Election and canvass staff vacancies - Adur & Worthing Councils

Would you like to be involved in elections?

The Electoral Services team are always interested in hearing from people who are interested in getting involved in elections, either by working at a polling station or as an electoral canvasser. Details of available positions can be found below:

Available roles, and how to apply

If you are interested in applying for any of the positions below, please contact the Electoral Services team to request an application form:

elections@adur-worthing.gov.uk

Eligibility and roles available:

Eligibility to apply for a role

You must be at least 18 years of age to work in a polling station or assist with the annual canvass, and 16 years of age to work as a counting assistant.

You must also be entitled to work in the UK (in accordance with the provisions of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996).

If your application is successful, you must provide evidence of your eligibility to work in the UK by showing us either your valid passport or your birth certificate and proof of National Insurance Number (eg P60, P45, payslip, etc) before starting work.

Please note, polling station, postal vote and count staff:

must not work on behalf of a candidate during an election campaign, nor be related to a prospective candidate
must consent to working in excess of the normal working hours provided for by the Working Time Directive

All appointments are directly for the Returning Officer or the Electoral Registration Officer and not for the Councils and are of a casual nature only.

We often have more applications than vacancies, so if you are not initially allocated a post you will be added to our reserve list and contacted if an appropriate vacancy arises. When contacting people on our reserve list we consider a person's experience, availability, preferences, where they live or whether they have access to a car and are prepared to travel.

Back to other roles and how to apply or Back to top

Presiding Officers and Poll Clerks

Polling station staff are responsible for the conduct of the ballot, making sure that the proper procedures for voting are followed.

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

For more details please see the:

Counting Assistants and Supervisors

Counting Assistants verify and count the votes cast at polling stations, together with the postal votes received in the run-up to polling day. Count Supervisors manage teams of Assistants.

For more details please see the:

Back to other roles and how to apply or Back to top

Postal vote issuers and openers

Postal vote issuers ensure that postal vote packs are sent out to all electors and contain the correct ballot papers.

Postal vote openers work over the days immediately preceding an election to open and check the contents of returned postal vote packs (they do not count the votes).

For more details please see the:

Back to other roles and how to apply or Back to top

Electoral Registration Canvassers

Electoral Canvassers are employed to assist in the updating of the Register of Electors each year. They visit homes across Adur and Worthing to confirm the list of people who are registered to vote at each address.

For more details please see the: