Want to make $250 in a day? London is looking for election workers for this fall's vote

The City of London is looking for 700 more workers for polling stations for the 2018 municipal election in October.

In what will be Canada's first municipal ranked ballot vote, 1,800 workers are required to staff voting locations. 1,100 positions have been filled so far.

"We have had an increase in population in the city, so we have increased the number of polls," said Cathy Saunders, London's City Clerk who oversees the election.

"Also, at the end of every election, we ask for comments from the public and some of the complaints was the length of lines at the polls."

Across London, there will be 200 voting stations this year, about 40 more than the last election.

In order to ensure the vote goes off without a hitch, the City needs election staff who are available to work advance polls between Oct. 4-13, and on election day on October 22.

Those jobs include:

• Poll supervisor ($250/day)
• Deputy returning officers ($220/day)
• Poll clerks ($200/day)
• Tabulator operators ($200/day)
• Greeters ($180/day)

Eligible applicants must be at least 18 years-old, not a candidate nor working for a candidate, or have endorsed a candidate.

Applications can be submitted online, in person, by phone, or at one of two job fairs. The first job fair is on July 19 from 3 to 6 p.m. at Sherwood Forest Library. The second job fair is on August 22 from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Pond Mills Library.

Successful applicants will be required to attend a training session.

Canada's first municipal ranked ballot election

The City created a poll supervisor position to ensure that there is management staff at all of the polls to help assist voters with understanding the difference in the ballot from the traditional first-past-the-post system.

• What London's first ranked ballot mock election looked like

Saunders says the City will also be offering additional training for election staff.

"Marking the ballot is not complicated, it's how the votes are counted," she said. "We want people to understand how their votes are counted."

When voters go to the polls in October, they will rank the candidates in order of preference on the ballot; first, second and third. Ballots from all polls are counted, and if one candidate does not have at least 50 percent plus 1 of the votes, the candidate with the fewest number of votes is eliminated and the ballots are counted again. On the second count, they'll use the next candidate choice from ballots where the first choice candidate was eliminated.

The process is repeated until a winning candidate is determined.

For more information on ranked ballots and the municipal election, visit the City's website.