JEFFERSON COUNTY, Texas — Only 34 days are left until Election Day, and Jefferson County needs more people to work the polls.
Lots of the usual workers have opted out because of COVID.
Less than two weeks away from the start of early voting, Jefferson County has about 55% of poll workers confirmed to volunteer.
"We could not do it without the volunteers that we have," "So we expected that we may not have a lot people to work this election and we certainly understand."
Jefferson County Clerk Carolyn Guidry said the average poll worker in Jefferson County is over 65, putting them at high risk for COVID-19.
Without precautions and the possibility of not having enough volunteers your time at the polls may take longer than usual.
"We're beefing up, we're doing what we can," Guidry said.
To help cut down the time spent there, you're encouraged to pick up a sample ballot and fill it out ahead of time. You can bring it with you to the polls.
What about voting by mail?
"Over 9,000 ballots were mailed out the day before yesterday, don't hold that ballot. Fill it out when you get it and put it in the mail," Guidry said.
There's been a lot of back and forth with the voting process as a whole, but Guidry hopes that doesn't discourage people.
"Every vote counts, we want everyone to take part in this very important election," Guidry said.
More than 148,000 people are registered to vote as of Wednesday in Jefferson County.
Getting up to 150,000 puts the county at 83% of eligible eligible voters registered.
Jefferson County Tax Assessor Allison Getz said they're expecting to surpass the number from 2016 when 149,000 people were registered.
"If you have some time, we'll take you, we need poll workers," Guidry said.
To volunteer, you can visit the Jefferson County elections website. Volunteers are paid $11 an hour. Guidry said there's no deadline, and they couldn't use the help.