Elections Staffing and Training

Ramsey County Elections hires and trains election judges and seasonal staff each year to assist with administering successful election activities. In addition to providing essential support for Election Day, election judges and staff assist in a variety of activities throughout the year.

Election judges who worked Election Day

In order to staff 139 precincts for the 2018 general election, Ramsey County Elections relied on election judges who volunteered to serve. Judges complete training every two years to work on Election Day. Head judges and assistant head judges complete additional training to manage polling places. Voter turnout for a midterm was among the highest on record in 2018 and each election judge provided a valuable service to our democracy.
1736 polling place election judges.

Student election judges in 2018

One of our 2018 civic engagement priorities was recruiting high school students to serve as election judges. Students had the opportunity to learn the importance of the voting process to our democracy. Our goal was to staff each precinct with at least two student election judges in the 2018 general election for a total of 278 election judges. We surpassed our goal by recruiting and training 441 students. They represented every public high school in the county. Some of the judges also worked during early voting for the state primary and general election.

A wide age range of election judges

There is nearly an 80 year age difference between the youngest election judge and the oldest election judge. While our student election judge recruitment exceeded expectations, the highest percentage of judges were in the 65-74 age range. The average age was 60 years old. We intend to target recruitment efforts on ages 18 to 54 in 2019 and 2020.
A student election judge and two election judges.
A voter and two election judges at a polling place.
7001 training hours in 2018.

Training election judges and seasonal staff

In addition to 3,031 hours of training polling place election judges, we trained in-office seasonal staff and election judges to assist with administering successful election activities. See specific training hours and details of these activities below or view the source data.
Administrative support
Total staff: 30
Total training hours: 2400
 
Seasonal staff learned to process and manage voter registration data and absentee ballot requests using the statewide voter registration system. They were trained to implement the mail absentee voting process, including mail-out and acceptance of returned ballots. They also learned customer service strategies for serving voters in person, over the phone and through email.

In-person absentee voting
Total staff: 28
Total training hours: 39 hours
 

Seasonal staff and election judges learned to administer in-person absentee voting to serve voters who chose to submit their ballot via envelope. Ramsey County Elections staffed two in-person absentee voting locations: the Ramsey County Elections office for the state primary and general election and the Ramsey County Public Works building in Arden Hills for the general election.
Early voting at twelve sites
Total staff: 165
Total training hours: 1466
Election judges and select seasonal staff learned to administer the early voting process during a comprehensive 8-hour training. Through the service of our dedicated volunteer early voting judges, Ramsey County brought pre-election voting directly to our voters in their own neighborhoods.
Health care facility voting
Total staff: 23
Total training hours: 23

Election judges learned to conduct absentee voting for residents at 22 qualifying health care facilities in Ramsey County. Our election judges provided a vital service to our community members who may not otherwise have the means to travel to a polling place on Election Day.

Absentee ballot count center
Total staff: 21
Total training hours: 42

Election judges and seasonal staff learned the procedures involved in counting mail and in-person absentee ballots. After implementing audit and privacy procedures, the ballots were processed through a central scanner. Results were tabulated at 8 p.m. on Election Day in accordance with state election law. To maintain full transparency in our elections process the absentee ballot count center is available for public viewing.

Voting equipment preparation
Total staff: 8
Total training hours: 0
Election judges learned how to prepare the voting equipment for use on Election Day. During preliminary testing, judges verified the equipment was accurately recording votes. They also assisted in performing a public accuracy test prior to the election. After the election judges assisted with a post-election audit. They hand-counted ballots from randomly selected precincts and compared the totals with the results from Election Day.

Return to the 2018 Annual Report, view the election results or read additional election reports to learn more.