Below are some of the questions most frequently asked by election officers or potential election officers.

Who is eligible to work as an election officer?

Under Virginia law, election officers must be registered and qualified voters in the Commonwealth. You do not necessarily need to live in the jurisdiction where you work as an election officer, as long as you live and are registered to vote in Virginia. 

Persons who hold elected office or are the employees or deputies of someone who holds elected office are not eligible to serve as election officers.

In Arlington County, we also look for people who enjoy meeting other people and serving the public, are detail oriented, able to take and follow directions well, and are not easily distracted. Election officers must be fluent in English, and we also seek people who are multilingual, especially with fluency in Spanish.

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Can I work as an election officer if I work for the federal government?

We have a number of federal employees who work in Arlington as election officers. You are only disqualified if you work directly for an elected official, such as a member of Congress. We do, however, suggest you check with your supervisor before applying to work as an election officer.

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Is my employer required to give me the day off if I work at the polls?

Virginia law prevents your employer from not allowing you to take time off if you are assigned to work at the polls, or to charge you sick or vacation leave to work at the polls, provided you have given your employer reasonable notice. How "reasonable notice" is defined is up to your employer. Most employers are very supportive of people selected to work at the polls, however.

This statute is the Code of Virginia, §24.2-118.1. Note: If you work for the federal government or are employed outside of Virginia, this statue may not apply to you.

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How are election officers appointed?

Under Virginia law (Code of Virginia, §24.2-115), the local Electoral Board is required to meet during the first week of February of each year to appoint election officers for the year. The term for election officers begins on March 1 and ends on the last day of February of the following year. Following this meeting, appointment letters are sent to all who are appointed. These letters include a response form that each appointee is required to return to the Electoral Board indicating whether he or she has accepted the appointment, as well as an affirmation which must be administered by either a notary public or a clerk or deputy clerk of the court prior to the person serving at the polls.

In making the appointments, the Electoral Board reviews a list of recommendations compiled by the staff. The list includes persons who have previously served as election officers, along with the names of those who have recently completed applications but had not previously been appointed. The Board always appoints more persons than are needed to staff the polls, because we know that many appointees will subsequently find they are unable to work as expected due to illness or other unavoidable conflicts.

Election officers who have worked in the past are usually recommended for appointment in subsequent years, unless evaluation of the individual’s past performance determines them to be unsuitable. Some of the reasons why a past election officer is not appointed again include showing up at the polls late, failure to follow directions, refusal to perform all tasks, poor overall performance, and attitude problems.

Following the February appointment meeting, the Electoral Board empowers the deputy registrar to continuously recruit and appoint election officers on their behalf throughout the year.

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I received an appointment letter, response form, and affirmation. On the response form, I am asked to indicate which political party, Democrat or Republican, I wish to represent. Why?

This political party representation is required under Virginia law. §24.2-115 of the Code of Virginia requires the Electoral Board to appoint election officers so “representation shall be given to each of the two political parties having the highest and next highest number of votes in the Commonwealth for Governor at the last preceding gubernatorial election.” In Virginia, the Democratic and Republican parties are the two who received the highest number of votes; in fact, those are the only two parties formally recognized as such in Virginia. Thus, the Electoral Board is required to appoint election officers who represent one or the other of those parties.

By selecting which of the two parties you prefer to represent, you are in no way indicating your preference for that particular party’s platform and position. You are only indicating you will be willing to represent that party at the polls on Election Day. You can also indicate whether you would also be willing to represent the other party as needed.

When precinct assignments are made, we must balance the election officer representation between the two parties. Election officers who prefer only to represent one party will only represent that party, but if you are willing to represent both parties, we might change your party representation for any particular election in order to achieve balance in your precinct.

Although we prefer you indicate a party representation preference on your response form, if you leave this section blank, we will assign you to whichever party needs your representation in your precinct. In reality, all election officers are neutral and nonpolitical on Election Day, and most don’t have any particular preference about which party they represent.

Party representation is important in primary elections, however, because these are elections we conduct for a political party to assist them in selecting their nominees for offices in the general election. When a particular party is holding a primary election, we first select election officers from those who only wish to represent that party. Next we look at those who prefer to represent the party holding the primary but will also represent the other party, and finally at those who prefer the other party but will also represent the party holding the primary. Election officers who will only represent the party not holding the primary will not be asked to work, unless they specifically request to do so and there are openings available.

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When are Election Days?

In Arlington County, we hold a General Election every November on the first Tuesday after the first Monday. Federal offices are elected in even-numbered years, and statewide offices are elected in odd-numbered years. Our County Board and School Board members serve four-year, rotating terms, so at least one member is elected to each position each November. The Constitutional offices are elected every four years in odd-numbered years, except for the Clerk of the Court, who serves an eight-year term. See the chart below for the General Election schedule for the next four years.

2008

U.S. President and Vice President
Member, U.S. Senate
Member of Congress, 8th District
County Board
School Board (2 seats)

2009

Governor
Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Virginia House of Delegates
County Board
School Board

2010

Member, U.S. Senate
Member of Congress, 8th District
County Board
School Board

2011

Virginia Senate
Virginia House of Delegates
Commonwealth's Attorney
Commissioner of Revenue
Sheriff
Treasurer
County Board (2 seats)
School Board

Primary elections, if called for by the political parties, are held on the second Tuesday in June. Presidential primaries are held on the last Tuesday in February of the presidential election year.

Special elections are held when vacancies occur in offices, or when questions or issues appear on the ballot. Often special elections are held on the same day as General Elections. Sometimes, however, a special election may take place at another time in the year, depending on the particular vacancy.

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What are the hours on Election Day?

Election officers are required to be at their assigned polling place at 5:00 a.m. on Election Day. The full shift ends after the polls close, results have been tabulated and called in, and the polling room has been cleaned and supplies packed up to return to our office. The polls close at 7:00 p.m., so the time you leave may vary, depending on how many voters are in line when the polls close and how long it takes your precinct to close down. Most precincts typically finish within one to one and a half hours after their last voter. This time may be shorter in primary elections.

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Do I have to work the whole day?

Yes. Starting in 2001, the Electoral Board initiated a split shift pilot program, in which election officers wishing to work half-days could do so provided they found a partner to work the other half. But the program was suspended indefinitely in 2004 because of lack of interest and difficulty in administration. It is unlikely the Electoral Board will institute it again any time in the near future. Election officers are therefore require to work a full day.

Exception: Some election officers selected to work in the Central Absentee Precinct are able to work a shortened shift beginning at 6 p.m. and lasting until all ballot counting is complete. This is necessary to allow for the hand-counting of some absentee ballots. If you are interested in this task, please contact Donna Patterson at 703.228.3456. Pay is adjusted based on the actual hours worked.

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How are precinct assignments made? Can I work in my own polling place?

Several factors determine how election officers are assigned to work in the precincts. First, we must determine how many workers are needed for each precinct in a given election. This may vary somewhat, depending upon the expected turnout. We obviously need more people to handle crowd control and breaks during busy presidential elections, but in slower elections, the chief and assistant chief are less busy and can handle these tasks.

Next, we look at how many appointed workers we have from each precinct. If we have more than the needed number for the election, as is the case in some of our precincts, priority is given to more experienced workers and based on years of service as an election officer. The remaining workers from that precinct are either assigned to other precincts that have a shortage of appointed workers, or are held back as alternates, to fill in when vacancies occur, either in their own or in other precincts.

Whenever possible, we do try to assign workers to their own precinct. In some precincts, however, there is a core group of long-term, experienced workers, and it may be difficult for new workers to receive an assignment there. You will instead be assigned to work in a nearby precinct. Once you receive an assignment, we will not move you back to your precinct, even if a vacancy occurs. This is because the chief in your assigned precinct is depending upon you to work in that precinct. Vacancies in your own precinct will be filled from the alternate list.

If you will only work in your own precinct, and there are no openings, you will remain on the alternate list and may not get a chance to work. If you are flexible and willing to move to other precincts, you increase your chances of receiving a precinct assignment.

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If I am on the alternate list, can I be guaranteed I will receive a precinct assignment?

Although there are no guarantees, we do try to use all alternates. During 2001, we had an unusually high number of alternates because of a successful recruiting drive, but typically most people on the alternate list ultimately receive assignments. If you are flexible and willing to work in any precinct, your chances of being selected are increased.

If you are on the alternate list, you might consider also being placed on the standby list. Standby election officers must attend training and must be available and able to work at 5:00 a.m. on Election Day to fill in for no-shows (which means you must be awake, dressed, and waiting for a possible call). If we don’t call you, you will receive pay of $50 just for being available and ready. But if we do call you and receive no answer, you will not be paid at all. Of course, if we do call you to work, you receive the full day’s pay of $130.

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How much are election officers paid?

Arlington County pays election officers $150. Standby workers not called to work receive $50. Each precinct also has a chief and assistant chief election officer. Assistant chiefs receive $165 and chiefs are paid $190. You must work at least one general election before being considered for a chief or assistant chief position.

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