Title
Resolution to Approve New Election Personnel Pay Scales
Memorandum
The attached resolution proposes to raise the various rates of election inspectors and other election personnel pay to prepare for the 2026 election cycle. This increase represents an average increase of about $1.00 per hour. City Charter (Section 13.7) states that City Council must set election personnel pay rates and the last time it did so was 2024.
Elections have changed considerably since 2018 when Proposal 18-3 passed. At that time reforms like same-day voter registration and no-excuse absentee voting changed how the City's election operations were managed, and a new temporary position was created called the Voter Participation Specialist. Proposal 2022-2 brought more changes, including the Permanent Ballot Mailing List and the implementation of 9 days of Early Voting. With Election Day becoming a multiple day event, retaining a consistent and well-trained work force of temporary employees and election inspectors has become more critical than ever. Many of our most experienced and loyal workers return year after year and now work most of the EV Days, as well as Election Day.
On Election Day, election inspectors must report for work at 6:00 a.m. and the typical day is about 16 hours long. Due to the challenges with recruitment and the additional cost of training, we generally do not offer split shifts. The chairperson assigned to each precinct must contend with voter registration problems, poll challengers, and provisional ballots, in addition to the regular processing of voters. In busy even-year elections, the stream of voters can be almost non-stop from the opening of the polls at 7:00 a.m. until the closing at 8:00 p.m.
The proposed increases in the election inspector pay rates take into consideration the additional knowledge and skills required to work both the early voting centers and the polling places on Election Day and allow the City to remain competitive in its recrui...
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