SC needs thousands of poll workers for November. Recruitment is underway.

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COLUMBIA — Tens of thousands of South Carolinians will be needed to work the polls for the November election.

The South Carolina Election Commission will compensate counties for 26,028 poll workers using state taxes, according to data from the agency. Counties can hire additional workers with their own money.

But convincing enough of the state’s nearly 3.8 million registered voters to work the elections can be a challenge. To fill these roles, the state Election Commission and counties are working to recruit poll workers, which includes participating in National Poll Worker Recruitment Day on Thursday.

For the general election, each polling place is supposed to have three managers for every 500 voters, rounded up, who are registered to vote at that location.

In larger counties, this adds up to a significant number of workers. Charleston is looking to recruit 2,000 poll workers for the fall. Richland and Greenville are each looking for well over 1,000.

“We appreciate all the help we can get,” said Conway Belangia, the county director for Greenville.

On Election Day, polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but poll workers must be there by 6 a.m. to get ready for voters and must stay as long as it takes for people still in line at 7 p.m. to vote, then process ballots.

Wanted: Poll workers. Must love democracy.

The state compensates counties for poll worker wages. The state rate is $60 to attend training and $75 on Election Day, for a total of $135. Poll clerks, who lead each precinct and undergo more training, will get an additional $100.

Some counties supplement that pay. Charleston nearly doubles it, paying poll workers a total of $250 each and clerks $410. Beaufort adds $100 to the state rate; Richland adds $50; and Horry adds $25. Greenville County, the state’s largest in population, does not supplement their pay at all.

According to Power to the Polls, a nonpartisan nonprofit working to recruit workers, several counties in South Carolina have a significant need for poll workers, including Charleston, Greenwood and Clarendon.

Greenwood had about 250 poll workers for the June primary, enough to run the election but about 50 people short of its goal, said Connie Moody, the county’s election director. For November, she wants 325 workers and said there is a lot of interest from people to work that election.

Moody said recruiting workers for the primary runoff was particularly challenging. The county does not supplement the pay, and since there is no second training period for that contest, people who worked the runoff were paid only for the day worked.

Requirements to be a poll worker:

• Must be registered to vote in South Carolina
• Cannot be a candidate or close relative of a candidate and work at any polling place where the candidate is on the ballot
• Clerks must be registered to vote either in the county they are working in or in an adjacent county

Teens 16 and 17 years old, while too young to vote, can work as assistants

Source: State Election Commission

“They worked 13, 13.5 hours for $75,” Moody said.

In Clarendon, the county had about 108 poll workers for the June primary, which was less than officials were hoping for, according to Christine Harvin, the county director.

To hit the goal of about 125 poll workers in November, the office does about one outreach effort a month, Harvin said. The office will also be holding a recruitment event on Thursday at the election office for Poll Worker Recruitment Day.

Richland County, home of the state capital, is looking to recruit 500 new workers. That’s in addition to a core group of about 800 people who regularly work the elections, said Travis Alexander, the county director.

Alexander is hoping to draw new recruits from Columbia’s colleges and universities, to get some younger workers. This week he is going to start reaching out to political science and history departments, and he will be recruiting through August.

“We want to make sure we’re there when orientation is going on,” Alexander said.

Some counties like Beaufort are always recruiting. Marie Smalls, the county director for Beaufort, said she is confident they will have enough workers for the general election.

“Recruiting is an ongoing effort for us,” Smalls said. “We had enough poll workers in June and I’m hoping we have enough for November.”