Temporary Jobs with Electoral Services
Are you interested in helping us run local and national elections? Each year we employ temporary staff to assist us at polling stations, the elections count and during the annual canvass.
You don’t need to work for the Council or Government to apply. We are looking for people with a good general level of education and general administration skills.
If you’re interested in being added to our pool of temporary staff, please complete an Expression of Interest form.
Personal Requirements
To work at the election you must:
- Be over 16 (18 for some roles)
- Have the right to work in the UK
- Be able to correspond via email
- Have a good level of general education
We also stipulate that you cannot work for elections if you have campaigned on behalf of a candidate or party, nominated a candidate or have a personal relationship with an elected representative or candidate. Please contact us if you are unsure whether these criteria apply.
What roles are available?
Polling Station
Polling stations are set up across the district and are open to voters from 7am-10pm on polling day. Staff are needed to man these stations all day, making sure everyone who is entitled to vote is able to do so. Each station has a Presiding Officer who is in charge of the station and poll clerks to assist in issuing ballot papers and keeping the station clean and orderly. Training is provided before each election, this may be online or in person. Once you have gained experience working as a poll clerk you may be invited to step up to Presiding Officer. Further information can be found within the Job Descriptions.
pdf Presiding Officer job description (196 KB)
pdf Poll Clerk job description (102 KB)
The Count
Once the polls close at 10pm ballot boxes are taken to a central count centre. Count staff are allocated to teams of 4 or 6 count assistants, led by an experienced Count Supervisor. At bigger elections, such as a General Election, the count takes place overnight, finishing around 2am. At local elections the count takes place in the days following the poll.
pdf Count Assistant job description (78 KB)
pdf Count Supervisor job description (508 KB)
Postal Votes
During each election postal votes are sent to around 10,000 voters. We employ a team of Postal Vote Assistants to help security check and process the postal votes upon their return. The postal vote team usually work in the 2 weeks leading up to polling day and the day/evening of the election.
pdf Postal Vote Openers job description (411 KB)
Annual Canvasser
Each autumn we conduct an Annual Canvass of electors to check whether the information held on the electoral register is correct and register any new voters. As part of this process we send canvassers to visit properties, knock on doors and talk to residents. Our canvassers are employed for up to 2 months and all training is provided. If you are interested in visiting properties to encourage people to register to vote, further information can be found within the Job Description.
pdf Canvasser job description (518 KB)
How do I sign up?
To be offered temporary elections work you will need to sign up to our staff database. We’ll contact you via email before each election to ask your availability and see which roles you are interested in.
Please complete an
pdf
Expression of Interest form
(115 KB)
and return it to