Election day is right around the corner. Well, this one day in November does require extra workers to pull the day off successfully and smoothly.
In order to do this, citizens are hired in each county and they are paid a flat fee for the day to work from early morning set-up to night time clean-up!
It is only one day of work and you can get paid between $100 -$250 (maybe more) to be what’s called a Poll Worker in your county. We say the pay range of $100 – $250 because there are over 3,000 counties in the United States and each sets their own pay rate for a poll worker in that county and so we haven’t researched all 3,000, but this is a common pay range that we have seen with the average at $150-$200 for most and some we saw pay as low as $100 and others as high as $250. But let’s say that you work a 12-hour day that one day and you get paid $200 – this is like making $16.67 an hour. Also, some areas also reimburse your gas to get to your one-day job as well.
We will share some answers that we understand and know about Poll Workers, however, we have also found that each county and state requirements can vary quite greatly and so these official answers need to come from your county/precinct/state itself – these answers are just intended to provide some general guidelines.
So the next questions are:
Who is eligible?
Adult Citizens who are registered to vote. But each county, as well as state may have more requirements. Also, you may be able to work in any county and precinct in the state you reside in, not just the county you reside in. So perhaps the next county over has better pay/opportunity, etc.
What duties will I be doing?
Poll Worker duties may include helping voters sign in, assisting with voting machines, checking voter registration, etc. Duties will vary by county/state requirements as well as larger counties may have one specific task for the day for each Poll Worker and others may be a Jack/Jackie of all poll worker trades in one day 😉
Will I be trained?
Well this is actually another good part to make a little more. It does appear that training occurs in all the counties that we researched and with that, almost all of them pay the Poll Worker for their training as well. It is typically done sometime before the day of elections and is around 2-3 hours. So an extra day of work.
How long am I there?
You will probably be there from early morning set-up to late night clean-up…. all day depending on the open poll hours and the prep and clean-up time in your area. Some larger counties seem to have set times as they rotate many Poll Workers through throughout the day.
When do I get paid?
Most every area pays their poll workers about 2-4 weeks after elections via check in the mail or electronic deposit where available. This could be perfect for Black Friday shopping!
How to I request to be a poll worker?
This one is a bit trickier as there isn’t one universal place to go to find out if there are any Poll Worker jobs available in your area. The reason appears to be because every area has different rules, pay, requirements, etc. and so you will need to do a google search for poll workers in your area.
For example, create a search query like “poll worker jobs in Orange County, CA” to find the site/phone number for your area to get more information and apply.
Also, when you are doing your research for Poll Worker jobs in your area, know that the name is synonymous with the following titles: Election Judge, Elections Officer, Elections Inspector and Election Day Coordinators. These are all about the same sort of job with the same types of pay, just called different things by different counties 🙂
So, if you have the ability to work for a day, this could be a good opportunity to earn a little extra to help you get to your next financial goal a little quicker.
See our list of Over 100 Ways to Earn Extra Income for more ideas!
Photo Credit: blogs.cas.suffolk.edu
Ruth
I had no idea people got paid to do this. I thought it was all volunteer work. Go figure!