Santa Clara County desperately needs more people to staff polling stations for the June primary election.

As of this week, Registrar of Voters Shannon Bushey said she’s 1,000 volunteers short since staffing this year “is particularly tricky.” She needs to recruit enough people to staff 871 polling stations throughout the county.

For the first time, the county aims to staff the polls with election staff versed in Hindi, Japanese, Khmer and Korean, which means they need a lot more people to enlist before the June 3 election. In the past, the county was only required to have election officers fluent in English, Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese.

“We are building partnerships with more communities than ever before,” Bushey said. “If you have ever thought about being more involved with the democratic process, right now is a perfect time to take action.”

Volunteers get a stipend of $95 or more, with extra pay earned for bilingual skills. Experience isn’t a prerequisite, since training is offered, as long as the volunteer is a citizen or permanent resident.

It’s tough to find people to help this time of year because of summer vacations and graduations, Bushey said.

“Residents who can spare a day and would like to participate in the democratic process are encouraged to contact [us] immediately as training has already started,” she said.

Anyone interested in volunteering, can sign up by calling 408.299.7655 or online at www.sccvote.org.