On October 2, more than 5.4 million residents of Santa Catarina were able to vote for the election of their representatives in 5 positions: federal deputy, state deputy, senator, governor and president of the republic.

The entire voting process is only possible thanks to the logistics structured by electoral justice, in which poll workers are at the center.

They are responsible for welcoming and supporting voters, as well as for legitimizing and monitoring the transparency of elections.

How polling station staff work – Photo: Arte/ND

The front desk clerk will know what is going on in the salon

In addition to the regular office, there will be new appointments for poll workers in the 2022 elections.

The new electronic voting machine has some modifications, including the ability to monitor the voting process in the booth.

But the novelty does not cause concern. The new feature prevents the polling station from seeing the vote. Only the order of voted positions will appear at the polling station.

The purpose of the novelty is to help if the voter gets confused during the voting, given the different number of digits for each position.

Santa Catarina is expected to employ 67,000 poll workers this year. They can be selected in two ways: they can be called, chosen as determined by an election judge, or volunteers who must register on each state’s Regional Electoral Courts (TRE) websites. You can also register via e-Título.

If a volunteer or called person is scheduled, their presence on the set election date is mandatory. However, if there is a good reason for denial, a waiver must be submitted.

Importance and pleasure of being a waiter

“It’s a way of showing citizenship and democracy.” The phrase belongs to Cleusa Maria Saraiva, who participated in the elections as a polling station between 2002 and 2018.

Cleusa says she enjoyed the first time so much that she was called for the role and volunteered for every next election.

For many years she worked as a civil servant and used the benefits provided by the polling station.

Kleuza emphasizes that as an election volunteer she can see the security of the electoral system up close: “I have worked and I know how safe electronic voting machines are, those who help know that nothing can harm elections.”

Call Criteria

Karina Bittencourt, TRE-SC Voter and Biometrics Coordinator, clarifies that the call is not “random”. It is determined by the prerogative of the election judge.

“An election judge determines the profile of the region in which he works. It can denote complete or incomplete higher education or age group. The priority is always the call of federal, state and municipal civil servants.

Call process

Upon registration, the summoned persons receive a letter from the Electoral Court, which can be sent physically or electronically. Karina explains that “when a volunteer registers on the polling station portal, he receives an invitation letter there and is notified by e-mail.”

The portal also provides declarations of participation and information, “this is the best means of communication between the Electoral Justice and the polling station”, comments Karina. But preliminary communication is possible via WhatsApp, correspondence by mail, as well as through bailiffs, in non-urban areas.

preparation

Electoral zones offer training, options vary depending on the instructions of the election judge in the region. The training can be done in distance learning (DE) through the TSE website, through the Mesário app or in person, which is available in practical and theoretical parts.

During the training, future employees were informed about the voting process, the procedures to be adopted at the polling station, and solutions to any problems.

Who can’t be a clerk

Anyone over the age of 18 can volunteer as a board member. However, candidates and their relatives, members of political party directives, representatives of the authorities and the police, or officials in positions of trust in the executive branch may not be part of the reception.

Who is on the University Council?

Employees of university polling stations perform the same functions as polling stations on call or voluntarily, but they are scientists who work in elections as employees.

Higher education students over the age of 18 who are in good standing with the Electoral Court and are enrolled in universities by agreement with the relevant election judges may be members of the university council.

After the election, they can request from the Electoral Area Register a document certifying the work completed within a few hours, which must be submitted to the partner university. Hours should be transformed into extracurricular academic activities.

Advantages

• Tie-break preference for civil servant promotion, TRE-SC public competitions, or public competitions of other bodies when provided in public notice;
• Use of electoral hours as an additional learning activity (at universities that have agreements with the Electoral Justice);
• Two days off for each day set by the Electoral Court, without prejudice to wages or any other benefit;
• Food stamps on the days you serve in an election;
• Exemption from payment of registration fees in public auctions for a period of two years.