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What's the story on election officials??

  • 01-06-2012 5:15pm
    #1
    trishasaffron
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 922 ✭✭✭


    Sorry if this has been done to death in previous elections. I was in a local chemist today and one of the staff was engaged in chat with a customer - chatting to him about the referendum she said "oh yes I was presiding officer in XXXX yesterday". So she has a job and she gets this gig? Sounded totally smug and comfortable too.:(
    What can we do to change this & make sure the gig goes to the deserving?


Comments

  • #2
    christmas2012
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 2,827 ✭✭✭christmas2012


    i dont think they get paid for it as its a voluntary gig


  • #3
    Gran Hermano
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,330 ✭✭✭Gran Hermano


    christmas2012 wrote: »
    i dont think they get paid for it as its a voluntary gig

    Voluntary gig? I don't think so, last I heard it was rather well paid with much demand for the work. Also seems to be a spot of nepotism around my way with civil and public servants even taking leave from their usal job to get the extra cash at the polling stations.


  • #4
    djk1000
    Closed Accounts Posts: 899 ✭✭✭djk1000


    It's county sheriffs and court registrars that run the elections (same people that the banks use to kick people out of their houses).


  • #5
    bijapos
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,003 ✭✭✭bijapos


    I worked as a poll clerk at the Presedential Election in 2011 and last weeks referendum. On the basis of a post that was made here on boards.ie in Aug/Sep last year I sent a brief email to the returning officer for my constituency (Sheriff of Dublin City) on the day the elction was called stating that I would like to be considered. I also mentioned that i had full garda vetting from being a census enumerator in 2011, I have no idea if this helped or not.

    About 2 weeks later (mid September) a woman rang, asked me a few basic questions, and said they would be in touch, a couple of weeks before the election I received a letter telling me to show up at the polling station at 6.30 on the day. That was it. Turns out the woman who had done the job for a few years was off on maternity leave.

    I repeated the same process at this years referendum and got the same job in the same station.

    I have no connections to anyone and didn't mention to anyone that I was applying for the post in 2011. If I can get the job then I can only genuinely believe it's open to everyone. Maybe it's the luck of the draw but some of the other people in the stations have been doing the job for years and i understand that demand wasn't the highest for the job a few years ago.


  • #6
    johngalway
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,271 ✭✭✭✭johngalway


    trishasaffron wrote: »
    So she has a job and she gets this gig?
    What can we do to change this & make sure the gig goes to the deserving?

    What makes her any less deserving than anyone else?


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  • #7
    Dymo
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,565 ✭✭✭Dymo


    This is a job that takes place once maybe twice a year and some years never. I don't think it would be feasible to interview everyone one each time and I guess that's the reckoning why the same people get the same job each year. Plus being a presiding officer takes a bit of training.


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