Want to work for the election? Elections Canada is hiring 700 poll positions in London

With only two weeks left before Canada's federal election day on April 28, the agency responsible for the electoral process is seeking to hire more than 250,000 poll workers across the country.

Elections Canada is looking for about 700 workers to staff polls at each of Canada's 343 ridings by election day. Their jobs will include greeting and directing voters, checking their identification and counting ballots after polls close, said spokesperson Nathalie de Montigny. 

"The search is going well, we have roughly two weeks to go but we're confident," de Montigny told CBC's London Morning on Monday. "Elections Canada on election day will be the largest employer in Canada."

In the London region, the agency is in need of around 200 to 250 staff members per riding for election day, de Montigny said, adding that it's already hired the majority of the staff it needs for advanced polling stations set to open to voters this weekend. 

A list of London area ridings can be found here.

Applicants eligible for the job must be Canadian citizens who are 16 years of age, or older, meaning they're able to work at a polling station before they're allowed to vote. 

On election day, workers are expected to be at the polls for the 12 hours they're open, plus one or two extra hours to count ballots and they are also required to participate in a paid three-hour training session. Wages range from $20 to $26.5 per hour, depending on the position. 

Those working at advanced voting stations on Good Friday or Easter Monday will get a statutory holiday top-up as well, de Montigny said. 

Certain constituencies can be more challenging to staff than others, such as rural areas but this year, Elections Canada is seeing the return of poll workers from previous elections, with a mixed range of seniors and students, said de Montigny. 

"It's a great way to actually live through the elections process, to understand what democracy is all about, how it is applied. So I think you can meet people, and you are working in your own riding, so it is an interesting experience to have," she said. 

How to vote

Voters can expect to receive their voting information cards in the mail this week, which should tell them where their assigned polling station is and the form of identification they need to provide, said de Montigny. Pieces of acceptable IDs include a driver's licence, a credit card, a utility bill or a bank statement. 

There are four main ways to vote:

• Advanced voting at the assigned polling stations from April 18 to April 21 between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.
• Early voting at any of the 500 Elections Canada offices across the country until April 22 at 6 p.m. Voters will use a special ballot process.
• Voting by mail, will also require a special ballot and the deadline to cast those votes is by April 22 at 6 p.m. 
• Election day on April 28 where voters can head to their assigned polling stations from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m ET.

More information can be found on Elections Canada's website.