ATLANTA – With a presidential election never before held in November, Georgia counties are still trying to build an electoral force that must be much younger than usual.
Given the recruiting efforts on platforms that typically don’t – such as B. Instagram – officials and activists hope young people will respond to the call.
In general, if you’re interested, the process works like this:
First, if you wonder, are you paid to be an election worker. The amount of the fee depends on your federal state. It is therefore best to contact your district registrar. Contact information is available on the Georgia Secretary of State website here.
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For example, in Gwinnett County, an election supervisor earns $ 225 on election day (and $ 300 if he has a certain degree). In Carroll County, it’s $ 210. Employees can make between $ 120 and $ 145 per day in Gwinnett and between $ 140 per day in Carroll.
It’s also important to note that you are generally not paid as an election observer, an important difference. If you would like to volunteer as an election observer, you can find more information here.)
So what else is it about?
The qualifications are laid down in this way in official Georgian law. In short, you must be at least 16 years of age, be a US citizen, reside in the county you intend to work, and be able to read, write, and speak English.
If you are running for office or already hold public office, you are not eligible. And if you’re a close relative of someone running for office, you have nowhere to work with their name on the ballot. Learn more about how it works here.
Again, if you want to qualify and choose to do so, the application will depend on the county. For example, Fulton County has an easily accessible online application. For Gwinnett, you need to go to the county government jobs site and search for “poll”.
In other countries – for example in Habersham – you need to download an application and send it to the electoral office in person or by post.
So if all of this works out, what do you actually have to do?
First, most election workers typically need training, usually by completing a short online course.
In the most basic operational roles, the responsibility may be to set up a polling station prior to the election, assist voters with checking in and issuing ballots, and assist with packing in the elections. It can also include any number of small tasks that survey managers ask you to do.
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You have to be there all day: As Carroll County puts it, “Yes, you have to work all day! Poll workers have to be sworn in at the start of each polling day. Once you have been sworn in at the polling station, you are not allowed to go until all activity on polling day If an election worker has to leave during election day due to illness or an emergency, his salary will be credited proportionally to the number of hours worked. “
Be warned – you will not be given time to vote. Election workers must vote before election day.
If you want to read more, you can download the Georgia Poll Worker Training Manual from the Secretary of State’s website here.
And for some useful things that you as an election worker cannot do, the Secretary of State provides this video.
Election workers are an essential part of keeping things going on election day. They are usually older and have free time to volunteer, but given the concerns about COVID-19, election officials really need young people who are turning out to be this year.
If you are interested, you can find the electoral office for your district here.
