The Tulsa Board of County Commissioners approved a resolution on Monday to let county employees take up to three days of paid leave to be poll workers through the 2020 election cycle.
County Commissioner Karen Keith said with the COVID-19 pandemic, Tulsa’s go-to population of poll workers may be sitting this one out.
"Most of our poll workers are elderly. So, we need some 800 poll workers to man the polls for the June election. We’ve got three elections coming up, including the November election, which is huge," Keith said.
The resolution provides for hourly workers to be paid overtime and for exempt workers to receive a $75 stipend for their work at the polls for the June primary, August runoff and November general elections.
"We feel like it’s incumbent on the county to allow our employees to be able to do this, and then we’re also going to reach out to some of our larger employers and see if they, too, would be willing to allow some of their employees to step up and serve," Keith said.
Anyone interested in being an election worker should contact the Tulsa County Election Board.
