Poll Workers

• You must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years of age, and registered to vote in Stark County. Students who have completed their junior year in high school can serve as poll workers.
• You must have reliable transportation.
• You must not have a felony conviction.
• You must have a working telephone where we can reach you through phone, email, and/or text.
• You must not be a candidate who is on the ballot in the precinct where you are working.
• You must complete and return a “status sheet” to be entered into our payroll database.
• You must agree to and sign the Ethics Policy.
• You must attend and complete your required training in its entirety.
• You must be able to work the entire Election Day (beginning at 5:30 a.m.) without leaving your polling location.
• You must be physically able to lift up to 35 lbs.

Precinct Election Officials work together as a team under the direction of the Voting Location Leadership Team to set up the polling location before the polls open. While the polls are open, each PEO will have a specific job to help process voters. Breaks are permitted throughout the day. Once the polls close at 7:30 p.m., all PEOs will work together as a team to close the poll location. A bi-partisan team of the Voting Location Manager and a PEO “Riderback” will take the memory sticks, ballots, electronic pollbooks, and ballot boxes for the entire location to the Board of Elections.

Summary of Precinct Election Official job assignments:

• Voting Location Manager (VLM) and Voting Location Supervisor (VLS) make up the location leadership team. They are experienced Precinct Election Officials who are trained extensively for all situations on Election Day. The VLM and VLS serve as our Voter Assistance Table Manager (VAT Manager) and our Polling Location Floor Manager (Floor Manager). The VAT Manager assists voters requesting or requiring Optical Scan or Provisional Paper Ballots. The Floor Manager leads PEOs in the set-up of the location as well as the operations throughout Election Day. They receive extra training on how to operate and troubleshoot common issues on the ICX Voting Machines and ePollbooks. The Floor Manager is your direct contact for Election Day. The VLM and PEO Riderback are responsible for returning the Election Day equipment to the Board of Elections after the polls close.
• Precinct Election Official (PEO) performs many duties under the direction of the VLM and VLS. These may include assisting with setting up the polling location, checking voter identification, entering information and encoding cards on the electronic pollbook, closing the polls by running reports, and taking down machines. Some PEOs may be assigned the Riderback duty to return ballots and equipment when the polls close. All PEOs work as a team at the end of the day to close and move equipment.

You will be assigned to a precinct as close to your home as possible. Most PEOs are reassigned to the positions they worked in previous elections. 

Most PEOs work within 10-15 minutes of their home. We also need workers who are willing to travel within the county. Please let us know if you’re flexible about where you’re willing to work.

We have many couples and friends who work together. The sooner you ask, the easier it will be for us to place you together. We do our best to accommodate work location requests. However, not all requests can be met.

The next election will be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. You would work from 5:30 a.m. until around 8:30 p.m., depending on how quickly your team is able to close the poll location and whether you are assigned the Riderback duty. You may also be asked to help set up the polling location on the day prior to the election.

Training starts about 4-6 weeks before the election. You will be paid to attend training. Classes are available at various times to accommodate your schedule. When you are contacted about an assignment, you will receive information about your training class.  If this class time does not work for you, please call (330) 451-8683 to reschedule. For this election, training classes are held at an offsite location and not at the Board of Elections.

We will call or email you about your assignment, so please be sure to answer and/or check your voicemail and email regularly. Newly hired PEOs will receive documents by mail that must be signed and returned to the Stark County Board of Elections by mail, in person, or at the assigned training class.

You can request that an absentee ballot application be mailed to you by calling our office at 330-451-8683. Once you submit this completed application, we will mail you a paper Absentee Ballot. If you prefer to vote in person, you may come to the Board of Elections for Early Voting. Visit our website to view the Early Voting Schedule.

In Ohio, students who are 17 years old can serve as poll workers – even if they are not old enough to vote.  High school students who serve as poll workers receive 2 hours of paid training. Please contact us if you are interested.

Certain professions (lawyers, CPAs, social workers, ect.) are eligible to receive required continuing education or continuing learning credits for completing training and working a day at the polls.  You must provide your association number (attorney number for example) to the Board of Elections when you attend training. In accordance with Secretary of State guidelines, the Board of Elections will then send confirmation for attorneys and provide letters of service for other professions, if requested, so that they may self-report. 

Election Day checks are mailed approximately 4 to 6 weeks after Election Day. Allow an additional 7 to 10 days for delivery. Checks are not available for pick-up at the Board of Elections office.

DO NOT CALL THE STARK COUNTY AUDITOR FOR PAYROLL INFORMATION.

PEO pay rates:

Leadership Team pay rates:

Click on this PEO application link to begin the application process on-line.  For further information, please call (330) 451-8683 or email [email protected].