We appreciate that people wishing to express an interest to work at elections may have questions about working elections, from how elections operate to rates of pay and more. We have answered as many of these questions as we can below.
If you have a question that is not answered below, please contact electoral services and we will answer your question as soon as possible.
Please note: Further questions may be added to this webpage over time.
When are the elections taking place?
There are different types of elections which take place across the UK. These elections can be nationwide, such as the UK Parliamentary general election and local, such as local council elections.
There are scheduled elections which we can plan for several years in advance. For example, all Borough councillors in Charnwood are elected once every four years. The last local elections took place in May 2023. The next scheduled election is the Leicestershire County Council elections on 1 May, 2025.
There are also unscheduled elections which can be caused by a seat becoming vacant before the term of office has ended. For example, if a local councillor resigns before the end of their term then there could be a by-election in that particular election to fill the vacant seat.
Who runs the elections?
The elections are run by the Electoral Services department in Charnwood Borough Council. This is a small department responsible for making sure that the election is run in a way that is safe and secure. The Electoral Services department will hire polling station staff, count and verification staff and postal vote opening staff to help run the election.
Who is the Returning Officer and what do they do?
The Returning Officer is responsible for overseeing elections. For Charnwood Borough Council, Rob Mitchell is the Returning Officer as well as the Chief Executive.
How does voting work?
In order to vote at an election, you must be registered to vote. There is a deadline to register to vote for any given election, so it is important that you are registered to vote by this deadline. There are several different ways that you choose to vote:
- In person at a polling station.
- By post, this means that your ballot paper is posted to an address.
- By proxy, this means that you can nominate somebody that you trust to vote on your behalf.
What is a polling station?
A polling station is a particular room or area within a building which has been chosen by the Returning Officer. The Returning Officer has chosen this particular space as they believe that it is a suitable venue for the polling day to be held. This is the designated space where electors will be asked to complete their ballot paper in private and put their ballot paper into a secure ballot box.
Where are the polling stations?
There are many polling stations around Charnwood, approximately 80. You can find out your polling station by looking at the poll card that we send to you at election time.
What are the rates of pay and when will I be paid?
All roles are paid. The rate of pay changes for every election and they will be confirmed before allocation of a role. Payments are always made after an election. Details of when staff will be paid will be outlined in the allocation letter that they will receive if they are once appointed to a position.
Is there a selection criteria or is it first come first served?
Experience is a consideration, particularly for some roles more than others. For example, you must have worked as a Poll Clerk on several occasions in order to be considered for a Presiding Officer position. However, experience is not necessary for other roles, such as Poll Clerk, Postal Vote Opener or Count Staff. For roles such as Poll Clerk, Postal Vote Opener and Count Staff, experience is a consideration, but we also consider other factors, such as location, when deciding who to allocate to a particular role or polling station.
Last updated: Fri 28th February, 2025 @ 12:32
