Question: Which laws govern pay for
election judges?
Answer: Lots of laws apply. And first, let us just say that election
judges rock.
New this year (because it went up) consider Minnesota's state minimum
wage law. For cities with a smaller annual budget— under $500,000—that state
minimum is now $6.50 per hour. For cities with budgets higher than that, the
minimum pay is $8 per hour. State law Minn. Stat. § 2014B.31 requires that election judges be paid at
least that much, but city councils may decide to pay more than that. That same law allows a person to volunteer as an election judge and receive no pay,
but they must submit a written statement about that to the city council at
least ten days before the election.
What about federal minimum wage and election judges? A federal appeals court
judge says no, election judges are exempt from federal minimum wage laws. Evers
v. Tart, 48 F.3d 319, 321 (8th Cir. 1995).
The weeds
Ok, so we know the minimum pay
for these helpful people. How does a city pay them and do they withhold taxes
from that pay? Here’s the quick list:
- Federal and/or state tax withholding, including withholding for Social Security and Medicare. If an election judge is paid less than $1,600 in 2014, no Social Security or Medicare taxes are withheld.
- Issuing W-2s. If an election judge earns more than $600 in a year, cities must issue that person a W-2. (According to IRS contacts, W-2s may be issued to judges earning less than $600 for software and bookkeeping purposes).
- PERA withholding. According to the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA), election judges are local governmental employees, but the wages earned in these positions are not subject to PERA withholding.
- Payroll. The federal government classifies election judges as employees. Therefore, it seems reasonable to pay election judges through the payroll system, rather than other accounts, to ensure accurate tracking of wages paid to each judge. However, this is offered as a practical tip, not as a requirement in law or rule
There you have it, a few laws governing election judge pay.
No, these judges probably will not earn many “Benjamins,” a.k.a hundred-dollar bills, but they DO help cities,
and especially city clerks, with probably their most important responsibility— conducting
elections.
For more on election procedures, see Chapter 5
of the Handbook for Minnesota Cities.
And thanks to all you election judges out there.
Written by Jeanette Behr, research manager with the League of Minnesota Cities. Contact: jbehr@lmc.org or (651) 281-1228.
This blog post conveys general information. It’s not
legal advice. Please check with your city attorney before acting on this
information.