Registrar of Voters Department
San Joaquin County
Student Pollworker Program
Introduction
State law allows high school seniors to serve as "Student Pollworkers" on Election Day. The Student Pollworker Program began in San Joaquin County in 1988 and is a great way to introduce young people to democracy in action and at the same time provide a valuable community service. To this date we have had over 1,000 students who served on Election Day. Students serve as regular members of a precinct board on Election Day, receive the $130 pollworker stipend plus $35 for attending the mandatory training class.
Who Can Participate?
- High School Seniors with a grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, a U.S. Citizen and at least 16 years of age at the time of election, and be a student in good standing.
- Any high school in San Joaquin County for which School District approval has been obtained.
What Are The Benefits?
- For students
- Students may earn community service points.
- Looks great on their job and college applications.
- Students are paid $130 for serving on Election Day.
- Students will be paid and additional $35 for attending a mandatory training class.
- For teachers
- Complements the students' understanding of the voting process.
- Their students express their appreciation for the voting process and use their new knowledge in class.
- For Veteran Pollworkers
- Students bring new energy and enthusiasm.
- Students can assist with carrying and setting up election supplies.
- For election officials
- An additional pool of pollworkers to recruit from.
- Students are more likely to show up on Election Day because they have made their commitments to their teachers.
- Students are in "learning mode" so they easily pick up complex election procedures covered in training.
- Students are "tech savvy".
Students will be appointed to work on a board either in the same precinct in which they reside or a precinct in the same general area, with certain exceptions. The hours in which they must expect to work are from 6:00am to approximately 9:00pm.
All students, before signing up for this program, are requested to carefully check all school activities to see if any conflicting schedules may prevent them from serving as a precinct board member. It is extremely important that they arrive at their polling place promptly at 6:00am on Election Day because the ROV and other board members, and the voters, are depending on them. Whenever possible, notify the ROV at least one week prior to the election if they are unable to work.
Student PollWorker Program
Procedures
What Does the Registrar of Voters Do?
- Provide the following handouts to assist you in implementing the program in your school:
Important Dates (PDF)
Student PollWorker Poster (PDF)
Program Descriptions and Procedures (PDF)
School Participation Form (PDF)
Teacher Transmittal Form (for sending in nomination forms) (PDF)
List of Schools Participating (PDF)
Student PollWorker Nomination Form (includes Parental Letter) (PDF)
- Notify students of the polling place assignments
- Publicize and recognize your school's involvement
- Pay students - checks are normally received 3-5 weeks following the election
- Provide Principals with the a list of students that served on election day
What Do Teachers Do?
- Fax the "School Participation Form" to the Registrar of Voters Office as soon as you receive this information packet to (209) 468-9534
- Promote the program and distribute nomination forms to interested high school seniors
- Review all nomination forms to ensure that they are legible and filled out completely
- Number the nomination forms on the upper right hand corner in the order in which you received the nomination forms
- Approve and sign nomination forms
FAX and Mail completed nomination forms to the Registrar of Voters Office
Faxing expedites the placement process but you also need to mail the originals back.FAX Number: (209) 468-9534
Mailing Address: Registrar of Voters
Student PollWorker Program
PO Box 810
Stockton CA 95201- Make sure that your students attend a training class whether it is on-site or off-site
What Do Students Do?
- Take Parental Letter home for parent(s) to read and sign
- Complete application, have it signed by parent, and approved by teacher
- Attend a training class
- Work at the polls on Election Day, from 6am until approximately 9pm
- Arrange own transportation to and from the polls
- Advise teachers and ROV in the event they need to cancel
How Many Students Will Be Placed per School?
- The ROV guarantees the placement of 25 students per school for major elections and 10 students per school for smaller elections
- We encourage teachers to submit nomination forms as early as possible to give our office more time to work with your students in finding a convenient location for them to serve on election day
- The earlier the forms are received the better the chance the student will be placed at a polling place
- Depending on the number of schools participating and the areas covered, we may need extra students so teachers are more than welcome to nominate more students
- Please number all nomination forms on the upper right hand corner of the nomination form
- Any students who are not placed will be put on a "Waiting List." As vacancies occur, those students will be notified by telephone
- Students are NOT notified if they are not placed. If they do not receive an appointment notice or phone call they are still on the waiting list
Compensation / Recognition
- Students will be paid $130 for working on Election Day
- Students will be paid $35 for the training class, which they must attend in order to work on the Election Board
- The Student will be recognized by a Certificate of Appreciation
Students Important Information
- Students will be mailed an appointment notice when they are assigned to a polling place.
- Appointment notices will be mailed as soon as they are selected.
- Any student who is placed 3 - 5 days before the election will receive ONLY a telephone call.
- Students must attend a training class to serve on Election Day. Students will be paid a $35 training bonus.
- Students need to print clearly on the nomination form to prevent delays in processing their pay.
- Students are responsible to let their teachers and the ROV know immediately if they cannot serve on Election Day.
Contact Information for the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters
Phone: (209) 468-2892
FAX: (209) 468-9534
E-Mail: Polls@sjgov.org
Mailing Address:
Precinct Operations
Student PollWorker Program
PO Box 810
Stockton CA 95201
Located at:
Stockton CA 95202