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Help Wanted in Santa Clara County on Election Day

SACRAMENTO - Santa Clara County elections officials are still seeking people to staff the polls for the November 4 General Election, Secretary of State Debra Bowen reported today. Bilingual volunteers are especially needed – people who are fluent in Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog or Vietnamese, in addition to English.

Elections officials in some other California counties may also still be recruiting.

Each statewide election requires a one-day workforce of 100,000 poll workers in more than 24,000 polling places across California. Santa Clara County will have 834 polling places that need to be staffed with over 4,000 election officers on November 4. Depending on duties, volunteer election officers in Santa Clara County can earn between $95 and $180.

"Volunteer election officers are crucial to the success of an election. They help to safeguard ballots, remind voters about their rights, assist voters in several languages, ensure voters with disabilities can exercise their right to vote, and more," said Secretary Bowen, the state's chief elections official.

"The neighborhood polling place is where communities come together to elect their representatives and ensure their voice is heard; we are in need of committed volunteers to staff our 834 polling places," said Shannon Bushey, Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. Additionally, supporting more languages this year means the county needs more bilingual volunteers. "We are building partnerships with more communities than ever before. If you have ever thought about being more involved with the democratic process, right now is the time to take action."

A Californian can serve as an election officer if he or she is a registered voter or a legal permanent resident of California, or a high-school student who is at least 16 years old and has a grade-point average of 2.5 or higher.

For more information and to fill out an election officer application, visit Santa Clara County’s website at http://www.sccvote.org or call (408) 299-7655. Visit www.sos.ca.gov/elections/pollworker.htm

To sign up for regular ballot measure updates via email, RSS feed or Twitter, go to www.sos.ca.gov/multimedia.

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