Each of the 139 voting precincts in Santa Cruz County is staffed with an Inspector, Electronic Voting System Specialist, and four Clerks. To date, we need 13 Inspectors; 7 Electronic Voting System Specialists; and 22 Clerks to serve in Santa Cruz County polls.
To serve in the polls, a person must be a registered voter, a legal resident, or must be a high school student, age 16 or over, a U.S. citizen, with at least a 2.5 grade point average.
Polling places open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Poll workers must report to duty an hour prior to opening the polls and must stay two or more hours after the polls close to prepare the equipment and election materials for return to the central counting location. Poll workers are provided breaks throughout the day.
Poll workers are paid $75 for clerks and $100 for inspectors, plus an additional $20 for attending the Inspector and Clerk training classes and $30 for attending the Electronic Voting System training class if they complete their service at the polls. Persons who speak Spanish, Mandarin, or Tagalog are especially needed.
The last poll worker training classes are scheduled for Saturday, May 31 at 10 a.m. and a second class at 1:30 p.m. at the County Health Services Agency, Building D, located at 1080 Emeline Ave., Santa Cruz. Electronic Voting classes are being held daily through June 2. Poll workers are responsible for setting up the polling place on Election Day, opening the polls, processing voters, closing the polls, certifying the work completed, and delivering election materials to the election return center.
Polling places are located at schools, churches, parks, libraries, fire stations, local businesses, and other public places throughout Santa Cruz County.
For more information or to apply, call Lynn Stipes at the Santa Cruz County Clerk/Elections Department, at 831-454-2416, e-mail her atlynn.stipes@santacruzcounty.us, come to the office located at 701 Ocean St., Room 210, in Santa Cruz, open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or visit our website at www.votescount.com and complete the online application.