Do you think you can wake up early and help fellow Cobbers who may not know how voting works?
If so, you might want to think about working the polls come election day. And, yes, it pays.
Cobb County elections chief Janine Eveler wrote that she is looking for 1,600 workers to spread between the county’s 144 precincts.
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“If you possess a sense of dedication and pride in your work, if you are patient and enjoy working with people, and if you take direction well and pay attention to detail, you may be just the person we’re looking for,” she wrote.
The next election is the general primary on May 22.
So here's the deal, according to the county:
Who is eligible?
Applicants must be at least 16 years old, a U.S. citizen or a resident/employee of Cobb County fluent in English with no felony convictions in the past 10 years.
How do I apply?
Send in a completed application (found online here) and attend a training session.
What’s this about a training session?
It’s a class at the 736 Whitlock Ave. county building in Marietta that lasts either three or four hours depending on the position. Potential poll workers will get paid $20 for attending the three-hour class and $30 for the four-hour session. Those who finish will get a poll worker manual.
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Finally, money! Tell me more about money
Poll managers can expect $200 per election, $150 for assistant poll managers and $115 for clerks. Poll workers are also paid $15 to help set up the poll where they are assigned for election day.
What do they do?
The poll manager runs the precinct and before election day picks up the supplies and inspects the polling place. On election night, the poll manager must deliver the election evidence to the elections preparation center.
The assistant poll manager helps supervise.
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All workers, including clerks, will greet voters, determine eligibility and help them if needed.
One worker accompanies the poll manager on election night to drop off election evidence. Poll workers must have worked at least one election before being considered for the higher positions.
When do I have to be there?
All poll workers must be at their assigned polling places at 6 a.m. on election day. The day will run until “an hour or two” after 7 p.m.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ve done this before
Good for you! Thanks for helping our democracy. But, you know you still have to attend the training any time you are preparing to work an election, right? But you don’t have to apply again.
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