Bill Overview
Title: Enhanced Pay for Election Workers Act
Description: This bill directs the Election Assistance Commission to establish a program to make payments to states to provide enhanced pay for election workers, including individuals serving as election officials or poll workers on a temporary or unpaid basis.
Sponsors: Rep. Levin, Andy [D-MI-9]
Target Audience
Population: Election workers worldwide
Estimated Size: 775000
- Election workers include both election officials and poll workers, who are essential for the conduct of elections. Some of these individuals may be temporary workers or volunteers.
- The act involves all U.S. states, suggesting that the target population will span the entire U.S., impacting workers from state to state.
- The U.S. frequently employs hundreds of thousands of poll workers during major election events; such workers are typically recruited each election cycle.
Reasoning
- My aim is to cover a diverse range of individuals who work as election officials or poll workers, considering different backgrounds, locations, and roles in the election process.
- I'll consider a mix of temporary, part-time, and potentially unpaid volunteers as these roles make up a significant proportion of election workers.
- I will include perspectives from various U.S. regions to reflect demographic and geographic differences.
- The Cantril wellbeing scale will help in quantifying subjective well-being, which might improve with enhanced compensation.
Simulated Interviews
college student (Ohio)
Age: 22 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 6
Duration of Impact: 5.0 years
Commonness: 8/20
Statement of Opinion:
- The policy sounds great, especially for students like me who take up poll work temporarily. Extra pay would be a real incentive to participate more often.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 5 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 5 |
retired teacher (Florida)
Age: 67 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 10.0 years
Commonness: 10/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Enhanced pay would make a big difference. Even though I enjoy serving, this isn't a cheap state to live in.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 6 | 6 |
IT specialist (California)
Age: 45 | Gender: other
Wellbeing Before Policy: 8
Duration of Impact: 10.0 years
Commonness: 5/20
Statement of Opinion:
- I volunteer out of civic duty, but better pay could mean more resources for tech enhancements.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 5 | 9 | 8 |
| Year 10 | 9 | 7 |
| Year 20 | 8 | 7 |
freelance writer (Texas)
Age: 30 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 5
Duration of Impact: 20.0 years
Commonness: 6/20
Statement of Opinion:
- This does make taking time off more appealing. It adds financial stability, even temporarily.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 2 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 4 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 4 |
| Year 20 | 6 | 3 |
part-time teacher (Pennsylvania)
Age: 55 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 6
Duration of Impact: 10.0 years
Commonness: 10/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Extra pay would definitely help but isn't why I do it.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 3 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 20 | 5 | 4 |
unemployed (New York)
Age: 40 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 4
Duration of Impact: 3.0 years
Commonness: 4/20
Statement of Opinion:
- For someone unemployed, this creating an income stream is beneficial, even short-term.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 4 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 4 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 4 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 3 |
| Year 10 | 6 | 3 |
| Year 20 | 5 | 3 |
healthcare worker (Arizona)
Age: 29 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 5
Duration of Impact: 10.0 years
Commonness: 7/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Anything that adds to the pay helps in times where bills are sky-high. I'd volunteer more.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 2 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 3 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 4 |
| Year 20 | 6 | 3 |
small business owner (Georgia)
Age: 50 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 15.0 years
Commonness: 9/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Enhanced pay might attract others to join, ensuring elections run smoothly.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 10 | 9 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 7 |
recent high school graduate (Tennessee)
Age: 18 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 6
Duration of Impact: 20.0 years
Commonness: 5/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Good idea! More pay is an added bonus for young people getting an easy introduction to work.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 9 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 5 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 5 |
government employee (Oregon)
Age: 60 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 8
Duration of Impact: 20.0 years
Commonness: 9/20
Statement of Opinion:
- The policy could potentially make poll work more competitive, ensuring a committed workforce.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 7 |
Cost Estimates
Year 1: $387500000 (Low: $300000000, High: $475000000)
Year 2: $387500000 (Low: $300000000, High: $475000000)
Year 3: $387500000 (Low: $300000000, High: $475000000)
Year 5: $387500000 (Low: $300000000, High: $475000000)
Year 10: $387500000 (Low: $300000000, High: $475000000)
Year 100: $387500000 (Low: $300000000, High: $475000000)
Key Considerations
- The number of election workers can fluctuate greatly based on election type and scale (local, midterm, general).
- Variations in state participation rates and costs to enhance pay can vary across different jurisdictions.
- Administration and monitoring costs for the program can fluctuate but are not directly considered in federal enhancement estimates.