Well, I had training today. I am now officially a Poll Clerk in the Ontario provincial election on October 6th. I’m one of the people who scratches your name off the list when you come to vote.
I am now required to be impartial in all references to political affairs. Furthermore, my clothing at the polling place must be neutral: no political colours allowed! (Red, green, blue, orange…)
I now know what a ‘scrutineer’ is as well: an observer from a political party or candidate. Scrutineers are allowed to watch the voting. (My mom was, among other things, a scrutineer when I was a kid.)
There was a lot of paperwork involved in just joining up even. I received a very well-written manual, and the procedures for polling officials are described and specified down to the smallest details. They’ve been doing this for centuries and they’ve got it down to a system.
What’s the pay like? I know several people who always sign up for electoral jobs because they reckon the money is pretty good and the work isn’t all that hard.
Pay is a little over minimum wage, and the day of the poll is a long one (and they warned us to bring both lunch and dinner!) but, hey, it’s a (brief) job and money in the pocket!
The rates of pay for NSW electoral workers are here. We had a state election in March, so presumably these are the rates that applied then. It looks like they got a specific meal allowance.
Good for you Sunspace. I work for the county clerk and we have trouble finding enough people to man the poles. Every extra hand is a big help. Take a book and a craft as well as your food. There will be long periods of slow voting.
As the illustrious Zapp Brannigan once said, “What makes a good man go neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?”
hey can you tell me if the pooling clerk is allowed to take breaks or leave the building? I mean to get the food that will last for 13 hrs seems hard…please let me know as this is the first time i am standing as a pool clerk…thanks a lot
Congratulations! I was an election judge for a few years but I let it lapse because I couldn’t keep doing it on an “alternate” basis (i.e. they call you at 5am that morning and ask you to come in) but didn’t have the seniority to be in the first tier of judges selected.
It was a long day but I enjoyed it and liked knowing that I was part of the great democracy experiment.
If Canada is anything like Australia, the relevant electoral authority will advertise for people to work at the polls (both on its website and in the newspapers). Besides, everyone just knows that there are jobs available at election time. I know people who have been doing it for years.
