On Election Day, Volunteers Can Help Candidates Perform All of the Following Tasks Except:

THE TEXAS Secretary OF STATE Will Exist Closed Mon, FEBRUARY 21ST IN OBSERVANCE OF PRESIDENTS' DAY. HOLIDAY CLOSURE DETAILS.

Student Election Clerk Information

What are Educatee Election Workers?

Loftier school students who are 16 years of age or older now have the opportunity to participate in the electoral process by serving as elections clerks at the polling place during Early Voting or on Election Day. A student who is at least 16 years of age and who is enrolled in a public or private high school or home school and has the consent of the principal (or parent/legal guardian in charge of didactics in habitation school) may serve every bit an election clerk. The elections officials must receive written authorization from the student's parent or guardian for the student to serve in the ballot for which he or she is appointed.

This plan is designed to provide students with a greater awareness of the electoral process and the rights and responsibilities of voters. The students volition assist their local election officials by filling positions at polling places during the Early on Voting menstruum or on Election 24-hour interval and working under the direction of the polling place presiding judge.

What are the Benefits of Serving every bit an Ballot Clerk?

Some of the benefits of serving as an election clerk are:

Election workers are paid hourly for their service.
Students will gain practical feel by serving their community and state.
Feel as an election clerk is an impressive addition to a resumé or college application.
Students can have role in a rewarding activeness while learning virtually the democratic process.
Students can earn community service hours for school.

What are the Responsibilities of an Election Clerk?

Working under the supervision of the judge, student ballot clerks may assist with the following duties:

Organizing the polling place before the polls open.
Ensuring that qualified voters are permitted to vote.
Checking in and processing voters.
Distributing ballots to registered voters.
Providing instructions and assistance to voters.
Answering voters' questions.
Explaining the use of the voting equipment.
Maintaining society in the polling place on Election Day.
Obtaining results after the polls are closed and closing the polling place.

What are the Required Qualifications of an Election Clerk?

To qualify equally a student election clerk, the educatee must:

Exist at to the lowest degree 16 years old on Election Day;
Exist enrolled in a public, private, or qualified dwelling house school;*
Be a U.S. citizen;
Have consent of his/her parent or legal guardian to work the election;
Accept consent of his/her schoolhouse principal* (or parent/legal guardian for home-schooled students); and
Complete any required ballot worker preparation program.

We have volunteers who encounter every requirement except enrollment in high school. Can nosotros apply them?

Yeah. For example, you might have students who just graduated high school, simply are not even so old enough to register to vote. We think the legislative intent is to authorize that age group to be ballot workers. You will still demand the consent of the parent or guardian. Under the circumstances, you volition non need the consent of the loftier school principal.

Can a pupil ballot worker serve equally an interpreter?

Yes. When election workers are communicating with a voter who cannot communicate in English, a student election worker may communicate with the voter in a language the voter and the clerk understands.

Since the Presiding Judge selects their clerks except the alternate judge, how will the gauge know which students are interested and available or how to even contact them?

The Secretary of State'south office has an application (PDF) course posted on its website that political subdivisions can use for students to utilize to be ballot clerks. The students tin fill out the application, become the required signatures, and send the form to the election administrators who serve the ballot in which the student wishes to serve. The elections administrator will provide each judge with a listing of all eligible educatee election workers.

Do the school authorities transport the election officials student names, addresses, and phone numbers directly? Can the school requite out this information without a written approving notice from a parent/legal guardian of the students?

The student will provide all required information directly to the election officials. The Student Election Worker Application and Permission Skid (PDF, 30k) for students to complete and transport to their local elections officials includes a consent section for both parent/guardian and the appropriate schoolhouse official. The student will exist responsible for obtaining the principal's consent to serve as an election clerk. The educatee (not the school) provides the information directly to the election officials. The school volition non need to contact the election officials. In add-on, the student must obtain parental or legal guardian consent on the same application before the student tin can serve as an election clerk.

How will the election officials inform the school that the educatee really worked on Election Mean solar day?

Serving as an ballot clerk is now included in the Texas Education Code's definition of "excused absenteeism." Student election clerks are entitled to compensation in the same manner every bit other ballot clerks. The ballot official should give each student worker documentation in the form of a time canvass, pay stub, or other letter or grade showing that the pupil served every bit an ballot worker and the hours worked. Ultimately, however, it is upwardly to the student to ensure that the school is given the proper documentation in order to have an excused absence.

Are at that place any labor laws about how many hours a educatee tin piece of work during a school mean solar day?

Nether the Texas Labor Lawmaking, the employment hours of persons 16 or older are non restricted by state law. Persons 16 or 17 years of age accept no restrictions on the number of hours or times of day they may work.

Are there whatever curfew laws that the educatee could run afoul of if they were out tardily due to extended voting hours?

There are no state law curfews in Texas. However, some municipalities and perhaps counties take curfews past local ordinance; therefore, the answers would vary depending on the details of any applicable local ordinance. It is probable that most local curfew ordinances give exceptions for school or piece of work-related activities, under which this would likely qualify. Also, the student will not be in violation of the compulsory attendance constabulary for schools because, once again, the legislation provides for an excused absence when serving as an election clerk.

How many student election clerks tin serve at each polling place?

Not more than ii student election clerks may serve at a polling place, except that non more than four pupil election clerks may serve at any countywide polling place.

What do we do with multiple student requests from a unmarried precinct? Can they work exterior of their home precinct?

Students can work exterior of their home precinct because election clerks are not limited to working only in their own precincts. The positions in each precinct should be filled in the social club in which the students apply, assuming they run into all the requirements. Whatsoever actress student applicants for a given precinct may work in another precinct that does non already have its authorized number of educatee ballot clerk positions filled.

What if the parents and student requite their full general consent, then the student is later assigned to a polling place or fourth dimension that he or she does non want to work?

The pupil clerk may simply plow downwardly the assignment (just similar any other voluntary election clerk offered an assignment that presents a disharmonize).

How to Apply

Fill out the Pupil Election Clerk Awarding and Permission Skid (PDF).
Accept your parent or guardian sign the Parent/Legal Guardian Permission portion.
Have your school main sign the School Principal Authorization portion. Also, take the proper steps to ensure that your absence from school in order to work during Early Voting or on Election Day volition be excused.
Send the application to the local elections officials conducting the election in which you lot wish to serve (canton clerk/elections ambassador, city secretarial assistant, school superintendent, etc.). Effort to send application at least 60 days prior to Election Mean solar day (even though at that place is no statutory deadline).
If selected, nourish the required ballot training class prior serving as a clerk. This training provides all the necessary data and knowledge to be a successful elections clerk.
Work at the polls equally assigned during Early Voting or on Election Twenty-four hours.

Important Notes

A schoolhouse commune may excuse a student for the purpose of serving as an Early Voting and/or Election Day clerk for a maximum of two days in a school year.
- Example: A student could work two weekdays during Early Voting for an election held on Sat, May ix, 2015, and and then also work on Ballot 24-hour interval, as the student would only have to be excused from school for two days
Up to iv educatee election clerks may piece of work at a single Early on Voting site at a time, and upward to two student clerks may work at an Ballot Twenty-four hours polling place at a fourth dimension.

Remember…When yous turn eighteen you lot volition have reached the historic period to serve as a regular election clerk or judge!

Revised: 09/2020

brasherluche1973.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/pamphlets/seci.shtml