Poll Workers Needed: 250,000 Paid Election Day Gigs Available

Poll workers are critical to ensuring any election runs smoothly. They go by many names (election official, judge, clerk, etc), but all serve key roles. Polling location staff are responsible for answering voters’ questions, providing ballots, and monitoring how the election is conducted. And this year, you can get paid to do the same.

Power to the Polls, a partnership between businesses and non-profit groups, launched an initiative on June 30th to recruit at least 250,000 election officials by November 3rd. Here’s what you should know about the job, Power to the Polls, and how to sign up.

Power to the Polls

Finding enough officials to fully staff a polling place can be challenging in a normal year. As we all know, this is not a normal year. A majority of poll workers are older than 60, and thus at high risk from COVID-19. As a result, fewer poll workers are signing up this year, and there are movements to attract younger people to the polls.

Power to the Polls was established for that reason. Comedy Central, Levi Strauss & Co, MTV, Patagonia, Reddit, Twitter, and Uber are some of the major companies attached to the initiative designed to spur a youth movement. For the full list of companies affiliated with Power to the Polls, click here. 

The Fair Elections Center, a partnered non-profit focused on voting rights, launched a state search database for people interested in working the polls. Here you can see the requirements to work in your state, as well as easily navigate to the sign-up page. Power to the Polls set out to hire 250,000 poll workers and needs to bring in about 100,000 more to hit that goal.

Working as an Election Official

Every state has somewhat different rules and regulations for poll clerks, so the best thing to do is get the info directly from your state. In general, a few things are typical from place to place.

Some states offer voter registration on Election Day, and election officials handle that process. Otherwise, officials ensure a smooth election day. This year, that also means ensuring social distancing is in place and masks are on. Workers show up a few hours before polls open to set up and check the equipment, a process that’s ever-changing as states move between paper and electronic ballots.

The average poll worker starts around 6 a.m. and works past 7 p.m. In some areas, poll workers have to identify with a political party to ensure fairness on both sides.

Election officials are paid in many places, but some locations only use volunteers. Paid workers are either given a stipend for the day or paid based on the hours they work. Workers who do get paid can usually expect to take home a few hundred bucks.

The Bottom Line

Poll workers, particularly younger people in good health, are badly needed for this election. If you’re interested in participating (and probably making some cash), use the Work Elections tool to find out more about your nearest polling place!