Breaking down the count - where votes and boxes matter the most
By Eleanor Sollis
In 2019 I was too young to vote despite being super engaged. So when Rishi called the Election on that rainy afternoon I was ecstatic to be able to be around and old enough to participate in the General Election we had all been waiting for.
It was my mum who originally suggested I should apply to work at the general election count, as she knew my keen interest in politics.
I had no clue what that entailed so I investigated what it was all about and how to apply. It was super easy to find everything on my council website, through that I applied to my local council for multiple roles - such as count assistant and poll clerk. A week before the election, I had heard nothing so I was worried that the opportunity to experience the election first-hand would be missed so I applied for another 5 different local councils. But a day later, I got an email offering me a position to be one of the count staff…
I very happy about getting this role as I thought it would be more interesting than a poll clerk. Despite a clerk being a very important part of the democratic process, counting the votes felt like it would be a more real experience of democracy in action. The process was so easy after the acceptance of my application, all I had to do was put in a few personal details and confirm my availability.
One thing which astonished me as a young person who has struggled to find above minimum wage jobs, was how well the council paid you for one evening of work, even if it was the entire night. Casual or zero hour work often pays poorly due to its flexible nature, but at over £20 an hour this would make anyone jump at it. I certainly did as a student. For me it was just the cherry on the top of a really exciting experience for my first election.
After already voting earlier that day, I headed to the count venue before the polls closed. I was so intrigued to find out the process. I made my way to my count station and said hello to my count team and supervisor. We were told to get there much earlier than the polls closed, so we sat there chatting for a while. I talked to a range of different people, with different experiences of politics and motivations.
It was super interesting, especially when the exit polls came out at 10pm and there was clearly big change coming. The most interesting conversation I had was with the man next to me about why he signed up for the count. He said his friend suggested it for the money and that he wasn’t actually hugely political. This made me realise getting involved didn’t need to be for the preserve of people who are massively politicised, like me!, instead it could be open to everyone.
You definitely don’t need to be super politically active to count! And why not get involved - it matters for democracy and you can earn a good amount of money at the same time!? At Elect Her we want to encourage everyone and anyone to get involved and dip their toe into the world of politics (even just for one night). Anything that helps to turn the tide on our collective apathy and increase participation in democracy.
I really enjoyed the rest of the night, everything from chatting to the agents and candidates opposite me (even if they were a bit scary watching you count like a hawk) to reading the spoilt ballots. Some of the spoiled ballots had fascinating commentary on British politics such as the need to reform our voting system to proportional representation or comments by each political party highlighting their policy or character flaws. I also found the result announcement a fun experience and I was very happy and relieved to witness respectful politics being played out towards all the candidates and the elected MP’s.
Ultimately, for me it felt like the best way to experience my first election was fully participating in it and I would really recommend applying for the count, regardless of whether you are ‘political’ or not!
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