Missoula County Seeking Election Judges

MISSOULA - Missoula County is seeking civically engaged and interested community members to serve as one of 800 election judges for the 2016 election year. This is a paid public service position that serves voters on Election Day. Missoula County is offering paid training throughout the month of February (mileage is included) and will hold a June Primary and November General Election this year.

Conducting fair, balanced and organized elections is a community-wide effort. As champions of this process, election judges play a crucial role in ensuring the strength and integrity of voting and in upholding election law.

With 2016 being a presidential election year, the Elections Office is predicting very high voter turnout.  As such, there is an increasing demand for election judges in Missoula County, meanwhile, the number of elections judges serving has decreased.

Polling locations in Condon and Seeley Lake support nearly 2,000 polling place voters. According to Missoula County Election Advisory Committee Member Larry Dunham, the number of judges required to staff the polls in Seeley Lake is 25, while Condon and Potomac require 15 judges each.

“The minimum number of judges to host an election up here is 40 judges total [for Seeley Lake, Condon and Potomac],” said Dunham. “If we don’t have enough, we have to draw from the Missoula area.”

Anyone who has been a resident of Missoula County for more than six months is eligible to be an election judge. There are several positions available in addition to election judges, including polling place managers, poll book judges and Election Center (Fairgrounds) support staff. They can choose to work half or full days at the polls during the elections.

Training classes are required for all positions. Training is held in February at the Missoula County Fairgrounds. There are 16 different daytime and evening classes of varying lengths depending on the position. The online class schedule and registration can be accessed online at http://www.MissoulaElectionJudge.com.

This is a paid public service position. Individuals are compensated for their time on Election Day and for the time they spend in training as well as mileage to and from their home.

For more information or questions, call the Missoula County Elections office at 406-258-4751, or email electioninfo@co.missoula.mt.us with your name and contact info.