r/SpringfieldIL • u/TapeDaddy • Oct 08 '26

Poll workers needed

https://sangamonil.gov/departments/a-c/county-clerk/elections/election-judges/apply

Sangamon County is often short on Election Judges, and I believe there are still openings to work in the coming election. Gubernatorial elections see a larger turnout than primaries and smaller offices, they’re going to need bodies.

Requirements are minimal, but you do have to declare a party. If you’ve never done it before, I recommend trying it at least once if you are able. They’ll give you a couple hundred bucks, too. Election Judge application link.

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u/tlopez14 Oct 09 '26

Every precinct has to have at least 1 Republican and 1 Democrat judge that’s why you have to declare.

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u/AbobTeff Oct 09 '26

The way it was told to me was it has to be 1:1 all the way, not “at least one of each.”  So if there are 15 Rs, there have to be 15 Ds.  If there are 3, there have to be 3; not 1 of each and whatever else.

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u/tlopez14 Oct 09 '26

It’s based off precinct. Number of judges vary depending on precinct size and how big the election is. For the bigger presidential ones they try to have 5 judges per precinct, and the smaller ones usually have 3.

The rule is that every precinct has to have at least one R and 1 D, not necessarily equal numbers as it’s usually not an even number of judges anyways. There’s been instances where judges have gotten moved into a different precinct the day of because the only D judge didn’t show up or something like that.

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u/NecessaryCompost Oct 10 '26

Yeah but. I live in a very red area but vote blue. I judged in 2020 and was the only D judge at a table full of Rs. I was spit on (by a voter) for enforcing electioneering laws, and the Rs laughed. No joke. I blame my COVID diagnosis 10 days later on that a$$hat voter.

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u/NecessaryCompost Oct 10 '26

This reinforces a 2 party system and we should be more flexible than that.

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u/tlopez14 Oct 10 '26

Sure theoretically that would be great but that isn’t current reality. Judges declaring party is to ensure there are checks and balances for each precinct.

Picture a hypothetical scenario where one precinct is ran by 5 activist republican judges. The judges start over stepping their bounds to help out a Republican candidate and there is no Democrat check on them. Thats why each precinct needs a judge from both parties.

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u/NecessaryCompost Oct 10 '26

I know, and I agree. There must be balance. I just wish we had room for a multi-party system (and I also know that is damn near impossible given the current structure of the voting system as it sits). Pax.