In Focus This Week
I. In Focus This Week
Secretaries of state gather for winter meeting
2016 still a major topic of conversation in 2017
By David Levine
Special to electionlineWeekly
On Friday, February 17, 2017 the National Association of Secretaries of State had its first conference since the November 2016 general election, and attendees were excited to analyze the election and prepare for future ones.
Promoting Voter Trust and Confidence in Elections
At a morning general session, “Promoting Voter Trust and Confidence and Elections,” panelists discussed voters’ lack of confidence in elections and electoral systems, despite the generally successful administration of the 2016 general elections.
Large groups of voters have a perception of how the election was administered that did not match reality. For instance, on the day after the election, 33 percent of Republicans and 44 percent of Democrats reported that they thought it was possible for someone to alter how a vote was cast, according to research conducted by Porter Novelli.
“It’s just this lack of awareness of how the process actually works that starts to call into question the integrity of the ballot,” said Rebecca Mark, vice president of Porter Novelli.
David Becker, co-founder and executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, noted that many unsubstantiated challenges to the integrity of the election system – such as allegations of rigging, hacking and widespread fraud – were undoubtedly being seen or heard by these voters.
“As big of a bully pulpit as one side had…there were challenges to the integrity of the system coming from a variety of different place on the [political] spectrum, and this started well before the election,” he said.
But allegations of rigging, hacking, and fraud did not move all communities. Rosalind Gold, senior director of policy, Research and Advocacy for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Education Fund, acknowledged the importance of ballot and voting equipment integrity to voter confidence, but noted these issues “are not as salient to the Latino community as sound election administration practices” and belief in their votes.
A substantial number of Latino voters reported trouble casting their ballot due to problems with the administration of the 2016 general election — such as long lines, malfunctioning voting machines and inadequate language assistance — and a large number of eligible Latino voters did not vote because they didn’t feel their vote would make a difference, she said.
Other factors also likely contributed to low voter confidence, said Miles Rapoport, senior practice fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, including:
- Democracy-related activities not being a regular part of most people’s lives;
- Unnecessary barriers to voting that could be removed by enacting policies such as early voting and same day registration; and
- Other democracy-related issues that reduced a voter’s political clout, such as partisan gerrymandering and the influence of money in politics.
Going forward, panel members suggested multiple ways to improve voter confidence for the 2018 Elections.
Wayne Williams, the Colorado Secretary of State, urged election officials to continue to work with other stakeholders to seek their advice, share election information, and make improvements to ensure that voters are confident in the election process.
Becker encouraged election officials to adopt measures that help improve the administration of the elections, such as adopting online voter registration or enacting robust and transparent audits, and remind stakeholders of the “checks and balances” used to ensure that the election is being administered properly.
Samidh Chakrabarti, product manager for Civic Engagement at Facebook, stated that the social networking company will continue to search for places on its platform to provide election information to people who want it, but aren’t willing to proactively seek it out, to ensure that more individuals participate in the election process and have access to accurate election information.
Cybersecurity and the 2016 Election
At the general session, “Cybersecurity and the 2016 Election,” a talk originally billed as a discussion of cybersecurity in the 2016 General Election, quickly pivoted to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and its role in future elections.
Following the breaches of voter registration data in Arizona and Illinois last year, DHS began offering cybersecurity assistance to many states, at their request, in the run up to the 2016 general election.
In January of 2017, shortly before leaving office, then-DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson decided to designate election infrastructure as critical infrastructure, a designation current Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has indicated he plans to continue. According to then-DHS Secretary Johnson, the designation will enable the country’s election infrastructure —which includes storage facilities, polling places and centralized vote tabulations locations, as well as technology used to manage the election process and report the results — to be a priority for DHS cybersecurity assistance if state and local election officials ask for it.
At the session’s outset, Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill expressed her and many of her colleagues’ concerns with DHS’s designation.
“It’s a broad new role for the federal government….we have concerns about where it could go,” Merrill said, adding that she wants to know in writing what DHS will do as a result of the designation, and that she has been waiting on a response since January.
Neil Jenkins, chief of policy and planning for the U.S. Department of Homeland Policy, acknowledged these criticisms, noting that “It’s not the first time we’ve [DHS] had this issue” with critical infrastructure providers.
However, he defended the designation, underscoring the urgency and time constraints associated with elections.
Noting that “the last thing we want to do for 2018 is to dive back in during and August and September,” Jenkins said that the designation would enable DHS to begin working immediately with election officials to secure certain technologies and processes for future elections.
Merrill indicated that NASS is creating a task force to collaborate with federal agencies and other stakeholders on election cybersecurity matters.
Note: On February 18, 2017, the National Association of Secretaries of States formally voted to: 1) oppose the federal critical infrastructure designation covering election systems; and 2) establish a cybersecurity taskforce to develop and advance priorities and plans on election cybersecurity.
(David Levine is an Election Management Consultant who has administered county, state, federal and private sector elections; developed election policy for non-profit organizations; and monitored elections in other countries. His expertise includes voter registration, election administration, poll worker training, outreach, research design and evaluation, voting system standards, logic and accuracy testing, post-election audits, voting accessibility, evaluating proposals and voting technology.)
Election News This Week
II. Election News This Week
It’s better to do the dumping than get dumped? In an effort to save money, the City of Meridian, Mississippi is considering working directly with a vendor — ES&S — to manage the May 2 municipal election instead of using the services of the Lauderdale County election commission. The city will pay ESS $50,927 to oversee the municipal election. For the 2013 municipal election, the city paid the Lauderdale County Election Commission $24,414, which did not include rental fees for county voting machines. However, before the city could officially decide, the county election commission voted 3-2 to rescind their offer to help with the city’s elections. According to WTOK the election commission made the decision after “much slander, misinformation, accusations and attempts to discredit the Lauderdale County Election Commission by city officials.”
The Oregon Elections Division has reviewed addresses receiving more than 10 ballots and that that only two appear to be “fraudulent.” Most of the addresses receiving more than 10 balltos are retirement homes or fraternity or sorority houses. Secretary of State Dennis Richardson told The Oregonian that it was reassuring to find only two, out of more than 6,500 addresses that are questionable. “I said, ‘Really? Only two?’ I was pleasantly surprised at that,” Richardson told the paper.
Freshman Missouri Rep. Cheri Toalson-Reisch (R-Hallsville) has announced that she will personally help her constituents in Boone County that cannot obtain the necessary documents to get a voter ID. She supported the voter ID measure and disputes that there are disenfranchised voters so she has offered to drive anyone who needs help in getting documentation to the county courthouse and has even offered to pay for that documentation for the first person that comes forward. “I would like to know where these disenfranchised voters are. I’ve never met one, I’ve not seen one, and so I want to help these disenfranchised voters,” Toalson-Reisch told the Columbia Daily Tribune. “I don’t want them to be disenfranchised. I want them to be inclusive and to be a part of the process, not excluded at all.”
Personnel News: Tommy Sandoval has resigned from the Hall County, Georgia board of elections. Larry Leake, former North Carolina Board of Elections member has been appointed to serve as a District Judge by Gov. Roy Cooper. Amy F. Grubbe has been removed from the Erie County, Ohio board of elections by Secretary of State Jon Husted.
Legislative Updates
III. Legislative Updates
Federal Legislation: New York Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-Monroe County) has introduced legislation that would move Election Day from the first Tuesday in November to the first Saturday and Sunday after the first Friday in November. The legislation would change the dates of federal elections every even year, which would include the presidential election every four years.
Alaska: House Bill 7, which would allow voters to take and post ballot selfies has moved out of the Community and Regional Affairs Committee and now moves to the House Rules Committee.
Arkansas: An amendment to a voter ID bill in the House would allow someone who doesn’t show ID to sign a sworn statement under penalty of perjury at the polling site. The ballot would be counted unless the county board of election commissioners finds it invalid based on other grounds. “What we’re trying to put in is something that improves confidence in the integrity of the ballot without unduly disenfranchising voters who for whatever reason don’t have ID,” Rep. Mark Lowery told the Associated Press. “I think it serves as a needful deterrent for anyone who would want to commit election fraud.” The House State Agencies committee has approved the bill which now moves to the full House.
California: Assembly Bill 674, from Evan Low (D-Cupertino) would make November elections on years a holiday for schools and state workers as a way to boost voter turnout.
Idaho: A bill introduced by Rep. Dustin Manwaring (R-Pocatello) and headed to the full House for a vote would limit early voting in Idaho to any time from three weeks prior to an election to one week before. Currently county clerks have the choice begin early voting on or before the third week from the election.
Illinois: Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) has introduced a bill that would amend state election code to have ranked-choice voting in elections for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, secretary of state, treasurer and General Assembly member.
Indiana: The House Elections and Apportionment Committee has approved House Bill 1178 which would allow residents to register to vote when they obtain or renew their driver’s license, permit or identification card at the BMV. The amended bill requires BMV employees to ask residents if they want to be registered to vote.
Montana: Rep. Derek Skees (R-Kalispell) has asked the House State Administration to committee his bill that would have required voters to show a photo ID in order to vote.
Under Senate Bill 305, county elections officials would be permitted to hold the special election to replace U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke with an all vote-by-mail election if they choose to. They could still hold an election using traditional polling places. Many county elections officials are in favor of the bill because it would save them thousands of dollars. However the head of the Montana GOP has said he is opposed to the bill because it would give Democrats an inherent advantage.
Nevada: The Assembly voted 27-15 to approve legislation that would automatically register residents to vote when they obtain a new or renew a driver’s license. The bill must still be approved by the Senate. If approved it will become law on Jan. 1, 2018. If the Senate does not approve the bill, it will go before the voters in November 2018.
New Hampshire: A bill has been introduced that would ban undeclared voters from participating in primary elections unless they change their registration before election day.
New Mexico: SB 224, which has been approved by a Senate committee, would change current law to allow residents to register at any early voting center or a county clerk’s office until three days before an election. The bill would increase the length of time during which voters may register by 25 days, while putting in place safeguards to maintain the security of the state’s voter registration system.
Ohio: Rep. Dorothy Pelanda (R-Marysville) has introduced House Bill 41 that would allow boards of elections to require voters to show a photo ID in order to vote. The bill would also push back challenging a person’s voting eligibility to 30 days before an election.
Texas: Senate Bill 5 would add options for Texans who say they cannot “reasonably” obtain of the seven forms of ID currently required in order to vote. It would also add hard criminal penalties if anyone falsifies their reason for needing to use one of the expanded forms of ID.
U.S. Virgin Islands: The Senate has voted to approve a measure aimed at correcting discrepancies in existing law regarding the unified elections board. Corrections include directing the St. Thomas-St. John Board of Elections to conduct the April 8 election; putting off the unification of both district boards into one board until July 31.
Utah: HB 285, which would have required all counties to provide same-day voter registration has stalled in the House Government Operations Committee. The bill would have enacted a five-year pilot program to extend the test program currently ongoing in eight counties.
The House Government Operations Committee is holding a bill that seeks to limit access to voter registration records. Rep. Becky Edwards (R-North Salt Lake) has agreed to continue eto work on the bill.
The House Government Operations Committee voted 8-1 to forward a ranked-choice voting bill to the full House.
Virginia: A bill intended to shorten the gap between when legislators win special elections and when they take their seats failed to pass a House Privileges and Elections subcommittee. While the bill passed the Senate 23-17 it failed unanimously in the House subcommittee. The bill would have required registrars to certify special elections before every provisional ballot was counted unless the total number of outstanding provisional ballots could change who wins. The provisional ballots still would be counted.
A proposed constitutional amendment overhauling the way Virginia restores voting rights to felons died in a House committee. Senate Joint Resolution 223 would have made restorations automatic after sentences and probations are complete, and any other conditions set by the legislature are met. For violent felons the governor could only restore civil rights five years after any probation or suspended sentence run their course.
The Senate has a passed a bill by a 21-19 vote that would allow localities the option to include photographs of registered voters in their e-poll books. Local elections officials would be able to access voter photos through the DMV. The bill would allow elections officials to challenge the voter if they don’t look like their photo.
Wyoming: A proposal that would have limited party-switching to 30-days prior to an election was defeated in the Senate Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivision Committee by a 3-0 vote.
Legal Updates
III. Legal Updates
Arizona: Alan Faygenblat, 38 of Scottsdale, has been sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation and 160 hours of community restitution for filing false voter registration. Faygenblat argued that he was trying to prove a point that Maricopa County’s voter registration process is flawed.
North Carolina: Governor Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein have withdrawn the state’s petition for a high court review of a voter ID law.
Texas: U.S. District Court Judge Orland Garcia has sanctioned the state of Texas for disregarding court orders to provide documents in a lawsuit over the state’s voter registration practices. According to the Austin American-Statesman, the judge said the months-long delay wasted time and money and was disruptive to the case. He also singled out the attorney general’s office for deficient performance.
Also in Texas, the 13th Court of Appeals has stayed a lower court’s ruling pending an appeal which puts a special city council election in Hidalgo on hold for the time being. The election had been scheduled for March 6.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Texas attorney general’s office have both asked for a delay in a hearing on the state’s voter ID law. According to NewsHour, in the joint filing DOJ and AG Ken Paxton asked to delay the February 28 hearing until summer because the Texas Legislature is considering changes to the existing law.
Utah: According to Fox 13, settlement talks are underway in a lawsuit filed against San Juan County by the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah over Navajo voters’ access to the ballot. “The parties continue to explore possible settlement. The parties have (met) and are in ongoing discussions. Defendants have agreed to this extension of time,” ACLU of Utah Legal Director John Mejia wrote in the filing.
Tech Thursday
IV. Tech Thursday
California: The San Francisco elections commission has asked the mayor for $4 million toward developing the city’s foray into open source voting.
Florida: After 17 years and 179 elections, Polk County is preparing to replace all of its voting machines. While the current machines still work, Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards said they are increasingly difficult to maintain because parts are hard to come by. The cost of replacing all 167 voting machines will be about $3 million.
West Virginia: The Kanawha County commission recently agree to buy new Express Vote touch-screen voting machines and digital scanners for about $3.2 million. The county will spend an additional $349,000 for carts with privacy shields for the machines. The new equipment will allow the county to offer early voting at vote centers throughout the county. “We’re going to have community voting,” County Clerk Vera McCormick said during a commission meeting. “We’ve always wanted it. Before, we could not use it with the equipment we had. With this, we can. I have never not wanted it.”
Opinions This Week
V. Opinions This Week
National Opinion: Voter fraud, II, III, IV, V | Voting rights | Voter ID
Alabama: Ex-felon voting rights
Colorado: Secretary of state
Connecticut: Voter fraud
Illinois: Primary system
Indiana: Voter registration
Iowa: Election integrity bill, II, III | Voter busting
Kansas: Voter fraud
Kentucky: Turnout | Ex-felon voting rights
Massachusetts: Early voting, II
Montana: Special election, II | Voter ID
Nevada: Automatic voter registration
New Hampshire: Voter fraud, II, III | Ranked-choice voting | Automatic voter registration
New Jersey: Voter fraud | Voting access
New Mexico: Dona Ana County
Oregon: Secretary of state | Voter fraud
Pennsylvania: Voter fraud
Texas: Voter ID, II | Mobile polling places | Online voter registration
Utah: Ranked choice voting
Upcoming Events
VI. Upcoming Events
The Changing Trends in Elections — a special workshop from the Election Center where you will hear from colleagues and stakeholders in the election process covering issues such as the Electoral College debate, voter registration and litigation update, modernization of the voter registration process, media review of the 2016 election and polls and media projections impact on election administrators, changes and trends with vote-by-mail and other USPS issues, the 2015 American Community Survey, polling place accessibility and much more. Where: Columbus, Ohio. When: April 26-28.
The Future of Elections: Technology Policy and Funding — Join legislators, legislative staff, elections officials and election administration experts for a discussion on the future of elections technology and how to pay for it. Share ideas on updating voting infrastructure in an era of limited resources and heightened security concerns. In addition to a robust discussion on elections policy, attendees will enjoy all Colonial Williamsburg has to offer. Bring the whole family with you!When: June 14-16. Where: Williamsburg, Virginia.
IaoGO 2017 Annual Conference — Mark your calendars now and stay tuned for more information and registration details on the International Association of Government Officials 2017 Annual Conference. When: July 6-13, 2017. Where: Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin.
NASS 2017 Summer Conference — Mark your calendars now and stay tuned for more information and registration details on the National Association of Secretaries of State 2017 Summer Conference. When: July 7-10, 2017. Where: Indianapolis, Indiana.
NASED 2017 Summer Meeting — Mark your calendars now and stay tuned for more information and registration details on the National Association of State Election Directors 2017 Summer Meeting. When: August 22-25, 2017. Where: Anaheim, California.
Job Postings This Week
VII. Job Postings This Week
electionlineWeekly publishes election administration job postings each week as a free service to our readers. To have your job listed in the newsletter, please send a copy of the job description, including a web link tommoretti@electionline.org. Job postings must be received by 5pm on Wednesday in order to appear in the Thursday newsletter. Listings will run for three weeks or till the deadline listed in the posting.
Account Manager, Clear Ballot, Boston — we are looking for a talented Account Manager to play an active role in developing and maintaining long-term working relationships with Clear Ballot’s customers. This person should be able to work independently and in partnership with other team members to achieve high customer satisfaction. The account manager will have a regional assignment, with certain customers assigned to him/her. Deadline: Open until filled. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Ballot Processing Manager, Adams County, Colorado — we are seeking a manager to provide planning, leadership oversight, and supervision to the working groups within the ballot processing area and provide leadership/supervision, as well as planning and administrative support, to the Elections Operations and Logistics area during non-election cycles. The successful candidate will contribute information for budget planning; prepare and maintain records and reports; develop and administer performance standards, expectations, and evaluations to two full-time employees; administer Military and Overseas (UOCAVA) voter registration and ballot delivery program; administer all mail ballot delivery, sorting, receiving, and deconstruction; and oversee the Health Care Facility ballot delivery and Canvass process. Salary: $51,904-$72,665. Deadline: March 6 4:30pm Mountain. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Customer Service Consultant, Hart InterCivic — Hart InterCivic is seeking a Customer Service Consultant who has a strong desire to provide an outstanding customer experience for a growing company. Our Customer Service Consultant supports our customers on a daily basis by providing the following: Foster and develop positive customer relations by providing courteous, prompt and proactive customer service. Communicate with customers by phone, email or other correspondence. Respond to customer requests in a timely manner. Ensure timely Order Fulfillment through interactions with customers, other internal departments, and vendors: Create price quotations, orders, and similar requests for customers. Process purchase orders and enter purchase information into Order Management System. Verify all purchase orders and order information for accuracy. Contact customers to verify the information on purchase orders as it may be appropriate. Provide customers with assistance and information on part numbers, order status, troubleshooting their purchase orders, or other requests. Act as a liaison and coordinate with other departments through order completion and to expedite or resolve any issues or concerns. Provide follow up and respond to customer issues, inquiries, emails, correspondence, or other requests. Assist in maintaining up to date customer files. Partner with other departments to prepare documentation to process returns and credit memos. Partner with other departments to process requests for internal orders, including capital expenditure requests. Maintain a current working knowledge of product lines, prices, lead-time, and other relevant information. Deadline: Open until filled. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Customer Service Representative, Collier County, Florida— purpose of this classification is to provide clerical support and customer service. Work involves preparing a variety of documents; entering data and retrieving information from department databases; maintaining automated and manual files; and assisting callers, customers and/or visitors. Salary: $34,000-$38,000. Deadline: Open until filled. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Elections & Special Districts Director, Cochise County, Arizona — under general direction of the County Administrator, provides professional level project planning in all functions related to the conduct of voting and election activities for the County. Under limited supervision, perform work of considerable difficulty to plan, organize, coordinate, direct and control all activities of the Elections & Special Districts Department in compliance with statutory and regulatory federal and state requirements. Prepare and manage the annual fiscal budget for the department, develop long-range plans and anticipates/identifies long-term organizational needs. Sound judgment and considerable communication and interpersonal skills are required in this position. Salary: $60,000-$90,000. Deadline: Open until filled. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
IT Specialist, Collier County, Florida — the IT Support Specialist works closely with IT staff to provide technical support and assistance to all staff located within the Supervisor of Elections office. This person will work with a wide variety of elections industry specific technologies to include hardware, software, programming, printers, and applications. In addition, this person will be providing support and assistance for non-election industry networking technology to include workstations, servers, printers, etc. Salary: $44,000-$50,000. Deadline: Open until filled. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Product Specialist, Denver, Colorado — Dominion Voting Systems is seeking a tech-savvy, passionate Product Specialist to join our team in downtown Denver! This position will be responsible for providing technical support on all Dominion Voting Systems products both on-site, via the telephone or via email; write detailed, technical documentation for distribution internally and externally; and interface directly with customers, co-workers, and election officials. Salary: Negotiable base + bonus target & benefits. Deadline: Open until filled. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Research Fellow- Elections, The Democracy Fund — the Elections Program focuses on election administration and money in politics by supporting unbiased research, bipartisan dialogue, and unconventional solutions that will ensure the views and votes of the American public come first in our democracy. We are looking for candidates who are available part-time (20-30 hours/week) and can support the research needs of the Elections Program team, which may include both qualitative and quantitative analysis. A successful candidate has the ability to work with policy experts and academics on questions fundamental to our program and has a high interest in making meaningful contributions to elections and voting research. Deadline: Open until filled. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Senior Software Engineer, Clear Ballot, Boston — Clear Ballot is looking for a talented Senior Software Engineer to be responsible for building and enhancing enterprise level web applications using JavaScript to create rich, dynamic and visually appealing experiences. You should have expert knowledge of python, JavaScript and MySQL, as well as experience with various operating systems (Windows 10, Linux Ubuntu). The ideal candidate should have strong technical skills utilizing the latest concepts in front-end development, including responsive techniques, accessibility and client-side frameworks. You will be working with a small team of highly skilled individuals to build a platform that is changing the elections industry. Deadline: Open until filled. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Senior Technical Trainer, Clear Ballot, Boston, Massachusetts — our small and growing documentation and training team has an immediate need for a new member with intermediate-to-senior experience in: Instructional design, development of learning curricula, production of training materials, and hands-on, customer facing training. Generally, the training department, technical staff, and operations staff provide training at the customer’s site. We need an instructional designer and trainer who can analyze the learners and materials, and establish an appropriately targeted learning program. The opportunity exists to develop computer based training as an enhancement to our learning curriculum. Deadline: Open until filled. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Systems Engineer, Clear Ballot, Boston, Massachusetts — we are looking for a talented Systems Engineer who has both a technical and services/support background which enables them to quickly assess customer needs and offer value to Clear Ballot’s customers. The Systems Engineer will gain a deep understanding of how Clear Ballot’s products operate and their optimal configuration to build a streamlined installation process of the Clear Vote election system. The ideal candidate for this position can prioritize mission critical tasks and coordinate the implementation and expansion of our systems. They will be able to work directly with customers, display innovation, think conceptually and act tactically to build consensus around system installation and enhancement and meet deadlines. Deadline: Open until filled. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Vote-by-Mail Coordinator, Collier County, Florida —purpose of this classification is to issue vote-by-mail ballots, handle vote-by-mail voter service inquiries, maintain voter records, and support all other vote-by-mail ballot functions. Duties include: Interacts daily with registered voters and makes decisions regarding the vote-by-mail balloting process. As part of a team, works well with others and communicates ideas effectively. Exchanges information, coordinates assignments, and problem solves with others. Supervises temporary workers for ballot processing and voter inquiries during peak election cycles. Designs routing and sorting schemes and then loads, operates, adjusts, and repairs machinery used by vote-by-mail department. Maintains database information for vote-by-mail ballots by entering voter registrations and vote-by-mail ballot requests, retrieving voter information, and providing detailed reports. Creates new spreadsheets/files and purges old data. Researches information from databases as requested. Generates reports, logs, and listings from databases. May include scanning paper documents into digital database. Administers the security of vote-by-mail ballots by ensuring secure distribution, receipt, and storage. Controls voted vote- by-mail ballot acceptance, signature verification, sorting, and extraction. Prepares department records, reports, and forms. Prepares correspondence and letters; receives documents and retrieves information from drafts, summaries, databases, or other source documents; incorporates information into prepared materials; proofreads for accuracy and completeness; copies and distributes documents as appropriate. Requests information from other departments as necessary to complete department records/files. Answers telephones; assists callers with questions regarding election related issues, services, or procedures; refers callers to other staff members as appropriate. Responds to email, web, and fax inquiries. Operates a personal computer, telephones, copiers, mailing, and other general office equipment as necessary to complete essential functions, to include the use of word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, database, and other system software. Salary: $38,000-$42,000. Deadline: Open until filled. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Voter Registration Specialist II, Yavapai County, Arizona — under minimal supervision, supervises temporary employees and performs all forms of customer service and office procedures. Also performs technical work of increasing difficulty in the operation of Voter Registration and specialized mailing and printing equipment. Major Duties and Responsibilities: Maintains complex voter registration database; manage all phases of printing and mailing of voter materials. Helps manage all phases of mailing and receiving ballots; purchases and maintains inventory of stock; accounts for beginning and ending inventory of ballots. Assists the Registrar of Voters in planning, organizing and preparing for upcoming Elections. Oversees day-to-day office duties; supervises and provides clerical operational support to assigned staff; maintains daily and monthly reports; monitors and performs the maintenance of voter registration records and lists. Prepares periodic and special reports including statistical reports to the Parties, statutory reports to Secretary of State’s office and audit reports to election for canvass. Provides information to the public by answering questions and resolving complaints regarding election/VR laws and procedures. Orders supplies for the Voter Registration department. Performs other job related duties as assigned. Salary: $17.18-$19.75/hour. Deadline: Open until filled. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Electionline Underwriting
VIII. Electionline Underwriting
For almost 15 years, electionline.org has brought you all the election administration reform news and information of the day through electionlineToday and of the week through our weekly newsletter electionlineWeekly.
Because of the generosity of such organizations as The Pew Charitable Trusts, Democracy Fund and the Hewlett Foundation we were able to bring you that news and information for free and free of advertising.
In order to continue providing you with the important news of the day and week we are now offering monthly underwriting for our daily and weekly postings (think more NPR, less local radio and television).
Underwriting will be available for electionlineToday, the weekly email that reaches about 4,800 inboxes each week and the weekly newsletter. Underwriting is available on a per-month basis and costs $2,500 per section per month. The underwriting is available on a first come, first-served basis. Each section will be exclusive to one underwriter per month.
We will accept underwriting from a variety of entities in the elections world, but will not accept political advertising.
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