text: Potential poll clerk hoping to work early voting claims he was rejected by NYC Board of Elections - New York Daily News
  Potential poll clerk hoping to work early voting claims he was rejected by NYC Board of Elections
  Seamus Campbell says he was rejected as a poll worker for early voting by the BOE despite making clear ahead of time he would only be available on weekends. (Obtained by Daily News)
  City Board of Elections officials told a potential poll worker thanks, but no thanks.
  An eager wanna-be poll clerk, excited about the advent of early voting, says his dreams of manning the ballot box this weekend were crushed when he was told he could only help out if he also worked on Election Day.
  Seamus Campbell, a 30-year-old from Brooklyn Heights, says he was rejected by BOE officials after attending a seven-hour training session despite making clear ahead of time he would only be available on weekends.
  "They only gave me a week's notice about all of this," Campbell told the Daily News. "I was certainly willing to help and I feel a little downturned about how early voting is a great thing and suddenly they don't want people's help."
  Polls opened early in New York for the first time in state history this weekend, allowing voters to skip Election Day lines and cast their ballots at select sites through Sunday, Nov. 3. In all, there are be 60 early voting sites open throughout the five boroughs.
  Campbell claims he received a call on Oct. 17, just over a week before early voting opened, and was told that unless he worked on the general election on Nov. 5, he could not work during the early voting period. But he works a nine-to-five as an administrator with the City College of New York.
  "With the Board of Elections, every time something good comes out, they always need to screw it up," he said.
  Board of Elections spokeswoman Valerie Vazquez-Diaz said there was nothing unusual about Campbell's case, noting that there was simply a lot of interest in early voting positions and anyone committing to all of the hours were given priority.
  "We had a huge request for weekends and priority went to those who would work all 9 days for our first early voting implementation," she said, adding that everyone gets paid for the training hours.
  Site workers will be using electronic tablets to verify voter eligibility, rather than paper lists, for the first time — which Campbell said made him the perfect person to lend a hand.
  Campbell, who is politically active and a member of several Democratic clubs and committees, said he was confused as to why he was rejected and thought maybe some of the workers, who tend to be older or retired, could use a little Millennial assistance.
  "I know I'm a young guy and they want to have people in my age group that are able to understand technology with the e-poll books," he explained.
  Vazquez-Diaz said the civically-minded Campbell should not get discouraged as his training makes him eligible to work the April and June primary elections next year.