AP (The Associated Press) is paying students $17/hour to gather and tabulate election returns from every official election return center in the nation for the November General Election. These students, called Vote Entry Operators (VEOs), will be trained in AP’s proprietary vote gathering and tabulating systems to work remotely on November 5.
Here is a link to our introductory video: https://youtu.be/q9egck0X9GE
Hundreds of students have already worked with AP during this year to aid in reporting the results of the dozens of Primary and Special Elections leading up to the General Election. Now your students can be part of this special VEO Pool providing this essential service. Participating students will gather the actual voting returns reported by AP news stringers from every part of the United States, tabulating actual voting results, not predictions, estimates or exit polls. Participating directly in this essential civic activity is a wonderful opportunity for students to obtain first-hand knowledge of how the country’s voting system works, how news coverage of those results is managed and also gain a valuable resume cite while being paid for their participation.
Working remotely, students are able to help AP staff ensure that election returns are gathered, tabulated and communicated in the most accurate, thorough and timely methods possible. Students will be working with AP professional staff and AP “stringers” who will be reporting the results directly from the more than 3,000 counties, cities and towns across the United States and its possessions.
Participants are paid both for time spent working the election events (from a minimum of about six hours to more if needed to tally all votes) and for time spent in remote live training sessions in the use of AP’s systems (about three to five hours). A wide range of remote training dates allows students a great deal of flexibility in scheduling their training sessions. Requirements for participation and applying for positions are on the attached flyer, which I hope you will share with your students.
I hope you will encourage your students to participate in this essential civic responsibility while earning money for themselves. Have them email their contact information (name, email address, cell phone number) to VEOpool@AP.org. AP will contact them directly to determine their availability for specific training dates and to ensure they have the appropriate computer capabilities to participate.
Students wanting to work the General Election should submit their applications as soon as possible in order to give AP time to process and include them in training sessions between now and November 5.
For more information, contact: AP at VEOpool@AP.org