Working in a polling station

Polling stations are set up for elections on each of the five inhabited islands. Casual staff are employed for the day by the Returning Officer to run these polling stations. Polling hours are from 7am to 10pm. 

Each polling station has one presiding officer and one or more poll clerks. 

Details of the roles and responsibilities of the polling station team may be found here.

Where possible, we employ staff based on each island to run their local polling station.

The rates of pay for 2024-25 are given below.

  • Presiding Officer: £295 (plus additional £55 for combined polls) plus £40 for attendance at mandatory training session
  • Poll Clerk: £221 (plus additional £42 for combined polls) plus £40 for attendance at mandatory training session

To register your interest in working in a polling station, please complete the form opposite and return it to elections@scilly.gov.uk or to the Town Hall address. Upon receipt of the form, your details will be added to the elections staff database.

When preparing for an election, we will look to recruit from our existing pool of elections staff or by writing to individuals with previous experience of polling station work elsewhere whose details are held in the elections staff database. If we are unable to fill certain positions, we will then write to other individuals whose details are held in the elections staff database.

We are particularly keen to receive expressions of interest from individuals based on the off islands.