There’s a common open job position all across Pennsylvania; you work about 15 hours a year, get paid a small stipend for the efforts, and have to win an election to get your foot in the door.

Township auditor is one of several positions that voters might have seen missing a name on their ballot during Tuesday’s primary election. Auditors, tax collectors, election judges and inspectors— the positions come with little prestige.

A mix of civic obligation, voter curiosity, and past experience helps fill these offices that would otherwise go unnoticed.

“One of the [township] supervisors contacted me and said, ‘We're in dire need of a tax collector, Roger,’” 

Roger Morrisons has lived in Apolacon Township since 1972. He served as township supervisor for 10 years in the 80s and 90s, township auditor in the earlier 2000s, and in 2021—public service was calling again.

Literally.

“They said, ‘Well you can set your own hours.' And I said, ‘Well let me think about it Jim'. And he said, ‘Well the election is tomorrow,'” Morrisons recounted the phone conversation during an interview today. "And I said, I guess I'd better think very hard."

A former employee for IBM who’s been retired for over 20 years, Morrisons found a way to balance the work with his downtime at a property on Lake Ontario—and is running for another four year term this election.

“There's a lot of satisfaction in doing something, and improving it,” said Morrisons, when asked why people should consider getting involved in local government.

Pennsylvania has over 2,500 municipalities—operated by around 12,800 elected officials. A 2022 study from the Center for Rural Pennsylvania says the average municipal elected official spends 11 years in office.

50% of them run uncontested in elections.

For council or supervisor positions specifically, Townships need only 3-5 members; that quote is regularly met across the state. Some boroughs, which require between 7-9 council members, can struggle to fill their seats. Advocates are pushing for a change in state law to lower that quota.

If a position goes empty, which can happen in rural communities that are 50 miles from the nearest Walmart, Morrisons said township supervisors appoint someone from the community to serve.

So if your friend says they want to run for public office in a rural area, be prepared.

David Sanko, executive director for the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, says voters at primary and general elections will see a spot needs filled— and step up to the task.

“It’s really an opportunity to do what the founding fathers intended,” Sanko said. “In the very beginning, was to have citizens in charge of their government.”

For council or supervisor positions specifically, Townships need only 3-5 members; townships regularly meet that quota across the state. Sanko says boroughs, which require between 7-9 council members, can struggle to fill their seats. Advocates are pushing for a change in state law to lower that quota.

There are certain ; the state and different state associations offer training courses for positions like tax collector and auditor.

Both Morrisons and Sanko said that some part time positions can end up being a larger commitment. During his run as township supervisor, Morrisons said the Apolacon community fought off an attempt to build “what was going to be one of the largest landfills in the eastern United States."

“We had a large stone quarry here, and they were going to convert that into a landfill site,” Morrisons said. “That ended up in a four year battle. So that consumed a lot of the time and it turned this part time supervisor position into a full time job."

More than elected officials put in time to deter the project.

"We had a citizens committee that was formed that did a lot of the leg work for us,” Morrisons said. "Eventually we overcame that, and the landfill never came to pass."

Sanko says people can put as much or as little time as they want into their public positions; but that stepping up draws you into people’s orbit.

“They can come to monthly meetings, but then you also run into them at the baseball field, at church, at the grocery store,” Sanko said.“They're going to ask you about stuff and they're going to want to help. They’ll talk about a pothole, putting in a stop sign or a street light—  but it's kind of like everybody coming together to help the community.”