It's Wednesday, August 2nd, and you know what that means - less than one week until election day.

But with just 6 days left, Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana counties are among 20 counties that have no yet acquired the minimum number of poll workers they believe they'll need on election day.

Trumbull County faces the biggest shortage, with the Board of Elections there telling 21 News they need at least 40 more people to sign up, regardless of party, to meet the election-day minimum. They further hope to find 20 or so people willing to get called in on election day if someone else is sick or doesn't show up.

In Mahoning County, they're short 11 workers on the minimum, and 120 more to meet their reserve goal, while Columbiana County needs just 5 more poll workers to meet their election day minimum, and a further 48 to fill out their reserves according to a poll worker tracker provided by the Ohio Secretary of State.

The August 8th Special Election in Ohio, which has already garnered hundreds of thousands of early votes, is expected to be a busy one, putting increased pressure on Boards of Election in all of Ohio's counties to be adequately prepared for what may be an unexpectedly busy election day.

To become a poll worker, you can reach out via phone to you're county's Board of Elections, or sign up on the Secretary of State's website here.

The Trumbull County Board of Elections tells 21 News that their poll workers need to be available from 5:30 am to 8:00 pm on election day, and will be paid $128.80 for their time on election day, plus $20 for a one-hour training session. It is unclear whether that compensation changes between counties in the state.

And here are the phone numbers for your local Boards of Election:

  • Trumbull County: (330) 369-4050
  • Mahoning County: (330) 783-2474
  • Columbiana County: (330) 424-1448