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	"We are a small county and our options are vert limited for election workers especially during the time of COVID-19. If we can't find anyone else, can the election judge employ their relative as the clerk at a polling place as a last resort?"

May a presiding election judge employ a relative to serve as a clerk at the polling place?

Not if the person is related to the judge within the third degree of consanguinity or the second degree of affinity. Because the election judge is considered a public official, the nepotism prohibitions set out in Chapter 573 of the Government Code apply. For more information on nepotism, see TAC's publication Pitfalls & Perils of Public Office.