The Council is always looking for capable and willing people to help us at busy election times. We offer various paid positions working in polling stations or at the counting of votes.
If this sounds like you, then we’d like to hear from you now. The simplest way is by clicking on this link and leaving your details with us:
Register your interest in election work
Once you’ve done that, we will contact you in a day or two to confirm next steps.
We cannot guarantee a position for you, and we are sometimes over-subscribed. We will add you to our election staff database. When we are allocating staff for elections, if we can offer you a position, we will contact you.
If you’ve worked on elections in Cornwall in recent years, there’s no need to contact us as we already have your details. Do keep an eye on your emails, though, as we will be sending out offers of employment in the build-up to an election.
New recruits must meet the Returning Officer’s eligibility requirements as follows:
- you must be at least 18 years of age to work at a polling station or count centre
- you must provide your national insurance number and information confirming that you can work in the UK
- you must not work for a candidate or political party during an election campaign
- you must not be related to any candidate
What jobs are available?
Polling stations
We have about 450 polling stations in Cornwall. It is a tall order keeping them staffed. Each station needs a Presiding Officer in charge and at least one Poll Clerk to assist 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! We pay polling station staff for their work and reimburse their travelling expenses.
Presiding Officers earn £295 and Poll Clerks £221 before tax. These fees increase each April. All polling staff will have training - either online or in-person - and are paid to attend.
Counting of votes
We also need people – Count Supervisors and Count Assistants - to help us to verify and count the votes at the election. Concentration, speed and accuracy are the chief qualities we look for in our counters.
For major elections, counting is either done overnight after the polls close or the next day.
Count staff are paid by the hour for the work they do. The fee for a Count Assistant is £12.00 per hour during the day and £17.50 for counting overnight. Count Supervisors look after their own small team of count assistants and need to be well-organised and alert. Their pay reflects the extra responsibility.
The Electoral Commission website has more information on Make Elections Happen.
