Citizens can earn extra money and serve their communities by working at the polls on Election Day, November 7, 2006.

Election officials are currently recruiting qualified persons to staff the 170 voting precincts to be located throughout the county on November 7.

To serve in the polls, a person must be a registered voter or must be a high school senior, age 16 or over, a U.S. citizen, with at least a 2.5 grade point average.

Poll workers are especially needed to be trained to manage the new voting equipment that will be featured at each polling place. Santa Cruz County’s new voting system provides paper ballots that are scanned and tabulated at the polls, along with a touch screen unit that allows any voter, regardless of disability, to vote independently and privately.

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 training class if they complete their service at the polls. In the county’s 170 voting precincts for the November election, one inspector is required and three or more clerks for each polling place. In addition, one person must be certified as a Voting System Specialist. Persons who speak Spanish are especially needed.

Poll worker duties include attending a 2-hour training class held in advance of the election, 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, private homes, local businesses, and other public places throughout Santa Cruz County.