Voting on Election Day might have been a five-minute task for most voters. But it was an exhausting, 13-hour-plus day for poll workers, most of whom then had to drive to a distant courthouse to drop off returns. In the Valley, only Allegheny County has a regional drop-off site for voter returns, which is in Springdale. Many who sign up for the low-paying work are senior citizens such as Anna Jean Palchak of New Kensington, who yearns for a similar drop-off site in Westmoreland County. Palchak, 80, started at 6 a.m. Tuesday to help set up the Aluminum City Terrace polling center. By the time polls closed 14 hours later at 8 p.m., she and her team had helped 220 voters correctly use machines and exercise their voting right. But because Westmoreland County doesn’t have a regional drop-off point, it meant a trip to Greensburg at night — through the rain and at a time of year where car-versus-deer accidents are more prevalent. She didn’t get home to bed until midnight. “That Springdale deal is the smart move, at least for me,” Palchak said. “If they did that, I don’t think they’d have any trouble getting judges. Being a judge is a tough job. “It’s hard. It’s tiresome. It’s a very long day,” she said. “At that point, you really need to go home and go to bed, but you still have to go out there (to Greensburg).” Lucky for her, she recruited her son, John, to chauffeur her for the almost hour-long drive to Greensburg. Palchak said she has suggested a regional drop-off site to county officials. Calls to the Westmoreland County Election Bureau were referred to elections director Paula Pedicone, who could not be reached Wednesday. Poll workers from Harrison, West Deer and other northeastern Allegheny County suburbs drop off returns at the Springdale Municipal Building, not the county courthouse in Pittsburgh, making for a shorter night. One elections judge who worked at the Harrison Hi-Rise in Natrona Heights suggested Westmoreland County could benefit from a regional drop-off site, especially because such large population centers are at the northern end of the county. Arnold, New Kensington and Lower Burrell have more than 30,000 people combined, according to Census data. Louise Stanzione, 54, said Allegheny County has had a regional drop-off point since she began as a poll worker in the early 1990s. Calls to the county elections bureau were referred to elections director Mark Wolosik, who could not be reached Wednesday. “I appreciate it, I really do,” Stanzione said. “Most of the other poll workers I’ve seen are in their 70’s or 80’s, some obviously infirm or walking with canes. I know yesterday after working 12 hours, I don’t think I would have particularly cared to have gone the whole way down into the city (Pittsburgh).” Nor would senior citizens, she said. “It was rainy and it probably would have been a hardship for someone who couldn’t see very well or had cataracts,” Stanzione said. She described the Springdale regional site as well organized and efficient. She was in and out in seven minutes. However, she has heard that if poll workers don’t make it to the Springdale site by 11 p.m., they then have to drive to the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh. Election bureaus in Armstrong and Butler counties don’t maintain regional drop-off sites, either. Regis Young, director of elections in Butler County, said that’s never been suggested for Butler County. He said a drop-off point in the hinterlands of Butler County might slow the tabulating process if poll workers from one last precinct were late. He requires that election workers ride back to the Butler courthouse in pairs to drop off returns. Young said he has no problem getting enough poll workers. One of them is Betsy Olson, 61, of Buffalo Township, who described the long day working at the Buffalo-North polling center as “a zoo.” But she didn’t resent having to make the 30-minute trip to Butler. “For me, to drive to Butler is not that big of a deal,” Olson said. “I just shoot right up (Route) 356. To me it’s always fun to go upstairs (in the Butler County Courthouse) and get a preview of how the races are going.” She’s never heard a poll worker from southeastern Butler County complain about the drive. When poll workers get to the courthouse, it only takes five minutes to drop off returns and they’re done. Calls to the Armstrong County election bureau were referred to director Wendy Buzard, who could not be reached Wednesday.

Pay for election workers

Here is a sampling of pay rates for poll workers. On average, five people were assigned at each polling location during Tuesday’s General Election. Most worked a 13-hour day at the minimum, which means they got an hourly wage of from $5.38 to $7.69. Butler County: Judge of elections: $100; clerks $95; $10 extra goes to the person who drives to the county courthouse to drop off returns. Armstrong County: $70 to $75 for workers in precincts that handle 150 voters or less; $80 to $85 for 151 to 500 voters; $85 to $95 for more than 500 voters. Westmoreland County: Judge of elections: $87.50; other workers, $72.50. Allegheny County: Judge of elections: $100; others workers’ wages not available Source: County election bureaus, commissioners’ offices

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