Work as a paid election poll worker

Every election needs thousands of people to run polling stations for a very long day. It pays a flat fee, and they're always short.

Who pays you

Your local election authority pays you a fixed fee, sometimes plus a training payment, by cheque or transfer after the election, for staffing a polling station on election day.

Outcomes

0 receipts. Nobody's reported back on this one yet. Receipts open when accounts launch.

How it works

Elections are run by local authorities who need a large temporary workforce for one or two days: setting up, checking voters in, issuing ballots, closing and counting. The pay is a flat daily fee, often with a smaller fee for the mandatory training session. Recruitment happens a few months before each election through the local election office's website. It is included here because it's real, honest, always understaffed and almost never mentioned.

What it actually takes

Eligibility, which varies: usually being a registered voter in the area and not a candidate.
Attending training and passing a short test.
A very long day, starting before dawn and ending after the count.
Temperament for procedure and for members of the public who are having a bad day.

Where it goes wrong

Expecting it to be regular. Elections are occasional by design.
Underestimating the day. Fifteen hours on your feet is a lot.
Political conversation. You're neutral for the day; that's the job.
Thinking of it as a career path. It's a civic gig with a cheque.

Published 8 Aug 2026