The Madison Metropolitan School District is asking the city to perform background checks on poll workers stationed at schools.

The new background check requirement would improve the consistency of guidelines that all MMSD employees and volunteers are currently required to follow, said Erik Kass, assistant superintendent of business.

A recent review of city poll guidelines noted an inconsistency that while hired staff, teachers and volunteers have been required to go through a background check prior to being hired, poll workers hired to work within the schools during election times have not.

“The [background check requirements] come directly from a lack of consistency with the standards that volunteers and staff must follow in the Madison Public School Systems,” Kass said.

The city clerk’s office and MMSD are working together to create a plan that would effectively solve the background check consistency issues while not causing too much extra strain at the polls, Ald. Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, District 5, said.

Bidar-Sielaff said the manner in which the potential background checks will be implemented is still under some scrutiny by the deciding council.

“There hasn’t even been a final decision on whether there will even be a background check, let alone what kind,” Bidar-Sielaff said. “There are different depths of background checks.”

Bidar-Sielaff said although it is possible that an official background check may be required and issued by the Madison Police Department, there is also the possibility that poll workers only be required to sign a release form stating they have not been convicted of certain crimes.

This is the first time that such a requirement for MMSD poll workers has been brought to the table, Bidar-Sielaff said.

The city has not yet reviewed financial considerations, and Bidar-Sielaff said the cost for the background checks has not yet been established. The cost would likely fall on the Madison Police Department.

Bidar-Sielaff said after the recent voter registration laws, the decision of whether to implement background checks on poll workers must not be arduous on the voters, but instead should give balance to both the people and City Council.

While the new laws are already in place, the council and MMSD board are working hard to make each voting facility easier for all voters. They also plan to avoid adding too much strain to an already difficult process, Bidar-Sielaff said.

“We still need and want as many volunteers as possible,” Bidar-Sielaff said.