December 21, 2006 |
2006-R-0803 | |
COMPENSATION FOR ELECTION OFFICIALS | ||
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By: Kristin Sullivan, Associate Analyst | ||
You asked (1) for election officials' compensation rates and (2) when these positions became paid, not voluntary.
SUMMARY
The General Statutes do not address compensation rates for election officials except to stipulate that (1) these officials receive at least one dollar for undergoing voting machine training and (2) machine mechanics be paid in the same manner as other election officials (CGS §§ 9-249 and 9-243). Each municipality therefore determines how much it will compensate its election officials and the rates differ from town to town and by position. The Registrars of Voters Association of Connecticut (ROVAC) conducted a survey in late 2005 asking Connecticut's 169 municipalities how much they compensate election officials who work the day of a primary or general election. Table 1 provides a sample of those results, showing the variation across the state.
While the statutes do not create a statewide pay scale for election officials, they do authorize municipalities to compensate unofficial checkers and candidate checkers. But these individuals work for political parties and are not considered election officials (CGS §§ 9-235 (d) and 9-436a). Under state law, election officials include moderators, deputy head moderators, polling place moderators, registrars of voters or assistant registrars of voters, official checkers, challengers, machine tenders, absentee ballot moderators, absentee ballot counters, and voting machine mechanics (CGS 9-258).
We did not find any state law, current or former, prohibiting election officials from receiving compensation or mandating voluntary service. In fact, with P. A. 79-481 the legislature required the secretary of the state to reimburse municipalities for their actual and necessary expenses associated with conducting presidential preference primaries, including compensation for election officials. The legislature passed the current law on this issue in 1992 (P. A. 92-1), allowing election officials to volunteer based on agreement with the registrars of voters (CGS § 9-235c). By doing this, it effectively left the decision about whether to pay election officials for a primary or general election up to the municipalities, together with the rate of compensation.
Table 1: Daily Compensation Rates For Election Officials in Selected Municipalities*
Town |
Head Moderator |
Deputy Head Moderator |
Polling Place Moderator |
Registrar or Assistant Registrar |
Official Checker |
Challenger |
Machine Tender |
Absentee Moderator |
Absentee Counter |
Machine Mechanic** |
Bloomfield |
$ 300. 00 |
$ 275. 00 |
$ 210. 00 |
$ 170. 00 |
$ 140. 00 |
N/A |
$ 115. 00 |
$ 225. 00 |
$ 115. 00 |
$ 13. 00 - 15. 00/hr |
Cheshire |
10. 75/hr |
N/A |
10. 75/hr |
10. 75/hr |
10. 00/hr |
N/A |
9. 00/hr |
N/A |
9. 25/hr |
600. 00 |
Danbury |
350. 00 |
275. 00 |
275. 00 |
225. 00 |
10. 00/hr |
N/A |
10. 00/hr |
N/A |
50. 00 |
27. 50 |
Glastonbury |
10. 61/hr |
10. 61/hr |
10. 61/hr |
9. 55/hr |
8. 49/hr |
N/A |
8. 49/hr |
10. 61/hr |
9. 55/hr |
15. 45/hr |
Hamden |
300. 00 |
250. 00 |
170. 00 |
135. 00 |
130. 00 |
N/A |
95. 00 |
250. 00 |
100. 00 |
70. 00 |
Hartford |
35/hr |
30/hr |
230. 00 |
130. 00 |
130. 00 |
N/A |
110. 00 |
20-25/hr |
110. 00 |
(contractor) |
Killingworth |
N/A |
N/A |
11. 95/hr |
9. 92/hr |
9. 92/hr |
N/A |
8. 69/hr |
N/A |
9. 92/hr |
70. 00 |
Morris |
N/A |
N/A |
10. 34/hr |
10. 34/hr |
10. 34/hr |
N/A |
10. 34/hr |
N/A |
10. 34/hr |
10. 34/hr |
Newington |
195. 00 |
195. 00 |
176. 00 |
176. 00 |
146. 00 |
136. 00 |
136. 00 |
130. 00 |
100. 00 |
60. 00 |
N. Stonington |
N/A |
N/A |
150. 00 |
N/A |
8. 00/hr |
N/A |
7. 50/hr |
N/A |
8. 00/hr |
50. 00 |
Pomfret |
N/A |
N/A |
10. 00/hr |
N/A |
10. 00/hr |
N/A |
7. 50/hr |
N/A |
10. 00/hr |
80. 00 |
Shelton |
600. 00 |
N/A |
350. 00 |
175. 00 |
150. 00 |
N/A |
95. 00 |
350. 00 |
150. 00 |
250. 00 |
Vernon |
275. 00 |
N/A |
225. 00 |
190. 00 |
165. 00 |
165. 00 |
125. 00 |
225. 00 |
9. 00/hr |
100. 00 |
Waterbury |
550. 00 |
N/A |
220. 00 |
145. 00 - 150. 00 |
145. 00 - 150. 00 |
N/A |
120. 00 |
350. 00 |
150. 00 |
15. 00/hr |
Westport |
205. 00 |
N/A |
180. 00 |
155. 00 |
145. 00 |
N/A |
130. 00 |
180. 00 |
15. 50/hr |
35. 00 – 45. 00 |
SOURCE: Judith Beaudreau, ROVAC, Registrar of Voters, Vernon, CT
* Figures generally represent daily compensation rates for a primary or general election, unless otherwise indicated.
** Figures for machine mechanics represent compensation per machine repaired, unless otherwise indicated.
N/A means not applicable since municipality does not have that position.
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