Elections

Election Staffing and Recruitment

Are you interested in helping us run elections within Worcester City? At each election, we hire temporary staff to assist us in polling stations and at the count.

There are no expected elections in Worcester City until May 2027. If you are interested in working at that election, please complete the form at the end of this page.

All potential staff have their contact details added to our staff database. We use these details to contact all staff ahead of each election to ask about your availability. We will keep these details until you tell us you no longer wish to work for us. Our privacy policy can be viewed here.

We will contact everyone on our staff database in late 2026 regarding available roles for the 2027 election.

Election roles

Presiding Officer and Poll Clerk

Polling station staff are responsible for the conduct of the ballot and making sure everyone who is entitled to vote is able to, without facing barriers or undue influence.

Presiding Officers have overall responsibility for their allocated polling station and must comply with the law and instructions of the Returning Officer to ensure the polling station is run correctly. They must have a good knowledge of voting procedures and have experience working at Polling Stations previously.

Poll Clerks assist the Presiding Officer to run a polling station. They help to set up polling station equipment, assist in the issue of ballot papers to members of the public, mark the electoral register and assist in the accurate completion of paperwork.

On election day, polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm. Staff must be on duty from 6:30am until shortly after 10pm.

Working in a polling station is not subject to the European Working Time Directive and due to this there is no guaranteed breaks during the day, and staff are not permitted to leave the station during the day.

Staff are required to bring food and drink for the duration of the day at the polling station.

All staff employed to work at a polling station must undertake training before taking up their appointment.

Count assistant or steward

Election counts are either held overnight, immediately following the poll, or the next day. Teams of between 6-10 count assistants will sort and count the ballot papers, led by experienced supervisors. Stewards are responsible for moving ballot boxes, generally assisting the supervisors, and will also do some counting ballot papers and sorting of equipment and paperwork. Training is usually provided on the day, though online training may be offered beforehand.

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Elections

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