Threats, low pay causing high turnover in SC election offices. Legislators asked to up stipends.

COLUMBIA — With election workers across South Carolina leaving in droves and harder to recruit, the state Election Commission is asking legislators for $5 million to raise pay and stipends in a historic election year.

The commission’s director, Howard Knapp, said turnover in election offices across South Carolina is worse than he’s ever seen over his 12 years in state government.

“The threats I’ve personally received — it’s bad, and it’s not getting any better,” he told a House budget-writing panel Wednesday. Election workers “can make more money at Chick-fil-A. They say, ‘Why the hell am I putting up with this?’ and they leave.”

He’s seeking $326,200 to raise salaries within the state office.

But the bulk of his pay request —$4 million — would give poll workers who run the precincts their first raise since 2017. However, at an hourly rate, they’d still collect less than minimum wage.

Election day workers at the precincts would make an additional $25, bringing their pay to $100 for a day that can extend beyond 14 hours. (On Election Day, polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but poll workers must be there by 6 a.m. to get ready for voters and must stay as long as it takes for people still in line at 7 p.m. to vote, then process ballots.)

That daily rate would also apply if counties needed to hire additional workers for early voting. They would also see a $15 bump for their mandatory training ahead of each election, increasing that pay to $75.

County election offices are responsible for hiring poll workers. Some counties pay more than the state-funded minimums, though it’s unclear which and by how much. The agency is compiling that information for legislators.

Asked about requiring counties to supplement state stipends for poll workers, Knapp said many county election offices couldn’t afford it. Even some large counties pay their election directors as little as $30,000 this year, he said.

“It’s just terrible,” he said. “So, asking those kinds of governments to kick in a little more for poll worker pay seems a little arduous.” 

It’s a largely thankless job, often done by civic-minded retirees, but essential for running an election.

“If the funds are not provided, South Carolina elections will be severely impacted, and it will grow increasingly more difficult to recruit, train and retain poll workers,” Knapp wrote in this budget request.

He’s also requesting $1 million to increase county election board members’ stipends by $1,000 annually, increasing their total state stipend to $2,500 for the year, with a maximum of $22,500 per county, according to the request.

Those positions frequently go unfilled, Knapp said.

Counties are supposed to have at least five board members. Counties that haven’t include Richland, home to the state capital. The county notorious for election problems lacked a full board for nearly the last four years, only recently getting to five, he said. 

Turnover is bad for election jobs top to bottom, Knapp said.

Since 2021, nearly three-quarters of county election directors have left, Knapp said.

In rural Saluda County, he told legislators, the entire staff quit last week, and the office closed illegally for several days.

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The state Election Commission is currently training new employees in Saluda with weeks to go before Democrats’ presidential primary Feb. 3. 

One member of the subcommittee, Rep. Micah Caskey, said that while residents should have confidence in South Carolina’s election system, there are issues with a lack of consistency and oversight from county to county.

“We’ve got a messy landscape, and when we see problems, we’re trying to address those,” the West Columbia Republican told the SC Daily Gazette.

The South Carolina Association of Counties declined to comment on Knapp’s testimony but did specify that election boards are appointed by the legislators who represent that county. 

“The counties pay the election directors salaries but have no authority over them as employees,” said Josh Rhodes, the association’s deputy executive director. “The election directors are accountable to the elections board, who is accountable to the delegation.” 

The bulk of Knapp’s budget request, an additional $11.5 million, is simply to cover the increased costs of running roughly 300 elections statewide. This year, when all 170 legislative seats are up for re-election, there will also be a general election potentially pitting the current and former president.

Even without early voting, which the Legislature formalized in a 2022 law, the state has reimbursed counties $2.5 million for each statewide election.

“With early voting and increasing voter turnout and participation, we’re expecting those costs to double,” Knapp said.