I have been an election judge at a precinct in Edina for over 5 years. Normally, there are an even number of Republican and DFL election judges. At the presidential primary in early March, there were 4 DFL judges and 2 Republican judges in my precinct. I was told there were no more trained Republican election judges available. I am asking you to consider signing up for this paid role, if you can.

There are two training session ahead of the election. One is to go over procedures. One is to go over the iPads we use to register voters. Everyone is trained on every job on election day.

We arrive at 6:00 am on election day and help with set up of the area and equipment. At 7:00 am the doors open to voters. During the day, we rotate jobs to keep fresh. We can also take short breaks. It feels like a real team effort throughout the day. If questions come up, the head judges will figure things out. Everyone, regardless of party, is there to make sure the election is fair and accurate. At 8:00 pm the doors close. We then close-up the machines and make sure the votes totals are sent online to Hennepin County. The back up paperwork is sent to city hall.

One is paid $11.00 per hour for the training and your time on election day. The bigger satisfaction is knowing that every vote was counted accurately and you were part of the election team.

There are a few tasks during election day where both a Republican and DFL judge need to work together to assist a voter. That is why we need more Republicans willing to serve as election judges. People who volunteered at the 2/25 Caucus at South View in Edina and Jefferson in Bloomington have had your names submitted already. But we can use more.

There will be a primary election on August 11. The general election will be on November 3, 2020. Those who sign up  will be contacted in May by your city clerk to confirm your availability and to schedule training classes.

I strongly urge you to sign up to be an election judge. We need to ensure that every polling place has a Republican election judge. As was mentioned in the March 2 newsletter, Minnesota Statute 204B.21 requires that in a year in which there is an election for partisan political office, such as 2020, "each major political party shall prepare a list of eligible voters to act as election judges in EACH precinct”, and submit to the Secretary of State by May 1st.”

To sign up through the Republican Party of Minnesota, CLICK HERE

In addition, you should also consider submitting an application to your city clerk. To sign up at Bloomington , click on the city website's election judge mailing list application, fill in the information and drop it off /mail it to city hall.

To sign up at Edina, see the flyer below, and the city website page CLICK HERE. Note that you do not need to be an Edina resident to work as an election judge for the city.