Following recent elections in which the County Board of Elections (BOE) struggled to have enough judges, it has raised the stipend for election judges.
The BOE unanimously approved the increase election judges will be paid, beginning with the 2024 presidential election.
Those who attend training and then serve during early voting or on election day will be paid $250 a day. Experienced election judges will be paid $350 a day.
The BOE’s actions followed a Maryland General Assembly bill that was approved by Gov. Wes Moore to increase the minimum stipend for judges and required a $100 per day premium for those who return after prior service. County Executive Marc Elrich and the county council agreed to increase funding allocated for the stipends.
“We encourage county voters of all ages, backgrounds, and party affiliations to consider becoming or returning as election judges. Election judges play a crucially important role on both early voting days and on Election Day, as well as contribute an enormous amount of help in accomplishing the counting of mail-in ballots,” Board of Elections President David A. Naimon said in a news release.
“While we know that most election judges are not doing this work for the money but to support the democratic process, we’re happy to recognize their service by unanimously approving significant increases to their pay,” he added.
