Working at elections

We are always looking for people to help us run elections. There is usually at least one election every year, but there have been up to 4 elections in some years. 

There are 3 types of roles we recruit for:

  • polling station staff – manning the polling station from 6.15am to 10pm on election day
  • counting assistants – helping to count ballot papers from 10pm until when the count is over (potentially midnight)
  • postal voting assistants – issuing and opening postal votes, usually around a full day’s work in the lead up to an election

For full details on the roles and what is involved, you can read our election staff job descriptions (pdf)

Apply

You can sign up to be added to our staff database.

Once you have signed up, we will then send you an email for you to create an account on our online staff portal which we use to recruit and manage election staff.

To be eligible to work, you need to:

  • have the right to work in the UK
  • not be connected to, or assisting any political party or candidate at an election

If you are employed, you will be employed by the Returning Officer and not Harlow Council.