On February 18, Legislative Director Kevin Kinnally submitted written testimony to the Government, Labor, and Elections Committee in support of HB 662 – Election Law – Election Judges – Compensation for Public School Students.
This bill aims to support the recruitment of election judges by removing an unnecessary barrier for public school students. Currently, public school students who serve as election judges must choose between receiving election judge pay and earning the required service-learning credit.
By allowing public school students to earn both service-learning credit and compensation for serving, HB 662 helps expand a critical recruitment pipeline. It supports the long-term resilience of Maryland’s election workforce.
Counties fund and administer elections through the local boards of
election. Local boards rely on trained election judges to staff early voting days and Election Day, and to keep voting locations operating smoothly. Recruiting election judges has always been a persistent challenge, and today’s environment only adds new pressure, with misinformation-driven confusion, heightened scrutiny at polling places, and more frequent concerns about harassment or disruption.
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