We’re entering an election year, which means jobs. You can apply, interview and hire or be hired for government jobs that range in pay from $9.65 per hour to an annual base salary of $174,000.

On the ground floor of the election process are the election judges, and the city of Austin is hiring. Regular election judges get paid $9.65 per hour, head judges get $11.

There is a 2 1/2 hour training class that is held in July, which judges are paid to attend.

Then, judges work a primary election Aug. 14 and the general election on Nov. 6. They must be at their polling place at 6 a.m. and work until they are finished that evening, around 10 or 11 p.m., according to the city’s website.

“It’s a long day, but we have good treats,” said City Clerk Ann Kasel, who is responsible for hiring and training the judges.

If you are interested, call Kasel at 437-9940 to get on a list of applicants, or visit the clerk’s office at City Hall.

To be eligible, you must be a Minnesota resident and United States citizen; are able  to read, write and speak English, have not had your voting rights revoked and are eligible to vote.

Federal jobs up for grabs in 2018 include Minnesota’s two U.S. senator seats as well as all of its House of Representatives positions. Senators and representatives are paid a base wage of  $174,000.

State jobs for which voters will hire, along with the base salaries as of Jan. 1, 2017, are governor ($127,629), lt. governor ($82,959), secretary of state ($95,722), state auditor ($121,248), attorney general ($121,248) and legislators ($45,000). The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party currently controls the governorship while the Republican Party control the House of Representatives by a margin on 19 and the Senate by two, as of Nov. 30, according to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.

Candidates  may file to run for  federal, state, county and municipal offices from May 22, 2018 until June 5, 2018 at 5 p.m.

Local positions up for election in 2018 include four Austin City Council seats currently held by Janet Anderson, at-large; Jeff Austin, First Ward; David Hagen, Second Ward; and Judy Enright, Third Ward. An at large City Council member makes $7,800 annually while the rest get $6,600. It costs $25 to file your affidavit of candidacy.

Two positions are up for the five-member Austin Utilities Board. They are currently held by  Geoff Baker and Jeanne Sheehan.

Three positions are up on the Mower County Board of Commissioners. They are held by Commissioners Jerry Reinartz in District 3, Tony Bennett in District 4 and Mike Ankeny in District 5. A commissioner’s base salary is $24,200 with per diems of $50 for in-county meetings and $65 for out-of-county meetings.

Mower County voters will also choose a county attorney at a $115,422 base salary, sheriff at $105,188, recorder at $74,457, and auditor-treasurer at $58,106.

Soil and Water Conservation district supervisors need to be elected in Districts 2, 3 and 4.