The 2022 federal election is just around the corner but officials have warned there are still not enough staff to help voters and count ballots in some regional Victoria electorates.
Workforce shortages have been crippling industries across the region and things were no different for the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).
About 30,000 people were employed across Victoria during election periods, from pre-poll voting officers to those counting the votes.
But with early voting starting on Monday, the electorate of Indi is still about 100 people short overall, while the electorate of Nicholls needed about 80 more people.
AEC state manager for Victoria Nye Coffey said staffing this year had been particularly difficult.
"We would have liked to have put a lid on it by now and be completely ready to go, but the pandemic has had an impact on staffing across the board and we're not exempt from that," he said.
"Casual work is a very competitive market at the moment."
COVID-19 increases requirements
Mr Coffey said roles needed to be filled across the board but there were "notable vacancies" in Cobram, Nathalia and Kyabram.
Mr Coffey said the commission also needed to recruit a few more people than normal to account for the likelihood that some will contract COVID-19 and have to isolate at the last minute.
"But people are still getting COVID or sick in other ways and not being able to attend, so it's always good to have a few extra there."
The vast majority of roles available were one-off election day roles, but there were also a number of roles available for pre-poll voting centres, which lasted for two weeks from Monday.
The roles were all paid and did not require previous experience.
Working for democracy
Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers said the AEC employed more than 100,000 "everyday Australians".
He said they included parents, grandparents, neighbours and work colleagues, and they all did "an important job for Australian democracy".
He hoped people would be motivated to sign up as a service to the country.
"The great advantage that we've got, is the job itself," Mr Coffey said.
"You're helping to deliver democracy for your community.
"Quite apart from the extra cash in your pocket, you get that tremendous satisfaction of actively participating in one of the world's great democracies."
