KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Many people in Kansas City are looking forward to the August 7th Primary Election, but lines could be long for voters.
With thousands of registrations, the Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners, (KCEB) said they are hiring election workers to ensure the day goes smoothly.
Lauri Ealom, Director of KCEB said 750 to 1,000 people work various different roles and positions during an election.
Ealom said KCEB is sitting at a safe number of workers for the upcoming election. While they are always looking for more election workers, Ealom said they are specifically trying to hire millennials.
"Most of our election workers have been working for the election board on election day for 20, 30, 40 years," said Ealom.
As technology has advanced, Ealom said it's hard for veteran polling workers to keep up.
"The average age of our poll workers is 71 years old, so as they age out, it's more difficult for them to operate the technology," said Ealom.
Ealom said the main issue with attracting more tech-savvy poll workers, is keeping them busy and engaged on election day.
"We put them in areas that they excel in. They're not the greeter or they're not the person that watches the ballot box and gives the sticker," said Ealom.
Working an election day means working from about 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Ealom said many young people do not want to work the entire day. She's hoping future partnerships with schools could be the answer.
"We've done this in the past, but if we can get them their buy-in, this is an assignment, this is extra credit plus a check, I think that would help," said Ealom.
To be hired as an election day worker, there are several requirements. Apply here.
