Indianapolis mayor authorizes pay raise for poll workers
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis City-County Council and the mayor have agreed to give a raise to poll workers.
On Oct. 7, just hours before early voting began, the council unanimously approved the ordinance to change the pay rates.
Mayor Joe Hogsett, a Democrat, announced in an Oct. 22 news release that he’d authorized but not approved the increases. Emily Kaufmann, assistant director of communication for the mayor’s office, told News 8 by email, “In the ordinance, it is only recommends the Mayor raise Election Day pay, which is why ‘authorize’ is the correct language to use instead of ‘approve.’”
Ordinances from the council generally need the mayor’s signature.
The hourly wage for absentee voter board workers rose from $11 an hour to $15 an hour.
Election Day clerks will get $180 for the day, up from $100, and inspectors will get $240, up from $200.
In the release from the mayor’s office, Marion County Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell, also a Democrat, said in a statement, “Thank you, Mayor Hogsett and members of the City-County Council for showing your commitment to the best poll workers in the state! This will help in our recruitment efforts to continue finding more dedicated Angels of Democracy, as I call our poll workers. Election Day for poll workers consists of long hours, and hard work. This acknowledgment will be well received by our friends and neighbors who serve the voters of Marion County.”
News 8 first reported on the potential raises on Sept. 23.
This original story was from a script aired on WISH-TV.