For the fourth consecutive month, Richmond County voters will head for the polls today.

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Jackie Ricciardi/Staff

About 80 percent to 85 percent of today's election cost will go to poll workers.

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Who could blame them for being a little fatigued?

The string of elections, including today's runoff for the state Senate District 22 seat, is the most Richmond County Board of Elections Executive Director Lynn Bailey has seen in her 32 years with the office.

The Georgia Secretary of State's Office told her it was the most consecutive for a Georgia county in about 20 years, she said.

"It's unusual to have this many elections in this amount of time," she said. "It's presented its own unique set of challenges."

Preparing for back-to-back elections requires the coordination of hundreds of poll workers and an almost nonstop election cycle because of early voting. Unanticipated elections -- such as a runoff or special election -- can add hefty costs to the election office's budget.

January's special election for the state Senate District 22 seat and today's runoff for the position will add 16 percent, or a total of $114,000, to the election office's 2010 budget. Bailey said the January election cost about $59,500 and today's about $54,500.

Between 80 percent and 85 percent of those costs are for poll workers to staff precincts on Election Day, Bailey said.

In 2009 there were also two elections that weren't planned into the county's budget when it was set -- June's sale tax referendum and December's runoff for the District 1 Augusta Commission seat.

Those votes added $67,250, or about 12 percent, to the 2009 election office budget. About half of the office's budget went directly to election operations, Bailey said.

Staffing the polls for a medium-size or large election requires about 500 workers, she said. Those workers must be trained before each election to review procedures and changes in the law.

Poll workers are paid $100 for the day and $20 for training. Poll managers are paid $190 and $20 for training, according to the elections office.

Before each election, the office also prepares kits for each polling location. The kits contain about 130 items, including tape, scissors, provisional ballots and signs.

With so many elections in a short time, Bailey said, there might be some voter fatigue but she expects turnout for today's runoff to be similar to January's election, when about 12 percent of voters cast ballots.

Judy Blackstone, the poll manager at Julian Smith Casino, will have taken part in each of the four elections. She said she doesn't mind the election blitz and enjoys the job, because the location's two precincts tend to draw a group of dedicated voters.

"The good thing about working so many is you stay on top of what you have to do," she said.

There is never such a thing as too much democracy, said Mary L. Black, the poll manager at McDuffie Woods, who will have worked three of the four elections.

"As an American citizen, it's a right as well as a privilege to vote," she said. "By working at the polls, that helps me ensure that people are taking advantage."