Election workers (also known as poll workers) are members of the local community who work at voting sites on Election Day, during Early Voting, or at our office processing Vote-by-Mail ballots. They are short-term, paid employees of the Elections Office. Leon County relies on around one thousand election workers each election to staff voting sites, help voters, and run the election. 

Depending on your position, your duties may include greeting voters, verifying voter ID information, handing out ballots, setting up equipment, using a computer, and handling paperwork. You will need to dress and act in a non-partisan manner and treat all voters with dignity and respect. 

If you are interested in serving as an Election Worker, please complete the election worker application.

Once you complete the application, we will review it and contact you in several days.

We encourage you to apply now, even if the next election is many months away.

To serve as an election worker you must meet these requirements:

• Citizen of the United States
• Registered (or pre-registered) voter in Leon County
• Speak, read, and write English
• Able to stand, bend, stoop, and lift at least 25 pounds
• Comfortable working with computers
• Have reliable transportation to and from your work site
• Work with the public in a courteous, patient, and non-partisan manner

You cannot serve as an election worker if you are a candidate on the ballot or you have retired from a Florida Retirement System employer in the prior six months.

If you have a disability that prevents you from fulfilling one or more of these requirements, please contact us and we will make every attempt to accommodate you.

We pay election workers for their service. The specific amount depends on the position, with positions of higher responsibility having a higher wage. We also pay for training. We will mail you a check shortly after Election Day.

Before each election, election workers complete a training class so they know how to perform their responsibilities. The class takes between three and four hours. We also have optional labs so workers can practice and be comfortable in their role.

We offer both in-person and virtual training options at a variety of dates and times, including weekends and evenings. In-person training takes place at the Elections Office. 

Election workers perform a variety of different roles in the election, from checking-in voters to helping open Vote-by-Mail ballots. Read below for more information on the different positions available.

• Clerk. A clerk leads each voting site. This includes overseeing voting at their location and supervising the rest of the staff.  To be a clerk, you must have previously served as an assistant clerk.
• Assistant Clerk. The assistant clerk provides back-up to the clerk and must be ready to take on the full responsibilities if the clerk is unable to work. To be an assistant clerk, you must have previously served as an election worker in another position.
• Inspector. Each voting site has several inspectors, who work with the voting equipment to check in voters, provide each voter their ballot, instruct voters on how to use the voting machine, and check privacy booths. 
• Deputy. Deputies handle activities taking place outside the polling room. This includes checking the parking area, posting election signs, removing campaign signs, helping voters entering the building, and monitoring the drop box at Early Voting sites.

In Leon County, regularly scheduled elections take place in every even-numbered year. 

In presidential election cycles, there are three elections - in March, August, and November. 

In non-presidential election cycles, there are only two elections - in August and November. Most workers serve every election in a cycle, but you can choose to work only one of them if that fits your needs.

Your specific schedule will vary depending on your position.