The Jefferson County Election Commission will request a budget large enough to cover a raise in election employees' pay starting in 2024.
Included in a $380,000 budget the commission will request to county government is an increase in hourly pay for those employed to perform Election Day duties. Under the budget, commission Chairman Michael Adam said, assuming a 14-hour day, each poll clerk will earn $195 per day, each poll sheriff $205 and each poll worker $220.
The mileage rate will also increase to 52 cents per mile to cover the cost of transporting equipment from the commission office to the poll sites, he said. Election officials hope the bump in pay will help attract more poll workers.
Total expenses for the Aug. 8 Pine Bluff School District special election on a millage rate increase reached $52,547.28. Of that amount, $13,079.44 went to election systems and software election programming and support; $10,940 went to professional services such as election layout, machine preparation and delivery; and $22,335.36 combined went to poll judges, poll sheriffs, poll workers and support staff. The commission is requesting a reimbursement of the expenses from the county.
Voters approved the millage increase to a unified rate of 47.7 mills across the PBSD, up from 40.8 in the old Dollarway School District and 41.7 in the pre-annexed PBSD zone. The official tally, following a count of four provisional ballots, was 1,740 for the increase and 1,064 against.
Election commissioners did not reject any of the four provisional ballots, all of which were against the measure, according to Adam. When the unofficial count was tallied, Adam said the election revealed no voter identification shortages, or invalid IDs, which he considers a rarity.
"Maybe the word has gotten out. It's not hard to get ID," Adam said. "There are people out there who always [think], 'Well, it's too hard to get ID.' Well, it's not that hard, obviously, because all those people who voted had it. That's one of the first things, name, address and ID."
During a presidential election year – every four years including 2024 – voters who are either not registered or don't carry valid IDs tend to turn out, election co-coordinator Sven Hipp said.
"It really depends on the type of election that's going on. A smaller school district election like this, typically people from the district are the only ones who will show up," Hipp said. "When we had the general election, obviously there were many people who hadn't voted for many years for a presidential election. That's how it always happened."
The Watson Chapel School District will not have any board races during the November general election. Zone 4 trustee and board President Donnie Hartsfield, who was up for election this year, will not be a candidate after he failed to collect the minimum 20 signatures needed to be on the ballot by the deadline, which was Aug. 16.
No one else has filed to run for his seat.
Hartsfield, who has served on the board since approximately 2003, said he would need an appointment from his fellow trustees to remain. Each trustee is elected to a five-year term.
"Once every five years, things can change, and you've got to have so many signatures to be put on the ballot," Hartsfield said. "[County employees] gave me a sheet where I needed 10 signatures. Before, they gave me two of those sheets."
Hartsfield went to turn in his sheet of signatures before the noon filing deadline when he was informed he was 10 signatures short. Hartsfield said he had assumed only 10 signatures were needed.
"My thinking was, they'll give me what I need," Hartsfield said. "I knew from previous times I had to have 20 signatures. This time, they only gave me one sheet."
Hartsfield said he will write a letter to the board asking to be reappointed.
"My heart is seeing those kids be educated," he said. "I want to see them learn, get a trade and give back to the community. ... I want Watson Chapel to be the No. 1 school in the nation."