15 Philadelphia poll worker races undeclared after write-ins lost PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Write-in votes in 15 Philadelphia precincts have been lost, possibly by election inspectors and poll workers they were meant to select, officials said. The city's two election commissioners said the write-in ballots, 59 ballots in all, went missing on election night. Rarely would such a small number of votes matter but in the case of the often overlooked election posts the ballots are significant, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Tuesday. Voters are tasked with picking an election inspector and two poll workers to oversee their voting precinct every four years. The position pays $100 per diem for election inspectors and $95 for poll workers, but the relatively paltry sum and lack of interest often means candidates don't bother filing petitions to get their name on the ballot. That means an interested party can solicit a spouse or neighbor to write in their name and earn the job. With the 59 write-in ballots missing in 15 precincts, the positions will have to stay unfilled and will be staffed by volunteers the two parties recruit in the days leading up to an election. "I'm more than disappointed," said Democratic Elections Commissioner Stephanie Singer. Voters should be able to choose their poll workers. ... It's the bedrock of democracy. The ballots are collected by poll workers and stored until after polls close, at which point city police officers collect electronic cards that registered individual ballots along with the strips of paper containing write-in votes. Singer said foul play isn't suspected. "They're just missing," he said. We don't know what happened to them.