Elections Workers

Elections Workers

Working at elections

We have a fantastic opportunity available for people to support Elections.

Have you ever thought about working at a polling station or helping to count the votes at an election? Our Elections Team are asking for anyone who might be interested in the various roles available in the upcoming election and any future elections to come forward.

With the General election taking place on 4th July this the perfect time to join the team.

What does working an election involve?

Working at the Polling Stations

We have around 560 polling stations in North Yorkshire. It is a tall order keeping them staffed!

Each station needs a Presiding Officer in charge with Poll Clerks assisting on polling day. A polling station must open at 7.00 am and close at 10.00 pm, so be aware it is a long day!

Presiding Officer

Presiding Officers are usually experienced polling station staff who have responsibility for the polling station, the ballot box and ballot papers, and should have a knowledge of the voting process. They must also manage a small team of Poll Clerks. Full training is provided.

Current rate of pay £272 per day (£16 per hour)

Poll Clerks

This role assists the Presiding Officer with the running of the polling station. They answer elector's questions and hand out ballot papers. Full training is provided.

Current rate of pay £189 per day (£11.80 per hour)

Working at Postal Vote Opening

We have around 90,000 postal voters in North Yorkshire. That’s a lot of postal votes to process when they are returned!

We have to open and check the many postal packs when they are returned. We need a team of people across North Yorkshire to do this. Postal vote opening sessions occur frequently in the 2 week period leading up to a poll

Our main postal vote centres for large scale elections will be in Scarborough, Harrogate and Northallerton for 2024, though there are often other small elections in local areas anywhere in North Yorkshire.

Postal Vote Opening Assistant

Postal Vote opening Assistants usually work in pairs to help count daily returns of postal votes. Then the envelopes are opened and checks are done on the paperwork, before the ballot papers are entered into the verification and count after the close of poll.

You may be asked to work at all or some of the postal vote opening sessions.

Current rate of pay £13.17 per hour (day rate), £19.20 per hour (night rate)

Working at the Count

Please note the General Election on 4th July will require an overnight count.

After everyone has voted, we have to verify and count all the votes cast – there are many of them!

After polling has closed, we have to verify and count all ballot papers received by post or voted on at polling stations. Depending on the election, counting may take place straight after the polls close (10pm on polling day) or on the following day.

Our main count centres for large scale elections will be in Harrogate, Northallerton and Scarborough for 2024, though there are smaller scale polls in local areas across North Yorkshire.

Count Supervisors

Count Supervisors look after their own small team of count assistants and need to be well-organised and alert. Good numeracy skills and accuracy are essential.

Current rate of pay £19.60 per hour (day rate), £29.40 per hour (night rate)

Count Assistants

Count Assistants verify and count all the ballot papers. Concentration, speed and accuracy are the qualities we look for in our counters.

Current rate of pay £13.17 per hour (day rate), £19.20 per hour (night rate)

We will require staff countywide across the whole North Yorkshire, please only submit 1 application – we will consider you across multiple locations if required.

Please note that we cannot not guarantee employment.

For further information please contact the elections team directly:

[email protected]

All staff employed to work any roles will be provided with training.

Further Information

You must be at least:

· 18 years old to work in a polling station

· 16 years old to work as a counting assistant or postal vote assistant, 18 years old if working past midnight (some sessions are past midnight)

For elections, it is the Returning Officer who employs casual election staff, rather than North Yorkshire Council.

We pay election roles on a Pay as You Earn (PAYE) basis, which means that tax is deducted from earnings. If you are not a taxpayer, you are responsible for claiming the tax back from HMRC.

Any work that you do may affect:

· any state pension you receive

· any benefits you receive

· how much tax you must pay

You must tell HMRC or your pension/benefit provider about your earnings.

Job Type: Temporary contract
Contract length: 1 day

Pay: £11.80-£29.40 per hour

Work Location: In person