Elections are a rather expensive democratic procedure. Not matter if a country finds itself in the middle of a deep debt crisis. Therefore parliamentary elections scheduled to take place on May 6th 2012 will cost just 50 million euro. That is the early parliamentary elections of 2012 will be 80 million euro cheaper than those in October 2009. Yeap. Just a vote away before the country entered the deepest economic crisis in modern times, the state had spent whole 130 million euro for 7,044,470 voters.
This year things are different and the Ministry of Interior decided to proceed to sharp cuts establishing a spending ceiling up to 50 million euro. Electoral allowance will be reduced to levels of 2002, and several thousands judges, judicial officials, lawyers, police officers, coast guards, press and communications and finance control officers will receive just 500 euro for their duties on the elections day. During parliamentary elections of 2009, they had received 800 euro, and 600 euro during the municipality elections of November 7th and 14th 2010. (source: seleo.gr via nonews-news.blog)
More on Elections in Greece here
They are civil servants and this is part of their job. Bet they get overtime too. And travel allowance. And health allowance, because of the danger of papercuts?!
I have done election duty in my time as non-civil servant (until 2004). I got 150 euro for a 15 hour voting and counting day. Here they got 800 the last time and 600 for the municipal elections?! Let’s see: in the polling station I went to for the municipal elections we had 6 people. We had a total of (I think) six polling stations at that school. There must have been 36 people sitting around there, getting a total sum of 21.600 euro! Just here in one little village. Crazy, just crazy…
not all the people you see sitting around are civil servants on duty. there are also representatives of politcial parties to control and they do it on voluntarily basis. they’re lucky to get a snack and a bottle of water.