County official warns Senate bill 27 53 will raise election staffing costs, urges recruitment and pay adjustments

An agency official told the Marion County court that changes attributed in the transcript to "senate bill 27 53" will increase early-voting hours and staffing needs and asked the court to consider boosting election-worker pay and recruitment resources.

The official said the legislation, effective Sept. 1 as described in the discussion, reduces some weekdays for early voting but adds weekend days, increases Sunday hours and adds the day before election day as a 12-hour early-voting day. "They added the day before election day, which is the day that y'all know that we used to set up equipment," the official said, adding that the change will compress setup time and extend continuous operations through election day.

Why it matters: the longer continuous schedule means more paid hours and overtime for election judges, clerks and other workers; the official said seasoned local workers are aging out and recruitment will be difficult without higher pay and active outreach. "We're gonna have to do some heavy duty recruiting," the official said, noting some long-time workers have died or retired.

Operational responses and recruitment plan: the official proposed recruiting 16‑ and 17‑year‑old students where permitted and with school approval to staff polling sites alongside experienced workers, and said the office will work with government teachers to build interest. "If I can have 1 or 2 high-school students working with seasoned election workers at each polling location, it would be a wonderful thing," the official said. The official also noted training and a new system rollout that will require travel and time for staff training.

Budget context: speakers said the county has budgeted funds for added voting hours this year and that small reallocations could cover unexpected shortfalls. One county member said that, now that the legislative cycle is over, officials could reallocate modest amounts (an example given was "1,000 dollars") from other lines if needed. The official, however, warned that ongoing recruitment and potential overtime could push costs higher over time and asked the court to consider increasing early-voting pay lines to aid recruitment.

Next steps: no formal vote or motion was recorded on staffing or pay adjustments in the transcript; the official said final budget figures depend on pending administrative certifications and comp-code rollouts that will determine exact line‑item values.