Lake County seeks election judges ahead of 2026 primary, general elections

Lake County is asking residents to step up as election judges because every polling place, from Beaver Bay to Stony River, depends on enough trained workers to keep voting orderly for the 2026 primary and general elections. The county posted its request May 29, making the staffing need clear well before ballots are cast.

Election judges are the people who staff local polling places, carry out election procedures and protect voter rights. Lake County says the job is paid, and the county’s application materials say candidates must be eligible to vote in Minnesota, able to read, write and speak English, and complete at least a two-hour election judge training course. Interested residents are directed to the county’s election-judge interest form.

The timing matters. Minnesota’s primary election day is Tuesday, Aug. 11, with vote-by-mail or in-person early voting running from June 26 through Aug. 10. The general election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 3. With those dates approaching, Lake County is trying to build a pool of trained judges in time for the summer voting period and the fall election.

The need is especially practical in a county where precincts are spread across Beaver Bay, Silver Bay, Two Harbors, Knife River and Stony River, among other areas. Smaller polling places still need enough judges to check voters in, handle ballots and keep lines moving. Without enough trained staff, the burden falls on a handful of people to do the work that makes a precinct run smoothly.

State election materials describe election judges as temporary, paid employees of local election officials who are trained to handle all aspects of voting at the polling place. Minnesota’s election-judge guidance says more than 30,000 judges staff more than 4,100 precincts during a general election, a scale that shows how much local elections rely on a steady pipeline of workers.

Minnesota law also allows certain high school or homeschool students age 16 and older to serve as trainee election judges under specified conditions, widening the group of people who can help. For Lake County, the May 29 request was more than a routine notice. It was a reminder that smooth elections in August and November start with the people inside each polling place.