Career Opportunity

Ballot Adjudicator – San Francisco Department of Elections (1404 Clerk)

Recruitment: REF9495Q

Published: May 05, 2022

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

About:

The mission of the Department of Elections (Department) is to provide equitable access to voting and election-related services and to conduct free, fair, and functional elections for the City and County of San Francisco.

Serving more than half a million registered voters, the Department maintains open and transparent operations in order to inspire public confidence in the integrity of San Francisco’s elections. The Department is committed to maintaining an inclusive workplace by providing the training, resources and tools necessary for all employees to succeed in delivering equitable services to City residents. (To learn more about the Department’s internal racial equity goals, please read our 2021-23 Racial Equity Action Plan.) To find out how our employees put democracy into action on a day-to-day level and learn about some of the tasks that Department of Elections are involved in, watch this short video about  Working at the Department of Elections.

Role description

Serving nearly half a million registered voters, the mission of the Department of Elections (Department) is to provide equitable access to voting and election-related services and to conduct free, fair, and functional elections for the City and County of San Francisco.

In preparation for the June 7, 2022, Consolidated Statewide Direct Primary Election, the Department is seeking applications for seasonal positions to assist with processing vote-by-mail ballots returned by voters.

Vote-by-mail ballot-processing consists of four steps: 1) envelope scanning, 2) signature comparison, 3) ballot extraction, and 4) votemark scanning. As part of Step 4, dedicated teams “adjudicate” (interpret ambiguous marks using standardized procedures) or “remake” (duplicate valid votemarks on irregular ballots onto new ballots for counting). The person in this position will be assigned to perform a combination of ballot-processing steps with the primary focus on ballot tabulation, adjudication, remake, and roster verification.

Position Schedule and Hours:

The start date for this position is May 16, 2022 and will run through approximately June 19, 2022; the exact start and end date will be determined by the operational needs of the Department.

Work hours are generally 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, work hours will vary widely in accordance with the demands of the election cycle and will range between 30 and 70 hours per week. The person in this position must be available to work overtime both during the week and on weekends as necessary. Overtime hours are paid at 1.5 the hourly rate.

This is a temporary exempt as-needed position. Temporary exempt as-needed employees who have worked more than 1040 hours in any consecutive 12-month period, and whose normal work week at the time of inclusion in the system is not less than 20 hours are eligible for health coverage and retirement benefits. For more information on the City and County of San Francisco benefit policies, refer to the Employee Handbook available at https://sfdhr.org/sites/default/files/documents/Forms-Documents/Employee-Handbook.pdf

Position Salary: $26.8125/hour

Position Description:

The person in this position will assist with various ballot-processing steps with the primary focus on assisting with ballot adjudication.  Ballot adjudication is the process of reviewing ballots, which require resolution of voter intent.

Once scanned by Elections staff, any ballots with out-stack conditions are automatically sent to the adjudication application for digital ballot review by the adjudication teams. Out-stack conditions include blank ballots, contests that are over-voted, contests with write-in candidates, and ballot marks that are unreadable or marginally readable. Ballot adjudication teams work in pairs to review and resolve issues on any such ballots using a set of standardized procedures provided.

Other tasks performed by this position include:

1. Scanning and opening ballot envelopes submitted by voters, extracting ballot cards from envelopes, flattening ballot cards, preparing ballot cards for tabulation;
2. Tabulating ballots using election certified scanners to count ballots for Central Counting location, City Hall;
3. Assisting with ballot adjudication which includes review of scanned ballot images that require interpretation of voter intent and verifying write-in votes
4. Assisting with ballot remake which includes duplicating damaged ballots, fax ballots, provisional ballots that are of the wrong ballot types. This process also includes vote interpretation;
5. Verifying roster by reviewing roster images and validating signature marks; and
6. Assisting with other tasks as requested.

How to qualify

Minimum Qualifications

 One (1) year (equivalent to 2000 hours) of verifiable clerical experience including preparing and maintaining a variety of records and/or documents, filing, use of office equipment, public contact and processing of incoming and outgoing mail: OR

Six (6) months (equivalent to 1000 hours) of verifiable clerical experience as described in #1 and completion of a clerical training program (240 hours); OR

Six (6) months (equivalent to 1000 hours) of verifiable clerical experience as described in #1 and 15 semester units (or equivalent quarter units) of coursework from an accredited college or university.

Desired Qualifications:

•         Experience with operating mail sorting machine

•         Experience working with voting system vendor to tabulate ballots using central counting machines

•         Experience operating sheet count machine

•         Experience with using computer software (e.g., Microsoft Office, ballot tracking database, election specific programs, etc.)

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact Tish McNorton, by email at tish.mcnorton@sfgov.org.

What else should I know?

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

Carol Isen - Human Resources Director

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Someone is fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of a two-shot vaccine or a dose of a one-shot vaccine. Any new hire must present proof of full vaccination status to be appointed. Any new hire who will be routinely assigned or occasionally enter High-Risk Settings, must provide proof of having received a COVID-19 booster vaccine by March 1, 2022, or once eligible.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.