Missoula County Looks to Recruit More Than 500 Election Judges
Posted on January 14, 2026
The Missoula County Elections Office invites engaged residents to volunteer as election judges for the 2026 election year.
The office hopes to recruit more than 500 election judges to serve in a variety of roles. Election judges greet voters, issue ballots, operate equipment, deliver election supplies, work at ballot drop locations, hand out “I voted” stickers, answer questions and more. Judges are paid for their service and training.
New and returning judges can sign up for election judge training at missoulaelectionjudge.com. Applicants will be required to complete a form and must provide their name, address and date of birth to verify they are registered to vote in Missoula County.
“It takes a community-wide effort to conduct fair and organized elections,” said Elections Administrator Bradley Seaman. “Election judges are champions of the election process who play a crucial role in ensuring the strength and integrity of the voting process by upholding election law and providing friendly customer service.”
The office encourages local employers to “Give a Day for Democracy” and allow employees paid time off to serve as an election judge, if possible.
“Many of the best election judge candidates are currently working in our community,” Seaman said. “When businesses support employees’ service in the election process, we can recruit and train judges who would otherwise be unavailable.”
Judges are asked to work either a full or half shift on Election Day for both the June primary and November general elections. The base wage for election judges starts at $10.85 an hour, which increases for positions that require more responsibility and training, such as poll book judges and polling place managers. Election judges are often assigned to their neighborhood polling place, and they also help process absentee ballots in the counting center.
Judges must be at least 18 years old, registered to vote in Missoula County, and eager to learn about the voting processes with a willingness to provide genuine customer service to voters.
The County provides election judge certification training, which is required by law. Initial training is about three hours, and there are advanced sessions for poll book judges and polling place managers. Training sessions are scheduled throughout March and will be held at the Elections Center at 140 N. Russell St. There will be one online course offered for judges who have trained in the past.
For questions about signup, call the office at 406-258-4751 or email [email protected].
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