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Election 2019 Updates

Ties: The general public is always in disbelief when an election ends in a tie and we like to point out they happen at least once a cycle and this year was no different. In Magnolia, Ohio, the mayor’s race ended in a tie which will be decided by a coin toss. In Hildebran, North Carolina, a race for a town council seat ended in a tie. That race too will be decided by a coin toss. In Helena, Montana not one, not two, but three races for citizens council districts ended in ties. The ballots for each of the tied races will be recounted and if they still end in a tie, a winner will be appointed. The race for Elk Run Heights, Iowa mayor ended in a tie with the race ultimately being decided by the winners name being drawn out of a hat. And in Killingly, Connecticut, after a race for town council ended in a tie, a re-vote was scheduled, however, citing the costs of a re-vote the Republican challenger has yielded the position to the incumbent Democrat.

Early Voting: Early voting in Louisiana came to an end over the weekend with the second-highest early voting numbers since the state began early voting. Nearly half a million people cast their ballots during the roughly one-week early voting window. While the state didn’t break an early voting record several parishes did. In New York, which held early voting for the very first time in 2019, the jury is still out on whether or not it should be deemed successful with regard to increasing turnout. And some counties did report issues with early voting trickled over and caused issues on Election Day.

Election Equipment: While most counties in multiple states successfully rolled out new voting equipment on November 5, there were some notable exceptions and fallout continued a week after Election Day. At press time, it was still unclear what caused the problems with Northampton County, Pennsylvania’s new voting machines and further complicating matters was the discovery of uncounted ballots nearly a week after the election. In York County, Pennsylvania it took two days for the results to be complete and the governor’s office blamed the state GOP for stirring up the issue more than it deserved. New voting equipment in Travis County, Texas presented an interesting problem with 108 voters leaving the polling place without placing their ballot in the ballot scanner. The 108 missing ballots were not within the margin of error for the races. Probably the most universal problem reported was about the lack of privacy surrounding new paper ballot systems. Voters in many states including South Carolina complained about a lack of privacy when casting a ballot.

Vote-by-mail: Rockville, Maryland held the state’s first ever all vote-by-mail election with turnout nearly doubling from previous city elections. While turnout was a huge success, that also led to some issues with timely results that left just over a dozen canvassers hand-veryfying thousands of same-day ballots. “I think it’s fair to say that any significant vote-by-mail system is going to require some modifications,” Alysoun McLaughlin, deputy director of the county’s Board of Elections, who oversaw Tuesday’s count told Bethesda Magazine. “The efficiency of the process is something the city, the county, and the state will need to look at, in terms of processing that number of ballots in such a short amount of time.” And in Colorado, 828 mail ballots didn’t arrive in several areas until Election Day, which complicated issues in razor-thin races. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold has called on regulations or legislation requiring the U.S. Postal Service to notify election elections officials of delays in delivering mail ballots.

Recanvass: At press time, officials in Kentucky’s 120 were conducting a recanvass of the state’s gubernatorial election after incumbent Gov. Matt Bevin (R) requested on citing irregularities although he provided no proof and local elections officials have reported no problems.

Election Security Updates

According to The Hill a group of advocacy organizations let by Stand Up America and including the Sierra Club and Indivisible are pushing the Senate to include election security funds — $600 million—in the upcoming CR to fund the government.

“Time has almost run out to provide states with the resources they need to protect the 2020 election,” the groups wrote in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  (R-Kentucky) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York). “The best opportunity for lawmakers to effectively secure our elections before 2020 is by including $600 million in directed appropriations for election security in the continuing resolution that will extend government funding past November 21, 2019—when current government funding runs out.”

This week, The Brennan Center for Justice released a new report, A Framework for Election Vendor Oversight, concluding that a lack of federal regulatory pressure on private-sector voting equipment vendors has created dangerous security vulnerabilities. The report recommends: 

• A new federal certification program should be empowered to issue standards and enforce vendors’ compliance;
• Congress should reconstitute the EAC’s Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) to include members with more cybersecurity expertise and empower it to issue best practices for election vendors;
• Congress should expand the EAC’s existing voluntary certification and registration power to include election vendors and their various products;
•  In its expanded oversight role, the EAC should task its Testing and Certification Division with assessing vendors’ ongoing compliance with certification standards; and
• There must be a clear protocol for addressing violations of federal guidelines by election vendors.

This week, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced the Election Technology Research Act (HR 4990) that would establish and elections systems center of excellence at NIST to promote cooperation between the agency, state and local governments, and academia; direct NIST to provide technical assistance to state and local election officials on implementation of cybersecurity and privacy standards; and authorize research grants for elections systems research and education at NSF. The bill would also expand the 2002 Help America Vote Act definition of “voting systems” to include electronic poll books and voter registration systems.

Election News This Week

Whether it’s an overzealous squirrel or weather-related, polling places nationwide often suffer brief power outages on Election Day. But what if it’s a prolonged and planned power outage? California counties are facing that prospect for future as elections as power companies in the state shut down the grid more frequently and for longer periods of time to combat the possibility of wildfires. From backup generators to working with  nearby elections offices, counties are planning ahead. “Obviously we’re having to consider [outages] at a level that we hadn’t thought about before,” Jesse Salinas Yolo County’s chief elections official told California Public Radio. “In case for some reason the generator blows, we still need a way to count the ballots.” Yolo County has an agreement with nearby Solano County to use that county’s voting tabulation machines to count ballots. The secretary of state’s office said it is working to secure additional funding for county elections offices so they can buy back-up generators.

Beginning in 2020, Hawaii will move to an all vote-by-mail system and recently the four county clerks and Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago gave an update on preparations to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. Maui, Kauai and Hawaii county have all purchased new vote counting machines, while Honolulu, which modernized its vote counting system in 2014, will purchase eight to 10 half-ton boxes for ballot deposit. According to the Honolulu Civil Beat, between now and election season, Nago said that state and counties will be focusing on voter education, including making people aware that traditional polling places won’t exist anymore. “We’re understanding that voters don’t necessarily know that,” Nago said. “Now, your polling place will come to you.”

There’s a growing problem in the Jefferson County, Arkansas election commission office. Literally. There is a mold problem in the office that is not only putting the health of staff at risk, but is also putting the 150 electronic voting machines stored there at risk. Technicians from a local company came to test the air quality in the office and found that there was significant mold contamination. “They came in with meters and the lady was disbelieving the readings she was getting in the [personal electronic ballot] room,” Commissioner Stuart Soffer said at a commission meeting according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “So she called me in to look at the readings. The reading in the room was 73,300 particles per cubic foot.” Because the problem inside the office are so great the commission will now look for a new location.

Years before the rest of the country got around to it, Wyoming became the first state to give women the right to vote in 1869 and on September 6, 1870 Louisa Ann Swain of Laramie became the first woman to vote in a general election. As we move into 2020, the 100th anniversary of national suffrage, the Wyoming Eagle Tribune has an interesting series of articles on suffrage in the Cowboy State including one on how suffrage was viewed by Native American women and how female voter participation in the state today was impacted by those early years. 

Don’t let anyone tell you different, voting is sexy and this week we’ve got just the news combination to prove it. We rarely (ever?!?!) get to talk about People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive and elections in the same breath, but lucky us, the 2019 cover star is John Legend. Legend is a longtime advocate for criminal justice reform and he was on hand last week in Miami-Dade when about 20 people with felony convictions and outstanding financial obligations had their voting rights restored. While the fate of Amendment 4 plays out in court, Miami-Dade has implemented a process to restore the voting rights of those who still owe financial restitution. “It’s so beautiful to see real people affected by this law are so happy to vote, so many people take it for granted this right to vote and when you lose it I think it makes you realize how important it is and it makes you feel even more joy and accomplishment to come back,” Legend told The Miami Herald. EGOT, People’s Sexiest Man Alive and now featured in electionline Weekly, one might say he’s quite the Legend.

Sticker News: Broomfield, Colorado recently held its first-ever “I Voted” sticker contest and received 14 entries that were then voted on by nearly 400 residents during Broomfield Days. There were four winners in total, one for the just-passed 2019 coordinated election, one for the 2020 presidential primary, one for the 2020 state primary and one for the 2020 general election. The contest wasn’t without controversy though, when one resident emailed the elections office to complain that the “t” in “voted” in the 2019 winner looked like a cross. Boone County, Missouri received more than 100 submissions for their “I Voted” sticker contest featuring the work from area high school students. A panel narrowed the submissions down to four and now the final pick is up to the people!

Personnel News: Porchia Anthony has been appointed to the Sunflower County, Mississippi election commission. Lance Gaugh, executive director of the Chicago board of elections is retiring following the March primary after more than 30 years with the board. Nikki Suchanic is resigning as the York County, Pennsylvania director of elections. Former West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant has announced that she will seek that office again in 2020. 

Research and Report Studies

The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) released a report on voter registration in Palm Beach County, Florida last week. The report, Calm Before the Storm: Are Palm Beach County’s Elections Protected Against Emerging Threats?, summarizes findings from PILF’s audit of the county’s voter registration rolls. The report identifies: 225 individuals who appear to have voted twice, once in Palm Beach County and once in another state, during the 2016 and 2018 general elections; 20,479 active voter registration records in New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island that “matched as duplicates” with records in Palm Beach County; 68 instances of voters registered at non-residential addresses; 2,208 registrants who appear to be deceased; 156 instances where voters who appear to be deceased were credited with voting from 2008 to 2018; and 68 cases of voter registration cancellations where citizenship eligibility was the primary factor for removal.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund jointly issued a report on Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act last week. The report, Practice-Based Preclearance: Protecting Against Tactics Persistently Used to Silence Minority Communities’ Votes, examines various discriminatory tactics, including: changes to the method of election to entrench majority dominance; redistricting after significant demographic changes; annexations and de-annexations that reduce minority share of the electorate; restrictive identification and proof of citizenship requirements; polling place closures and realignments; and withdrawal of multilingual materials and assistance. The report recommends restoring a practice-based geographic coverage formula for Section 5 and creating a complementary provision that targets known discriminatory practices.

(Research and Report Summaries are written by David Kuennen.)

Legislative Updates

Colorado: National group Citizen Voters has gathered more than 200,000 signatures in an effort to get an initiative on the ballot that would attempt to change the state’s constitution so it expressly limits voting to only U.S. citizens.

New York: Legislators are considering a settlement agreement between Albany County and voter Rita O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan tripped on an exposed cord at her polling place and claims the injuries she suffered were serious and permanent. The setup of the open and exposed electrical wires constituted a defective and hazardous condition and caused (O’Sullivan) to sustain serious and permanent injuries,” the lawsuit alleged. O’Sullivan’s attorney Brian Devane said they hope to resolve the matter without going to trial with the Legislature’s approval of a $225,000 settlement.

Pennsylvania: Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery County has introduced a new bill that would move Pennsylvania to a ranked choice voting system.

Wisconsin: The Common Council of Milwaukee approved legislation that seeks to restore voting rights to formerly incarcerated residents. Common Council File # 191090 directs the city’s Intergovernmental Relations Division to support 2019 Wisconsin Senate Bill 348, which restores the right to vote to certain persons barred from voting as a result of a felony charge, changes the information required on voter registration forms, and changes voting procedures for certain persons who are convicted of felonies.

Also in Milwaukee County board recently voted 11-5 to give county employees time off in order to work at polling places on Election Day. The proposal states that county employees will be allowed paid time off to work at the polling sites. “It is the duty of Milwaukee County to support the cities and villages within its boundaries to support elections,” reads the resolution. It goes onto call this, “an objective which can only be achieved through adequately staffing municipal polling locations to effectively register voters, distribute ballots, count ballots, and report results.”

Legal Updates

Michigan: Super PAC Priorities USA is suing Attorney General Dana Nessel in federal court alleging that a state ban on providing rides to polling places “make it even more difficult for voters for whom voting is already difficult— in particular, voters without access to private transportation — to vote,” the lawsuit said. “These voters include senior voters, minority voters, voters who are disabled, and low-income voters, who traditionally use absentee voting and lack access to private transportation at greater rates.”

New Hampshire: Robert Bell, 77 of Atkinson was sentenced to 50 hours of community service and a $1,000 fine after a Rockingham County jury convicted him of voting in more than one state in the same election.

New Mexico: Laura Seeds, wife of an Espanola city councilmember  has been convicted on five counts of felony voter fraud. She was found guilty of two counts of making false statements relative to the municipal election code, one count of conspiracy to violate the election code and two counts of unlawful possession of another’s absentee ballot. Laura Seeds was accused of forging signatures on absentee ballots to get her husband elected. Prosecutors say she is facing more than 7 ½ years in prison at her Dec. 9 sentencing.

New York: State Supreme Court Justice Jonathan Nichols has rejected a request for a court order invalidating rules that govern an independent elections watchdog. Nichols ruled that the Board of Elections’ commissioners have broad authority to issue such regulations, which include allowing anyone under investigation to seek to quash subpoenas. Commissioners voted in 2018 to require the state’s independent enforcement counsel to justify in writing each subpoena they want to issue when investigating alleged campaign finance and election law cases. Board members said the change gives them greater oversight over important investigations.

Texas: The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a federal district judge’s ruling that Texas was violating federal law by failing to register residents to vote when they updated their driver’s licenses online. The panel of three federal judges that considered the case did not clear the state of wrongdoing but instead determined that the three Texas voters who had brought the lawsuit did not have standing to sue.

Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty has filed a federal lawsuit against the Wisconsin Elections Commission alleging that the commission has violated state law by not removing 234,000 voters whom may have moved from the state’s voter rolls. “The Wisconsin Election Commission was warned in October that they were acting contrary to state law by allowing voter registrations at old addresses to remain active beyond 30 days,” WILL president and general counsel Rick Esenberg said in a statement. “Instead of reversing course, the Wisconsin Election Commission has stubbornly doubled down. This lawsuit is about accountability, the rule of law, and clean and fair elections.”

Tech Thursday

Voting App: Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) has sent a letter Defense Secretary Mark Esper requesting a review of the Voatz voting app that’s been used to allow military and overseas voters from West Virginia to Denver to Oregon to cast a ballot via smartphone. Wyden wrote that he is “very concerned about the significant security risks associated with voting over the internet.” He cited the National Academy of Sciences, which recommended in 2018 that no internet voting be used until much stricter security measures can be put into place.

Voting Equipment: Two counties are taking a stand against state mandates to purchase voting equipment. In Pennsylvania, Dauphin County commissioners have said the county will not purchase new equipment for 2020. “It’s been clear all along that the commissioners had some very serious misgivings about this mandate and being forced to make this change when there clearly wasn’t any need to make this change,” Dauphin County Chief Clerk Chad Saylor said according to the Associated Press. And in Guilford County, North Carolina, the county commission has spoken out a state mandate to purchase new equipment and it’s unclear if the votes will be there to authorize the purchase. “If the General Assembly thinks they can do a better job running the elections, they can come on into Guilford County and do it,” Commissioner Justin Conrad said according to the Rhino Times.

Opinions This Week

National Opinions: Ranked choice voting, II | 2020 preview, II, III | Election security | Voting equipment, II | Compulsory voting | Election Day holiday | Voter suppression | Vendors | Disinformation | Electoral process | Election confidence | U.S. Election Assistance Commission

Arkansas: Pulaski County

California: Butte County

Connecticut: Election Day

Florida: Trust in elections |Ex-felon voting rights, II, III

Georgia: Voting system, II | Secretary of state

Indiana: Turnout

Kansas: Ranked choice voting

Kentucky: Recanvass, II | Election integrity | Poll workers

Louisiana: Turnout

Massachusetts: Lowell election | Super precincts

Michigan: Absentee voting, II | Voter registration

Mississippi: Vote count

Montana: Native American voting rights

New Hampshire: Ranked choice voting

New Jersey: Ex-felon voting rights | Vote-by-mail

New York: Ranked choice voting | Inmate voting | Early voting, II | Election reform

North Carolina: Early voting | Board of elections meetings

Ohio: Lucas County

Pennsylvania: Election equipment, II, III, IV, V | Northampton County Cyberattacks

Tennessee: Runoff | Student voting rights

Texas: Election Day

Virginia: Turnout, II | Poll workers

West Virginia: Provisional ballot dispute

Wyoming: Suffrage

2019 Clearie Awards

EAC opens submission period in Fourth Annual Clearie Awards
Celebrating best practices in election administration

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is seeking submissions for its fourth annual national Clearinghouse Awards. Dubbed the “Clearies” for short, the awards provide election offices an opportunity to share their innovative efforts and celebrate successes. The Clearies play an important role in furthering the EAC’s responsibilities under the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). Under that Act, the EAC serves as a clearinghouse for election administration information.

The Commission will present awards in the categories of outstanding innovations in elections, improving voting accessibility for voters with disabilities, and recruiting, training and retaining election workers. It will also award a special award in 2019 recognizing the most original and creative “I Voted” sticker submitted for consideration. Entries from all sizes of jurisdictions, both large and small, are encouraged to submit their work. All entries must be received by Monday, November 25, 2019. The 2018 winners of the Clearie awards can be found here.

“The EAC Clearie Awards celebrate the innovative and creative approaches that election officials use each day in their work to serve voters,” said EAC Chairwoman Christy McCormick. “These awards are a testament to their work and dedication and highlight best practices that other election administrators can emulate.”

This year’s entries will be judged using the following criteria:

• Innovation
• Sustainability
• Outreach efforts
• Cost-effectiveness
• Replicability
• Creating positive Results

Election officials utilize innovative and resourceful initiatives on Election Day. We want to hear about these outstanding best practices in EAC’s 2019 competition. By incorporating Election Day into the submission deadline, we are able to capture activities implemented throughout the 2018 and 2019 elections.

All submissions should be sent to the EAC via an email to clearinghouse@eac.gov. Nominators should use the following subject lines based on entry category: Election Worker Competition, Accessibility Competition, Outstanding Innovations Competition, or Sticker Competition.

All entries must include a summary of the election program nominated. Entrants may attach relevant documents, images and links that can be used to assess the entry. Submissions should also include contact information for the person submitting the program for consideration. Each entry must be submitted in a separate email.

For more information about this year’s competition, please contact Patrick Leahy at pleahy@eac.gov.

Upcoming Events

Surveying RCV in 2019 Webinar — 2019 has been a big year for Ranked Choice Voting.  Join the Ranked Choice Voting Center as they survey RCV updates, initiatives, and implementations from Election Day 2019. When: 11am Nov. 19. Where: Online.

IGO 2020 Mid-Winter Conference — The International Association of Government Officials will hold its 2020 Mid-Winter Conference in Isle of Palms, SC on January 24-30, 2020. This conference will offer approximately 30 hours of continuing education with 9 hours hosted by iGO’s new Certified Public Leader (CPL) Partner, Pepperdine University! Join iGO at Wild Dunes Resort this January to further your education on best practices, industry trends, and emerging technology, all while creating and strengthening professional relationships. iGO’s conferences provide the perfect combination of education and networking events to appeal to current members, prospective members, and non-members alike. Where: Isle of Palms, South Carolina. When: Jan. 24-30.

NASED Winter 2020 — Twice a year, the National Association of State Election Directors members gather to discuss the latest developments in election administration.  Members of the public are welcome to attend at the non-member registration rate. Check back here for more information about the Winter 2020 Conference. Where: Washington, DC. When: January 30-February 2.

NASS Winter 2020 — The National Association of Secretaries of State will hold their Winter 2020 conference at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington, D.C.’s West End. Check back here for more information about the Winter 2020 conference when it becomes available. Where: Washington, D.C. When: January 30-February 2.

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 to mmoretti@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.

Advanced Data Analyst, North Carolina SBOE— This position is responsible for technical and analytical work with an emphasis on data analytics. Employee uses their knowledge and expertise to participate in the collection, preprocessing and analysis of structured, unstructured, and geospatial data, analyze data from disparate sources to discover trends, propose solutions and strategies to business challenges, and present information using various data visualization tools and techniques. The employee should be able to work collaboratively in cross-functional teams as well as independently with minimal supervision. Salary: $82,485 – $95,000. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Assurance Engineer, Free & Fair — Free & Fair (F&F) seeks an experienced assurance engineer—a developer who is thrilled to work on high-assurance open source elections technologies that demonstrate what is possible with modern applied formal methods-based development processes, methodologies, tools, and techniques. Our focus on national critical infrastructure, transparent engineering, and formal assurance makes this opportunity unique. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Database Administrator, North Carolina SBOE— Responsible for the administration of all county and state campaign finance and elections databases and database server instances. Collaborate and consult with the Infrastructure Group personnel on issues relating to data storage, access, backup/restore, and data archiving. Implement measures to provide for database integrity, backup and recovery, disaster recovery, and business continuity. Establish data security and access policies/practices. Based on knowledge of agency systems and supported applications; develop complex SQL code to automate routine administration tasks, continuously monitor infrastructure resources and processes and generate timely operational and maintenance alerts (including the disposition of county/state transactions, replication, scheduled database jobs, and the status of servers and services). Establish and administer database management, design, and coding standards. Create and maintain technical and procedural documentation. Model database entities and attributes and maintain data dictionary. Communicate database related issues and problems with relevant agency team members, developers, testers, and managers. Recommend and employ third party database tools to enhance efficiency and support capabilities. Salary: $82,485 – $95,000. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Deputy Director of Elections, Pennsylvania Department of State— The Department of State has an exciting opportunity for a Deputy Director of Elections in the Bureau of Election Security and Technology. If you are interested in safe-guarding the integrity of the electoral process while assisting with the management of operations within the Bureau, this position may be for you. Join the Commonwealth and experience the satisfaction of public service while enjoying professional career growth. The Bureau of Election Security and Technology is responsible for promoting the integrity of the electoral process. As the Deputy Director, you will work closely with the Bureau Director to assist with the daily management of the bureau and personnel. Work involves coordinating the development and implementation of security and technology related standards; developing and implementing policies and procedures regarding the infrastructure of elections, voter registration, and other department data that is critical and/or sensitive in nature; identifying and developing training needs and materials for department and county staff; and developing compliance and auditing protocols focusing on election security, data, and technology. Salary: $57,741 – $87,687. Deadline: Nov. 22. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Director of Elections, Henderson County, North Carolina— An employee in this class is responsible for planning elections, negotiating and setting up polling places, and training staff and poll workers. Work also includes establishing procedures and methods used in registration; supervising the receiving and processing of voter registrations; filing of candidates for elected office in the County; and providing staff support to the County Board of Elections in coordinating and scheduling meetings, recording minutes, drafting the budget and notifying them of potential voter problems and trends. Independent judgment and initiative, tact and courtesy are required in operating the Elections Office. Work is performed in accordance with the State election laws and policies and procedures established by the State and County Board of Elections. Work is performed under the general supervision of the County Board of Elections and is evaluated through reports, periodic conferences and efficiency of office and elections operations. Salary: $51,558.00 – 96,856.50. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Director of Elections, Northampton County, North Carolina— The Northampton County Board of Elections is accepting applications for a Director in the Elections office to perform administrative and coordinative work in organizing and maintaining voter registrations, County candidates’ filing records, and managing the election process for the County and the Elections Board. Education/Requirements: Graduation from a two-year college with a degree in business or related field and several years of responsible clerical experience dealing with the public, preferable at least a year of experience with the electoral process; or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Must possess a valid North Carolina driver’s license upon hire. Must be willing to work towards certification as a Notary Public and take the N.C. State Board of Elections Treasurer Training within the probationary period (9 months); if classes and/or trainings are available within the allotted time frame. Salary: $35,018 – $61,796. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Director of Elections, Rutherford County, North Carolina— The employee in this class is responsible for planning, directing and supervising all areas of the election process and the daily operations of the Elections Department. Work includes preparing for and executing all federal, state and municipal elections in the county; ensuring accuracy of election results; preparing voting equipment and supplies for elections; training poll workers; conducting voter education and registration drive programs; maintaining addressing of voters by use of maps; overseeing the filing of campaign finance reports; and overseeing and participating in voter registration. Work also involves developing and implementing procedural and technical improvements for the elections process and department operations; preparing and maintaining the departmental budget; preparing bid specifications for election services and equipment; answering questions from the public and the media; and maintaining the department website. The employee provides staff support to the County Board of Elections in coordinating and scheduling meetings, preparing agendas, recording and reviewing minutes, and presenting potential voter problems and trends. Independent sound judgment, initiative, tact and courtesy are required in overseeing the filing and elections processes and in dealing with the general public. Work requires a thorough knowledge of State Statutes relating to election laws and a high degree of accuracy is critical. Work is performed in accordance with State election laws and policies and procedures established by the County Board of Elections. Work is performed under the general direction of the State Board of Elections, County Board of Elections and the County Manager and is reviewed through accuracy of records, efficiency of office and election operations, and feedback from the public. Salary: Minimum starting salary $54,397. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Director of Elections, Surry County, North Carolina — Surry County is accepting applications for a Director of Elections. This individual is responsible for overseeing, directing and administering the Board of Elections Office. This position requires someone who can thrive in a high-stress, high scrutiny environment. The Director of Elections performs complex technical, supervisory and administrative work directing the registration, voting and election activities for Surry County. The Director of Elections is appointed by the Surry County Board of Elections and approved by the State Board. This position exercises supervision over office staff and precinct election officials, interprets laws, regulations, policies, and procedures and makes appropriate decisions accordingly. Must have the ability to exercise tact and courtesy and to work under pressure and adapt to rapidly changing circumstances. Other duties as required and all duties must be performed in a nonpartisan manner. Salary: $50,544 -$86,004.  Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Director of Elections, Tyrell County, North Carolina— Tyrrell County is seeking qualified applicants for the full time position of Election Director. The Director performs responsible administrative, legal, technical and mechanical work in planning, organizing and directing all aspects of the election process. Plans for various elections on an annual basis covering primaries, second primaries, municipal elections, general elections, special elections, recommends annual budget to the Board; plans for and purchases supplies as needed; identifies number of polling places required and potential location and negotiates usage as needed; insures ADA compliance. Processes voter registrations, assures each voter is placed in the correct precinct and in the correct local, state, and federal districts; oversees the preparation and revisions of geocodes for redistricting, filing of candidates for office including managing their campaign finance, as well as auditing their reports. Handles all ballot preparation for the vendors, proofs, orders and burns the coding from the vendor to the flash and M100 cards used during the election. The Director is responsible for testing the coding against a generated test script used to test the equipment during the Logic and Accuracy testing of the AutoMark (visual and hearing impaired equipment) and the M100 that read the ballots. The training of all workers for One Stop and Election Day as well as preparing the equipment and necessary materials needed at each precinct. The Board Members and the Director meet weekly during an election and are responsible for Election Night with the processing of the unofficial results with accurate reports to the State Board of Elections and to the public in a timely manner. After Election Day the Director moves to the research and processing of Provisional and timely received Absentee Ballots before the Board holds Canvass (making the unofficial local results become official). During the next days the opportunity is there for Challenges, Protests, Recounts or any other related matters before the votes are made official at Canvass on the State level. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Director of Policy & Research, New York City Campaign Finance Board —  The New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB), a nonpartisan, independent city agency that enhances the role of New York City residents, seeks a Director of Policy & Research to oversee its intergovernmental outreach and policy and data research work. This position will report to the Deputy Director of Public Affairs. Responsibilities: Directly supervise a team of intergovernmental, policy, and data research staff. Create legislative strategies to advance agency priorities at the city and state level. Oversee outreach to elected officials and their offices to support the agency’s legislative work and government outreach. Oversee policy analysis related to campaign finance and voting in New York City and State. Participate in high-level agency discussions around policy development and spearhead agency legislative recommendations in its regularly published reports. Oversee research projects with internal staff and external researchers, as well as overseeing research content for CFB publications, reports, white papers, and policy briefs. Oversee public opinion research performed on behalf of the agency that informs voter communication and education initiatives. Salary: $90,000-$100,000. Application: For the complete job listing & to apply, click here.

Election Processing Supervisor, San Diego County, California— To plan, coordinate, and supervise the day-to-day operations of sections within the Precinct Services, Voter Services or Election Services Divisions. This class is found in the Office of Registrar of Voters. Incumbents organize, direct and supervise the activities of sections within the Precinct Services, Voters Services or Election Services Divisions; plan, schedule and coordinate activities related to voter records and registration, precincts and polls, poll worker training, election equipment and warehouse, absentee voting, and campaign services; provide lead work in special projects and assignments; provide interpretations and ensure proper implementation of Federal, State and local laws regulating elections. This class differs from the next higher class, Chief Deputy, in that the Chief Deputy is primarily responsible for the management of one division within the department, whereas the Election Processing Supervisor oversees and supervises the daily operations and activities of one section within a division. Salary: $55,265.60 – $67,974.40. Deadline: Nov. 18. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Elections Specialist, Douglas County, Colorado — This position is focused on routine customer service and general office/clerical support including data entry, communications, and processing mail. This is a support role capable of performing a variety of tasks, with problem solving abilities, managing multiple competing responsibilities and prioritizing to maintain a continuous flow of election office operations. This is a visible and crucial position requiring exceptional computer, customer service, and communication skills.  This position may require technical work in a lead role capable of performing a variety of complex tasks, with solving problem abilities, managing multiple competing tasks and prioritizing to maintain a continuous flow of operations and temporary support. This position may be classified as an Elections Specialist I or II dependent upon the skills of the candidate and the department’s business needs. Salary: $2,842.00 – $4,017.00 Monthly. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Elections Specialist, King County Elections — The Department of Elections – is searching for energetic and resourceful professionals who like to “get stuff done”. The Administrative Specialist II positions in the Voter Services Department combines an exciting, fast-paced environment with the opportunity to cultivate talents and apply a variety of skills. The ideal candidate will have a desire to help ensure the democratic process through public service. They will thrive in an innovative environment and will not hesitate to roll up both sleeves, work hard, have fun, and get the job done. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Elections Specialist, Wake County, North Carolina— The Wake County Board of Elections is currently seeking an experienced Data Entry Specialist to join our Voter Registration Team.  The ideal candidate will be a detail-oriented, data entry guru with exceptional attention to detail and organizational skills. As a part of the Voter Registration Team, you are responsible for connecting written information with computer data. What will you do as an Elections Specialist on the Voter Registration team? Provide superior customer service to Wake County residence by telephone and in person; issuing forms, applications, and informing customers of online resources; Respond to and resolve customer inquiries through research; informing candidates, elected officials, and the general public of the federal and state election laws; Ensure voter registration database is complete and accurate; Process voter registration applications, cancellations, and absentee ballot requests; Keying updates provided on federal and state forms; Assist front desk staff in daily office procedures providing accurate information to the public; Order and print reports for customers; Assist in mailroom processes; sorting, collecting, and distributing mail; Process information requests; Work in databases and spreadsheets daily; Collaborate with team members to gain knowledge of work processes. Salary: $15.76 – $21.17 Hourly. Deadline: Nov. 24. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Embedded Systems Engineer, Free & Fair— Free & Fair (F&F) seeks an experienced embedded systems engineer—a developer and engineer who is thrilled to work on a high-assurance open source elections technologies that demonstrate what is possible with modern development processes, methodologies, tools, and techniques. Our focus on national critical infrastructure, transparent engineering, and formal assurance makes this opportunity unique. One component of the BESSPIN Voting System is a custom-built, open source, open hardware platform for demonstrating secure hardware. It includes low- and mid-range FPGAs running softcore RISC-V CPUs, simple I/O devices, and an RTOS. This platform is called CASCADES (Configurable, Affordable System-on-Chip for Analysis and Demonstration of Election Security) and is a CrowdSupply project. A prototype for CASCADES is the Smart Ballot Box that we brought to DEF CON 2019. We call this role an embedded systems engineer, since much of the development that we do spans hardware, firmware, and software design and development. Moreover, we use a mixture of low-level and high-level languages, COTS and novel (FPGA-based) development platforms, and traditional and novel operating systems. We hope that potential applicants do not put themselves in an unnecessarily small box. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Executive Director, U.S. Election Assistance Commission— The incumbent serves as the Executive Director of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). As such, the position serves as a senior official in a line capacity that is responsible for overseeing the direction and operation of the agency, including the services of supporting Federal agencies (i.e., GSA, NARA, SAC, etc.). Exercises wide latitude with directing agency goals and resources to achieve desired results. Reporting to this position are senior EAC managers with expertise in their areas of responsibility. Provides leadership in the development and implementation of strategies, programs, policies, decisions, and other actions adopted by Commissioners. Evaluates the performance of subordinate managers against performance plans, budgets and EAC goals; performs other administrative functions as may be delegated under the Commission’s authority and EAC policies. Directs the preparation of recommendations, reports, and other materials for Commissioners, Advisory Boards, and public meeting. Develops and prepares written and oral materials, for presentations to congressional, legislative and public/private policy groups, Commissioners, advisory boards, and EAC staff. Encourages an environment that fosters equal employment opportunity (EEO) goals, and the responsibilities outlined in the organization’s affirmative action plan. Ensures equality in selections, training, promotions, details, discipline, and awards. Other duties as assigned. Salary: $156,000 to $156,000 per year. Deadline: Nov. 28. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

General Counsel, U.S. Election Assistance Commission— The General Counsel is appointed for a four (4) term by the Commissioners. The incumbent will serve as the Chief Legal Officer for the EAC and provides legal advice and counsel to the Executive Director on a wide variety of legal matters; provides advice to all of EAC’s Federal Advisory Committees, including the Technical Guidelines Development Committee, EAC Board of Advisors, and EAC Standards Board. The General Counsel also serves as the Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) and is responsible for agency ethics training, financial disclosure and reporting obligations, and communication with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. Salary: $156K. Deadline: Nov. 28. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Government Affairs Director, Democracy Works — In this role, you’ll be building relationships with officials across the country. Some are already supportive, some are skeptical, and some have had little to no contact with Democracy Works in the past. In some places, you’ll be making new connections around our voter engagement work with officials who are already engaged with our election administration programs, particularly the Voting Information Project. As you lead this initiative, you’ll have support from and collaborate with our election administration outreach staff, the voter engagement product, research, and support teams, and senior leadership. You will: Design, document, and execute a government outreach strategy; Build relationships and communicate with the states about our tools for voters, and communicate state interests internally; Define research processes to ensure that we’re using our state relationships effectively to ensure the accuracy of our election information; Represent state needs in setting our product roadmap; Monitor changes in laws and processes that shape election administration practices in all 50 states, and communicate these developments across Democracy Works; Support an election official advisory group, from creation through ongoing engagement; Travel across the country frequently, meeting with state and local election officials and attending/speaking at statewide and national convenings of election officials; and Create clear and accurate written communications for an audience of election officials. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

IT Director, Maryland State Board of Elections — As the agency’s Chief Information Officer, this position is the highest ranking information technology position in the agency. This employee is responsible for the information systems used to conduct elections in Maryland and ensuring compliance with applicable information system standards. The employee is responsible and directly accountable for agency and statewide election information systems, including the agency’s computer network’s; voting systems; online services; electronic pollbooks; voter registration; candidacy and election management system; online campaign finance, and business disclosure system; and technical field support for the local boards of elections. These systems and the individuals supporting these systems are integral to conducting secure elections, and this employee would provide the required oversight.  Salary: $72,812-$116,915. Deadline: November 15. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Logistics Specialist, Wake County, North Carolina — The Wake County Board of Elections is currently seeking an experienced Logistics Specialist to join our Team. The ideal candidate will have experience in planning and conducting elections at the county level and be exceptionally organized and detail-oriented. As the primary polling place manager, the Logistics Specialist will uphold strict safety and security protocols. As a part of this Team, you are responsible for orchestrating staff, events, vendors, and supplies to ensure successful elections. What will you do as a Logistics Specialist at the Board of Elections? Manage official documents in accordance to retention schedules; Manage the inventory of election equipment and supplies in a database; Maintain quality assurance and accountability of all supplies by repairing damaged items or replacing them as needed; Research and submit purchasing requests for election supplies; Oversee the preparation and packing of election supplies to ensure accuracy and efficiency; Coordinate with moving company to plan the distribution and collection of election equipment to and from 206 polling places for each election; Plan and oversee multiple remote locations for supply distribution and collection; Provide Election Day technical support to precinct officials; Train temporary staff on processes and procedures for various tasks; Operate machinery, including forklifts, pallet wrappers, and ride-on floor scrubbers; Coordinate with other teams in the department to schedule timelines for printing and packing election documents, use of the loading dock for deliveries, supply distribution, and training events; Survey and inspect potential facilities to be used as polling places; Inspect a variety of structures to ensure compliance with ADA regulations; Cross train with other divisions in the office to gain comprehensive knowledge of elections processes; Monitor forecasts to identify changes or to determine their effect on supply chain activities; Define performance metrics for measurement, comparison, or evaluation of supply chain factors, such as accuracy of packing, supply life cycles, and loss prevention; Perform other technical and administrative procedures to ensure timely and accurate elections; Coordinate contracts and agreements for the usage of 206 polling places for each election; Provide customer service and communicate with election officials in-person, over the phone, and by email. Salary:  $17.25- $23.29 Hourly. Deadline: Nov. 24. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Operations & Technology Supervisor, Adams County, Colorado— To coordinate and supervise assigned subprogram with the support and direction of the program manager. Such tasks include but are not limited to: warehouse operations, ballot intake, election night reporting, ballot design and layout, ballot sorter operations, ballot proofing and tabulation, ballot and equipment security, logic and accuracy testing, and post-election audit testing.  Impact and influence employees using leadership principles. Salary: $51,203.86 – $58,884.43. Deadline: Nov. 22. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Project Manager, Hart InterCivic— Project Managers at Hart InterCivic are highly motivated “self-starters” who are enthusiastic about providing exceptional customer service. Working with other members of the Professional Services and Operations teams, the Project Manager directs activity, solves problems, and develops lasting and strong relationships with our customers. Hart InterCivic’s unique and industry known culture of innovation, transparency, and customer-centric focus creates an environment where team members will continually grow and be challenged to develop their careers. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Quality Assurance Engineer, Democracy Works— The Voter Engagement team works on TurboVote and the Democracy Works API. You’ll join seven software developers and an engineering manager to collaborate with the product and partnership teams in building software that helps voters and future voters. The technology that underpins this work is mostly microservices written in Clojure running in Docker containers on Kubernetes hosted on AWS. These services communicate over RabbitMQ and store their data in Datomic. The web front-ends are written in ClojureScript backed by React. We pair program, collaborate with product managers, and make sure our efforts deliver value to voters and election administrators. We support junior team members by explicitly setting aside time for learning and providing training from a more senior developer. We collaborate across teams architecture and operations so that expertise and knowledge don’t stay siloed. Salary: $100K to $135K. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Research Manager, CEIR — The Research Manager will report to the Executive Director and will be responsible for the execution of CEIR’s research agenda. The Research Manager will assist or lead research activities generally associated with the conduct of elections and voting. Under the supervision of the Executive Director, the Research Manager determines objectives and milestones, builds effective relationships within the team and with partners, and performs the following activities: Manage day-to-day operational and tactical aspects of multiple research studies, delegating or coordinating duties with research staff as appropriate; Develop and manage project activity timelines, study budgets, and tracking documents for study management, progress tracking, and general logistics; Design and manage research studies, including the development of methodologies and data collection tools; Lead and supervise research and support staff. Provide and oversee appropriate training of research staff; Develop and maintain research-team specific standard operating procedures and training materials; Submit routine (informal) progress reports to the Executive Director; Work closely with the operations manager on issues related to budget, grant compliance, and other financial issues; Collaborate with public and private sector partners, including academic and research organizations, to facilitate implementation of project objectives; Conduct data analysis and draft study reports; Conduct literature reviews to identify research and emerging data relevant to projects. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Rigorous Systems/Software Engineer, Free & Fair — Free & Fair (F&F) seeks several experienced systems/software engineers—developers who are thrilled to work on high-assurance open source elections technologies that demonstrate what is possible with modern development processes, methodologies, tools, and techniques. Our focus on national critical infrastructure, transparent engineering, and formal assurance makes this opportunity unique. We call this role either/both system engineers or software engineers, since much of the development that we do spans hardware, firmware, and software design and development. Moreover, we use a mixture of low-level and high-level languages, COTS and novel (FPGA-based) development platforms, and traditional and novel operating systems. We hope that potential applicants do not put themselves in an unnecessarily small box. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Software Sales Specialist, VOTEC— VOTEC’s Sales Specialist is responsible for creating news sales with prospects and existing clients in targeted areas in the US. We are looking for an election professional comfortable using insight and consultative selling techniques to create interest that offers unique solutions on their operations, which link back to VOTEC’s solutions. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

UI/UX Engineer, Free & Fair — Free & Fair (F&F) seeks an experienced UI/UX engineer—someone who practices user-centric design, finds usable security a fascinating area of R&D, someone who appreciates usable and accessible technologies, and a developer and engineer who is thrilled to work on high-assurance open source elections technologies that demonstrate what is possible with modern development processes, methodologies, tools, and techniques. Our focus on national critical infrastructure, transparent engineering, and formal assurance makes this opportunity unique. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

VP of Engineering, Free & Fair— Free & Fair (F&F) seeks an experienced systems engineering development leader—an executive who can step in and build a dynamic, distributed engineering team, deliver solutions to the market, and execute challenging development activities focused on national critical infrastructure. The VP of Engineering at F&F will be responsible for executing on the Company’s overall technology vision and driving its development execution. This person will recruit world-class talent, manage and evolve development processes and methodologies, and foster an organizational structure to help our high-performing development team deliver applications to the market. This person will keep abreast of and influence research and technology trends, standards, and stakeholders. This person will have the ability to bridge technology with business acumen, will bring experience in developing state-of-the-art customer-facing applications, and will develop and sustain a culture of passion, hard work, and innovation. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

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