Poll workers still needed for June 5 election

Time is running short, and poll workers, especially those who are bilingual in any one of six specific languages, are still needed for the June 5 gubernatorial primary election.

The San Diego County Registrar's office is required by federal law to provide bilingual speakers and voting materials to voters who speak Spanish, Filipino, Vietnamese and Chinese. A survey by the University of California Berkeley showed a need for speakers of Arabic and Korean at about 90 precincts, so the registrar's office is also recruiting bilingual poll workers in those languages for the June 5 election.

"We have more than 5,300 volunteers who have committed to serve their community at the polls this election, but we still have an urgent need for 600 more including those who are bilingual in one or more of our covered languages," Registrar Michael Vu said. "Our bilingual volunteers help citizens who may not be proficient in English feel comfortable and informed by voting in their first language."

Poll workers receive a stipend ranging from $100 to $175 depending on the assignment, and those who are bilingual receive an additional $15 if they are assigned to provide language assistance to voters.

Poll workers must be registered voters in the state of California or must be permanent residents in the United States and have transportation to their assigned polling location. They will also need access to the internet to complete an online training and attend a two-hour class.

Prospective poll workers can apply online at http://www.sdvote.com. For more information, call (858) 565-5800 or email [email protected]. The Registrar of Voters office is located at 5600 Overland Ave., in San Diego on the county operations center campus.