Must be a qualified registered elector. 25 P.S. § 2672(a) (Thomson/West 2020).

18 years of age. 25 P.S. § 2811 (Thomson/West 2020)

Commonwealth and election district resident for at least 30 days preceding election. 25 P.S. §2811(3) (Thomson/West 2020)

Election District. 25 P.S. § 2672 (a) (Thomson/West 2020).

Certain vacancies may be filled by other registered voters from within the party. 25 P.S. § 2675(c) (Thomson/West 2020).

Judges and Inspectors are elected at municipal elections; clerks and machine operators are appointed by inspectors.

The judge and inspectors of election of each election district shall be elected at the municipal election. Each elector may vote for one person as judge and for one person as inspector, and the person receiving the highest number of votes for judge shall be declared elected judge of election, the person receiving the highest number of votes for inspector shall be declared elected majority inspector of election, and the person receiving the second highest number of votes for inspector shall be declared elected minority inspector of election.

25 P.S. § 2671 (Thomson/West 2020).

Where officers are appointed, “both shall not be of the same political party at the time of said appointment, but one shall be of the party having the largest number of votes and the other shall be of the party having the second largest number of votes in said district at the last preceding November election . . . . The judge of election shall . . . be of the political party having the majority of votes in said district at the last preceding November election.”

25 P.S. § 2675(a) (Thomson/West 2020)

Where voting machines are not used, each inspector shall appoint one clerk. Where a voting machine is used the minority inspector shall appoint one clerk. Where more than one voting machine is used, the minority inspector shall appoint one clerk and the county board of elections shall appoint, for each additional machine, one qualified registered elector of the county to serve as machine inspector. The qualifications of clerks and machine inspectors shall be the same as those for election officers.*

25 P.S. Ann § 2674 (Thomson/West 2020). 

*Note: Since no voting machines are used in Pennsylvania, the Department of State has regarded this provision as applicable to electronic voting systems. Moreover, the Department views these requirements as a floor, not a ceiling. To ensure smooth operation at the polling place, the Department encourages counties to split their poll books in as many divisions as make sense, and appoint clerks to check in voters for each portion of the poll book. Marian K. Schneider, Deputy Secretary of Elections and Administration (2016). 

The judge and inspectors of each election district are elected and hold office for 4 years. 25 P.S. § 2671 (Thomson/West 2020). 

Election officers may be appointed if there is a vacancy, for the rest of the term, but out-of-precinct officials are appointed for one day (at a time) only. Vacancies in district election boards that occur at least 5 days before a primary or election must be filled by the county Court of Common Pleas. Vacancies that occur less than 5 days before a primary or election must be filled by the county board of elections from a pool of qualified and trained poll workers. Positions filled in this manner are deemed vacant the day after the primary or election. 25 P.S. § 2675 (Thomson/West 2020). 

In all counties regardless of class, judges of election, inspectors of election, clerks and machine operators shall be paid compensation as fixed by the county board of elections for each election, which amount shall be at least $75 and not more than $200. 25 P.S. § 2682.2 (a) (Thomson/West 2020).

$20 extra for transmitting ballot boxes. 25 P.S. § 2682.2 (d) (Thomson/West 2020).

Part Time Possible 25 P.S. § 2682.2(b) (Thomson/West 2020).

The Pennsylvania Secretary of State has developed a voluntary poll worker training program. 25 P.S. § 2621(f)(1) (Thomson/West 2020).

Oath required.* 25 P.S. § 2676 (Thomson/West 2020).

*Oaths are enumerated in 25 P.S. § 2677 to § 2680 (Thomson/West 2016). 

It is the authority and duty of each election board to train election workers. 25 P.S. § 2642(g) (Thomson/West 2020). 

No person shall be qualified to serve as an election officer who shall hold, or shall within two months have held, any office, appointment or employment in or under the Government of the United States or of this State or of any city or county or poor district, of any municipal board, commission or trust in any city, save only district justices, notaries public and persons in the militia service of the State.

25 P.S.. § 2672(a); Pa. Const. Art. VII, §12 (Thomson/West 2020).

Election officers are not eligible for any civil office to be voted for at a primary or election at which he shall serve, except that of an election officer. 25 P.S. § 2672(a) (Thomson/West 2020).

Conviction for offenses under the Election Code carries a penalty of disenfranchisement for four years, so those who are convicted of election-related crimes (which can be either felony or misdemeanor) would also be disqualified as election officials. 25 P.S. § 3552 (Thomson/West 2020).