Wichita County needs poll workers for upcoming Nov. 3 General Election

The need for Wichita County poll workers is a constant, but there are six more days of early voting before this General Election in November. Local voters will cast ballots Nov. 3 for everything from mayor of Wichita Falls to the president of the United States.

Having an election during the COVID-19 pandemic means additional duties for poll workers. 

“This time we’re going to have people cleaning, wiping, making sure everything stays as safe as possible,” Wichita County Clerk Lori Bohannon said.

Bohannon is working on ballots, lining up voting centers and making other preparations with early voting for Nov. 3 elections beginning Oct. 13 instead of Oct. 19 — but still ending Oct. 30.

Last month, Gov. Greg Abbott extended the early voting period for this election in light of the new coronavirus pandemic.

For Bohannon, that means finding poll workers to cover the additional six days.

Once she locks down locations for voting centers, she can send out a letter to those who have already been working elections.

“I should know the locations hopefully by next week,” she said Thursday.

Bohannon hopes to hear back from Home Depot and Sikes Senter Mall in the coming days.

“They are popular locations,” she said.

She anticipates the county will have six voting centers during the early voting period and 25 on General Election Day.

Meanwhile, anyone interested in being a poll worker can call the County Clerk’s Office at 940-766-8100 and select option one.

Then ask for voters registration or Bohannon to take your name and contact information.

“We will take that information all the time,” Bohannon said. “We can always use election workers. We try to keep a list. When we need somebody, we call them.”

Poll workers are required to do perhaps three hours or so of training, and positions are paid, officials said.

“Usually early voting training is right before early voting starts, and election day training is usually right before election day,” Bohannon said. “We try not to do it too early so it’s still kind of fresh in their minds.”

Bohannon said being a poll worker is a commitment and requires long hours, but some workers split the day with other workers. 

She said she just needs to know up front how many hours someone wants to work to make sure everything is covered.

Duties may include checking voters in, giving them a four-digit code and assisting them at voting machines if needed, Bohannon said.

Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news, politics and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.