A bill that has been sent to Governor Kathy Hochul would exempt income from poll work from being counted toward the cap on School Tax Relief — or STAR — benefits in New York.
Democratic State Assemblyman John McDonald says the bill would help the state alleviate a shortage of poll workers ahead of November’s elections.
Speaking in Lansingburgh in his 108th district, McDonald says the impetus for the bill was speaking with a poll worker last year.
“She goes, well, here's the problem. Although they don't pay us a lot each day, when you add in an additional 10 days of work, unfortunately, my income now exceeds the eligibility standard for the STAR exemption,” McDonald said.
For senior citizens to qualify for a STAR benefit, their income must remain below $58,400.
State Senator Jake Ashby of the 43rd district applauds the measure.
“At a time when, many people have questions about the process, and we see a decline in many areas of participation, this bill would provide an incentive to do that. In New York, as we all know, struggles with affordability across different segments of our population, this bill would help with that,” Ashby said.
Fellow Republican and Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin says he hopes it boosts poll worker enrollment.
“Almost every time they're going to be retired folks, right, who have the time to take that 15-hour day and, and we need them, they're hard to find, we want to encourage more of that,” McLaughlin said.
Deputy Mayor Chris Nolin says the shortage is also affecting the Collar City.
“This is a common-sense idea that's going to help us attract and retain all of those individuals that are going to work hard at the polls. It's a lot harder now with not just working on the election day, but doing early voting,” Nolin said.
Kathleen McGrath, a spokesperson for the State Board of Elections, tells WAMC the board can’t comment on pending legislation, but added 2024 will be a challenge.
“So far, for 2023 elections coming up next month, counties in the Capital Region have done well. And across the state to recruit poll workers, there's certainly always room to get more in, we always want more poll workers. But we do encourage those that are looking to be poll workers next month to do so as soon as possible because they do need to be trained prior to early voting,” McGrath said.
McGrath says age is always a concern when it comes to staffing polling places.
“In New York state, right now, more than half of all poll workers are over the age of 60. So it does tend to be an older population. One of the things that we are concerned with moving into 2024 is that we will have three elections, we will have a presidential primary in April, and then the state and local primary in June and the general election in November. So that's three elections. All three have 10 days of early voting before them,” McGrath said.
Shirley Buel, co-president of the Rensselaer County chapter of the League of Women Voters, thanked the county’s more than 400 poll workers.
“This bill would be a first step towards retaining poll workers across the state. Poll workers are critical to ensuring our democracy runs smoothly, and ensuring our elections are secure and accessible for all registered voters. We look forward to a future where they are compensated appropriately for the work they do every election cycle,” Buel said.
McDonald says a poll worker shortage is nothing new, but:
“What's new is the penalty for people actually stepping up and serving the public,” McDonald said.
McGrath, with the state Board of Elections, says another issue is standardizing pay for poll workers.
“It's up to the governor to sign that one way or another. But pay for poll workers does vary across the state. Certainly, we want to know that our poll workers are being compensated for their time, and we want to recruit as many as possible. We appreciate the legislature's proactive stance on this. I have not personally seen anything specific about the STAR exemption being a hindrance,” McGrath said.
Governor Hochul’s office says the Democrat is reviewing the legislation. Election Day is Tuesday, November 7.
