Raises for poll workers approved to aid in recruitment Satellite offices added for voter services
NORRISTOWN » With the general election fast approaching, Montgomery County commissioners authorized contracts related to election resources totaling more than $136,000 during a meeting last week.
A $52,380 agreement with
Integrated Security Systems, of Harleysville, will cover the equipment and installation of “an integrated access control system for the five doors, and 16 cameras in the Human Services Building for the election ballot receiving area,” the contract states.
A $46,800 one-year agreement between the county’s Department of Information and Technology
Solutions and SHI International Corporation of Somerset, N.J., will provide a VenDesk software subscription, according to the contract.
Corbett Inc., of Norristown, will supply “custom protection barriers for the One Montgomery Plaza Voter Services office” for $37,347.02, according to the contract.
The barriers and control system services were obtained through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s cooperative purchasing program, according to the contracts.
The county’s election board sanctioned temporary increases in compensation for several positions working on Election Day.
Compensation increases were approved for the primary election, according to John Marlatt, solicitor for the county’s election board, who added that additional pay would help with employment numbers.
“This additional compensation played a large part in our ability to recruit new workers and retain some of the existing ones,” Marlatt said on Sept. 3. “We find ourselves similarly situated heading into November.”
Inspectors, clerks and machine operators were paid $225 for training and working on Election Day, while judges received $300 for training, working on Election Day, as well as picking up and returning election materials, according to Marlatt.
Additionally, Marlatt said there are roughly 30 tabulators on hand who are typically paid $75 per day, but a $75 bump was approved.
“With the implementation of our new voting system the procedure for tabulators to follow, and reconcile our voting numbers has changed considerably, and in recognition of that, we’re requesting an increase to $150 a day to compensate tabulators for the work that they do,” he said.
In other business, the county’s election board will soon open another office within the Health and Human Services building, located at 1430 Dekalb St. in Norristown. The space will
“I would like to say to all the voters that we are working very hard to finalize polling locations. There will be a mailing, and we understand that people want to know where they’re going to vote, and voter services is working very hard to finalize those locations, and also to recruit poll workers as well because we can’t have one without the other.”
— Chairman Ken Lawrence Jr.
be solely dedicated to general election’s mail-in ballots after the proposal was approved in a 2-1 vote, with Commissioner Joe Gale dissenting.
Marlatt cited increased volume with mail-in ballots during the June 2 primary election due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Following the canvass of ballots, and the certification of the primary, it was apparent the mail-in voting was going to continue to be a large part of how voting gets done in Montgomery County,” he said. “The Office of Voter Services needed to adapt to this new reality.”
Marlatt added the department has hired staff and acquired several pieces of equipment to meet the anticipated demand including a sorting machine, 15 extraction tables and 20 computer terminals.
The facility will be “staffed year round,” and “will be open during regular business hours and during any extended hours,” Marlatt said.
Additionally, a request to establish four satellite election board offices was approved in a 2-1 vote, with Gale dissenting.
The sites will function as a smaller version of the board’s main offices to provide “access to voters,” according to Marlatt.
The following locations were chosen:
• The Montgomery County Willow Grove Annex, located at 102 N. York Road in Willow Grove
• The Montgomery County Lansdale Office, located at 421 W. Main St. in Lansdale
• The Magisterial District Court Office of Lower Merion, located at 925 Montgomery Ave. in Narberth
• Montgomery County Community College’s west campus, located 101 College Drive in Pottstown
“These offices were selected based on their locations around the county and our abilities to set up the necessary equipment required to operate,” Marlatt said.
While the sites’ hours of operation and opening dates have not yet been established, Marlatt said further information would be relayed via social media and county partner agencies.
With less than two months until the general election, Montgomery County Election Board Chairman Ken Lawrence Jr. assured county voters of the department’s continued efforts.
“I would like to say to all the voters that we are working very hard to finalize polling locations,” he said. “There will be a mailing, and we understand that people want to know where they’re going to vote, and voter services is working very hard to finalize those locations, and also to recruit poll workers as well because we can’t have one without the other.”