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New Jersey Assembly passes legislation to increase poll worker pay

The New Jersey Assembly has signed off on legislation to increase pay for poll workers.

A-1527/S-598 increases pay to $300 a day. Poll worker pay has been $200 per day since 2001 when it increased from $75.

Under the measure, which allocates $7 million to the New Jersey Department of State, the state and counties will split the reimbursement. The state covers $225, while counties are on the hook for the remaining $75, as they were under the previous $200 rate.

“Poll workers are important to the integrity of our elections. We need to attract good people with competitive wages,” Assemblyman Kevin Rooney, R-Bergen, said in a news release. “Addressing their pay through legislation, rather than executive order, ensures a permanent higher pay rate is in place for future elections and allows counties to recruit workers with the promise of better compensation.”

State lawmakers previously passed legislation to increase poll worker pay to $400 for the June primary. Gov. Phil Murphy also activated the National Guard to supplement election duties, and on Oct. 5, he issued Executive Order 266 to increase poll worker pay to $300 per day.

“These workers have been in short supply and we must offer increased pay to assist in filling those roles,” Assembly members Robert Karabinchak, D-Middlesex, and Valerie Vainieri Huttle, D-Bergen, said in a joint statement.

“We want to ensure that workers are receiving the proper pay for the rigorous work they do,” they added. “This measure will allow us to hire more poll workers and keep our elections more efficient with no added cost to our counties.”

The Assembly voted 77-0 to advance the legislation.

This article was originally posted on New Jersey Assembly passes legislation to increase poll worker pay

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