inclement weather has driven some Baltimore County poll workers to stay home in February, said elections director Jackie McDaniel. ‘‘The older people we have don’t even want to consider going out in bad weather.”

Hiring election judges is a perennial challenge because of the 15-hour workday and pay that ranges between $100 and $200, elections officials said.

The earlier date is also squeezing the training schedule after the winter holidays or forcing some counties to begin training in November, three months before the primary.

State lawmakers shouldn’t have tinkered with the date because it places an extra strain on local boards, said McDaniel, who needs to hire about 3,000 judges.

‘‘We don’t have a lot of time, we have a lot of work to do, and I just don’t understand their reasoning for moving the election to a date that could be wiped out because of the weather,” she said.

But not every county is struggling with recruitment. Howard County has already placed 65 percent of its judges, which is average for six months before an election, said elections director Betty Nordaas.

Other jurisdictions that are facing a shortage of poll workers are targeting high school and college students because the young people understand the technology and value the extra cash.

‘‘The pay associated with training judges and working at the polls is unattractive to a lot of people, except for students,” said Michael J.G. Cain, a political science professor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland who has led efforts to increase student participation at the polls. ‘‘It’s a lot of money to them.”

The state needs to offer better incentives — higher pay or other bonuses — if it wants to tackle the recurring shortage of poll workers, Cain added.

Being short of judges can cause major problems, such as polls that don’t open on time, as happened in Baltimore City in last year’s gubernatorial primary.

‘‘We have to have enough people to be able to man those polls. There’s too much work to be done in a day to be short-staffed there,” said Hatfield, who has headed the Calvert elections board since 1994. ‘‘We have to make sure those polling places are covered. That’s a priority.”

The early primary also means moving up some deadlines to make sure everything is ready for Feb. 12, said Brenda Burch, acting elections director for St. Mary’s County.

‘‘You’ve resigned yourself to the fact that no matter what you do, you’ve got to do the job,” she said, ‘‘but at the same time, nobody wants to push everything ahead a month and be so pressured that mistakes are made.”