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Elections officials need pollworkers as older, experienced workers are retiring.
Brooke County commissioners are thinking about combining some precinct locations, and one advantage of this is that fewer people would be needed to man the polls, according to Commissioner Tim Ennis.
"It's tough to get pollworkers," he said. "We're thinking of combining a few of them, and this would be a reduction of precincts.
"We're trying to make the changes the least disruptive for voters," said Ennis.
New voting sites are going to have to be fund as some current precinct locations are at schools in Brooke County are soon slated to close, he said. Reducing the number would reduce the number of precincts.
A total of five pollworkers, including at least two Republicans and two Democrats, must be in place at each voting location on Election Day. Alternative pollworkers also are needed in the case someone isn't available.
"Our generations are getting older," said County Clerk Sylvia Benzo. "The dedicated ones are reaching the age where can't get along anymore."
And finding young people to replace them is difficult, she said. Those just reaching voting age often have school, and those only slightly older may have young families.
This is a problem not only in Brooke County, but all over West Virginia, according to Benzo. But they will still continue to reach out and find pollworkers.
"We'll do what have to do to get pollworkers," she said. "We'll reach out to friends and relatives."
Pollworkers in Brooke County receive $150 for working Election Day and attending the necessary training class. Some can earn slightly more for picking up and bringing back supplies for their precinct.
Tyler County Clerk Neil Archer said his county is trying to attract more pollworkers by paying them more.
Pollworkers there are paid $175 for working election day, plus another $50 for attending mandatory training. This gives them a total of $225.
"But Tyler County is small," he said. "We just have 12 precincts. We only need 60 pollworkers, then 10 alternates."
Tyler County now is using updated computerized voting systems, and Archer believes this will make working the polls more attractive to young people.
Tyler County isn't expecting to consolidate any polling precincts, as geography makes this difficult, he said.
Marshall County Clerk Jan Pest said her county may be looking to make some slight modifications in polling locations not because of a lack of pollworkers, but because of efficiency.
As an example, she said precincts located in the courthouse and at nearby Central School are close enough to be together.
She reports having no issues finding pollworkers for the recent primary election.
"We didn't have anybody call off, and we had some backups if they did," she said.
There were some young people indicating before the election they were interested in being pollworkers, and Pest said this was rare.
"Some of these kids have just gotten interested in elections," she said. "They just started showing up, and asking what need to do to be a pollworker."
Those interested in being pollworkers should contact their respective county clerk's office at the following numbers: Brooke County, 304-737-3661; Hancock, 304-564-3311; Marshall, 304-845-1220; Ohio, 304-234-3570; Tyler, 304-758-2102; and Wetzel, 304-455-8224.