Election jobs
Postal vote opener
The role
Postal vote openers are employed in the days leading up to election day and are responsible for opening, checking and preparing completed postal votes for counting after the close of poll. Ballot papers must be kept secret until the close of poll, therefore the greatest care must be taken when opening and checking.
Teams of postal vote openers are employed on an hourly basis on days and times as designated by the Returning Officer. The projected frequency of opening sessions will be confirmed on your appointment letter. However, sessions may need to be cancelled at short notice due to low daily turnout.
A final opening session will take place after the close of poll on polling day.
The role of the postal vote opener is not difficult, but commitment and flexibility are required.
Postal vote openers must:
- Not be employed by or on behalf of a candidate in or about the election (paid or otherwise)
- Be eligible to work in the UK
- Agree to the requirements of secrecy
- Conduct themselves professionally and impartially before and during polling day
Duties:
- Ensure the secrecy of the ballot at all times
- Count the total envelopes received
- Open and check contents of envelopes
- Tally the number of ballot papers received
- Work accurately under observation
- Refrain from engaging in conversations with candidates and agents
Pay
Final rates of pay will be confirmed in your appointment letter.
Where you are staffed to work overnight, you will receive an uplift of 50% to your hourly rate.
All election fees are subject to tax on a pay as you earn (PAYE) basis, but are exempt from National Insurance contributions
How to apply
You can apply for an election job at any time of the year. We will add all applicants to our staff database and you will be contacted for your availability when we begin staffing for our next election.
The next scheduled election will take place on 6 May 2027. If you would like to be added to the database for future elections, please complete the form below.
Alternatively, request a form from us: contact Electoral Services
Usually, in the run-up to an election, we will write to everyone already listed on our staff database and ask them to indicate their availability. If you are already on our staffing database, you don’t need to apply again.
Last updated: 16/06/2025 16:10
