Got my poll card today, get to vote in the village pub as they can’t open inside then so I guess be a polling station inside to make a little cash.
Police and Crime Comissioners in England and Wales are up for election. (Sorry Londoners)
Directly elected mayors if you live in a city and any councilors that need to be elected.
Devlolved Parlaments will have elections too on this day in Scotland and Wales.
I’m going to be a polling clerk at the next local elections ,which I’m looking forward to! Slightly nervous for the 16 hour shift haha. Has anyone done this before- how did you find it?
It’s a long shift but you can eat snacks and drink during it.
Ours was at a church and the local priest who was the key holder kept making us brews and some homemade shortbread - however due to covid I’m unsure how this will work.
If you’re only young and never been to a polling station you basically ask for their name and then they’ll confirm the postcode and door number (rare occasions you will need to ask for id if you have suspensions the person isn’t who they say they’re but you’ll be told this on the day)
It’s pretty good, I’m thinking about being a counter for the next general election
I spent the night in 2017 scrutinising unclear ballots to see if we could get them counted as votes for our candidate - we ended up winning the seat by 46 votes.
Thanks! I’d assumed it was just a volunteer gig! Whenever there is next an election that lines up with a break in my schedule I’ll look into it!
I vividly remember the Brexit vote being counted. I think I was up all night configuring new routers or something at the time, and it looked like fun. Especially in that one constituency that just whizzes through the process.
Theirs a option to volunteer but theirs also a paid option! Most go for the paid as I can’t blame them (If you do night time I think it’s like a extra 1.50 per hour for general election as you’ll be counting early morning hours) but if you’re in a polling station I think you just get £160 which is basically £10 a hour
If you’re counting it’s £14 a hour if you’re a supervisor it’s roughly £20 a hour or if you’re a area manager such as making sure the whole town is legitimately done it’s £278 + £17 per hour.
It’s also NI exempt
This was the pay back in <2019 so not sure if it’ll change for next general election but this is why I’m hoping to apply to count since if I work all night it’ll probably pay my bills for a few months.
I think you can’t have any criminal history either as you’re prone to fake the votes
Theirs websites that confirm this and explain the pay in more detail
Take plenty of food and drink, including stuff that doesn’t need heating up. Take a cushion to sit on. It’s a looooong day. Be prepared to smile at the nasty aggressive people who think you’re just there to help fix the result. And live the rest of your life terrified about just how uninformed a huge number of people are.
But also feel happy about the lengths that the Electoral Commission go to, to make sure that elections are free and fair, which is possibly why the current government has it in its gunsights.