As the general election approaches, the staff of the Butler County Bureau of Elections keep their eyes on the number of poll worker applications the department receives.

The midterm election will take place Nov. 8, and Adam Price, poll worker and precinct coordinator for the bureau, said the office is getting a good number of poll worker applications recently.

“I have gotten a decent number of them in recent weeks, that generally happens as you are approaching an election,” Price said. “Fortunately we have a lot of dedicated people in Butler County.”

According to Price, there are several routes people can take to be a poll worker in Butler County: They can apply on the county website, call the office or submit an application through other elections websites or the Pennsylvania Department of State. A minimum of three people staff each precinct on election day, Price said.

Most clerks in Butler County are paid $185 for their work, according to Price. The bureau has many poll workers who return year after year, which Price said provides a good base to staff the precincts throughout the county on election day.

“They want to do it because they feel it’s their civic duty,” Price said. “They may be glad to get a paycheck but they’re just grateful to get to do it. Some are elected, but even those that are not usually come back.”

Initiatives like the U.S. Election Assistance Commission funnel poll workers to apply at their local elections offices. Pennsylvania elections officials said Wednesday that a push last week to recruit new poll workers produced more than 1,100 applicants, including at least one in 58 of 67 counties.

Price said the Butler County bureau likely benefits from initiatives like the election assistance commission, but many applications just come in through the county website.

“As far as our poll workers, we are well-staffed around the county, and when there is an opening, I have a large number of applications of people,” he said. “You can submit an interest form through the website and there is a similar form on the state website.”

Price said the optimal way people can apply to be poll workers is on Butler County’s website, at butlercountypa.gov.