Waltham poll workers prepare for Election Day

With the midterms just days away, election officials, political candidates and their campaign staff have been busy preparing. But there is another group that has also been busy prepping for the big day: poll workers.  

The Waltham City Clerk’s office recruits roughly 200 people to help facilitate elections in the city, according to Joseph Vizard, Waltham’s city clerk & records access officer. These poll workers will be at their designated locations throughout election day, from 6 a.m. to as late as 10 p.m. Their primary goal is helping voters and ensuring the election process is smooth and orderly. 

The recruitment process happens throughout the year, with applications available on the City Clerk’s website, and the office maintains a list of those who reach out to express interest. Many workers come back for multiple elections. 

“We’ve been able to fill the ranks,” Vizard said. “There’s not a crisis level or anything.”

There are three roles a poll worker can have: inspector, clerk and warden. Inspectors help voters cast ballots, clerks assist with administrative tasks, and wardens serve as site managers. At most election sites, there are four inspectors along with one clerk and one warden. 

It’s not a volunteer gig. Poll workers are paid $185 if they are an inspector, $190 for the role of a clerk and $200 if they serve as a warden. But a proposal that could be passed by the City Council before the election would increase pay for poll workers. If it passes, poll worker rates would increase to $200 for inspectors, $250 for clerks and $300 for wardens. 

Vizard was optimistic it would pass, saying he thought both the City Council and the mayor were supportive of election workers. 

Christopher Romero, an election worker since 2024, will be working as a clerk this year at a polling place on Lexington Street. He said he often sees the same people working the elections each year. 

“You have a lot of repeat people,” he said, “I don’t know how much new blood we’re getting.”

There is at least one new person on the roster this year, however. Emily Szczypek will be working as an inspector at the Government Center voting site on School St. “This will be a new experience,” Szczypek said. “I’ve always been on the other side, and this time I’m going to be on the polling person’s side,” She chose to participate because of the importance she places on voting. “Voting is an incredibly important privilege,” Szczypek said.

Poll workers who are selected must go to a one-hour training session, supplemented with informational videos and a poll worker’s handbook.

The training’s main focus is outlining what exactly will happen on election day and how to help voters. This year, there are an unusually high number of questions on the ballot – nine in all. These additional questions mean the ballots have an extra page, and it may be up to poll workers to ensure that voters know to fill out this page as well. 

One thing Romero found notable during the training was questions about federal presence, including whether ICE could be present at polling places.

What the trainers conveyed was that ICE “is free to sit in as observers,” Romero said. That means “they can’t support a political candidate and any interactions [that ICE has with the public] can be mediated [by] Waltham PD,” said Romero, although neither he nor Vizard believe ICE presence will be an issue.

Other observers are also permitted at polling locations, but they must follow rules against disturbing voters or influencing their votes by, for example, displaying political signs within a certain distance of a polling location. 

One possible issue could involve the voting machines themselves. As older mechanical machines, they are susceptible to breaking down.

“I think it really depends on whether any machine does just stop working the day of,” Romero said. “Tech issues are tricky.”

Vizard noted it may be time to start replacing some machines soon but said the equipment should be fine for election day. The early voting process, which was Oct.13-30, served as a dry run for election day, and things went well, Vizard said.

In spite of some possible bumps, Romero said he is looking forward to election day, which will be the first midterm he has worked as a poll worker.

“It’s always a lot of fun,” he said, adding that voters are always nice. “People always come out with a happy smile.”