Swamped by voters in the spring presidential primary, Texas election administrators are looking to recruit more poll workers for the big showdown in November.

Among the ideas to help fill the ranks: higher hourly rates, split shifts and younger, more tech-savvy workers.

"We are going through and contacting people as fast as we can," said Denton County election administrator Don Alexander, who wants to double his Election Day roster.

It's not always an easy sell, with long hours required – up to 12 hours or more for one day's work – and relatively little pay.

Rosemary Rodriguez, chairwoman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, said 2 million poll workers will be needed nationwide to ensure a smooth operation – about 1.3 million more than in the last presidential election.

Officials are bracing for a huge turnout, motivated by the race between John McCain and Barack Obama. Staffing is critical to help avoid slow-moving lines, confusion and other troubles seen in some places during the primary season.

"It's still a challenge" to recruit poll staff, Ms. Rodriguez said. "I'm not going to predict disaster, but it could be a long day."

She said officials across the country are pushing early voting to try to thin the final Election Day numbers.

But even that can pose problems, Dallas County election administrator Bruce Sherbet said.

"It's like a mini-election every day," he said. "It's human nature; people just wait until the last minute."

Mr. Sherbet said he is more concerned with finding enough bilingual poll workers. By law, Dallas County needs about 400 of them, mainly Spanish speakers, on Election Day.

"We're just out there beating the bushes trying to find anyone who wants to do it," he said.

Pay is about $8 an hour. He is considering staggering shifts to entice more people to sign up.

In North Texas, Denton County has one of the most aggressive staffing plans.

Mr. Alexander said he is trying to boost his regular stable of about 400 poll workers by 300 to handle the expected turnout. And he hopes to increase the pay.

His office has been recruiting poll workers through e-mail and voter registration cards, and individuals are showing interest as well.

"We've had people come in off the street," he said. "We're not letting any of them get away."

In Collin County, election administrator Sharon Rowe has raised the pay for clerks and would favor having poll workers split shifts, her office said.

To help recruiting, the election commission recently awarded more than $50,000 in grants to two Texas groups:

•The Center for Civic Engagement at University of Texas at El Paso seeks to recruit 100 college-age poll workers, including 75 bilingual workers.

El Paso County elections administrator Javier Chacón said poll workers in his county average 60 years old, so he wants to build a younger crew more comfortable with polling place technology.

"They're more savvy at computers and running the machines," he said.

•In Harris County, the Texans Together Education Fund, which helps register disengaged voters, hopes to recruit and place 100 students in a predominantly minority precinct.

"This will hopefully get younger people committed as poll workers," said Joy Authur, co-director of the project.

Texans showed up in some of the largest numbers in history for the March primary – 4.2 million of 12.7 million registered voters cast a ballot.

Seeking a better-trained workforce, the Texas Secretary of State's office has started a Web-based course for poll staffers. Early results:

•Of the 254 counties, 159 have begun using the Web site, and about 2,800 poll workers have logged on.

•It covers the handbook for poll workers but isn't intended to replace traditional face-to-face training. Instead, it's an interactive supplement, said office spokeswoman Ashley Burton.

•The course takes about an hour, and the Web site is available 24 hours a day. Online, workers can study forms used at polling places, and videos present situations that might arise on Election Day.

•Denton and Collin counties have used the site for training. Dallas County has as well but also uses another site designed specifically for the county.

Other proposed fixes

•Increasing the daily pay.

•Allowing employees to work at polls without loss of pay from their current employer.

•Making Election Day a holiday.

•Requiring citizens to serve as poll workers, like those summoned to jury duty.

Staff and wire reports