In Focus This Week
Wake County, NC BOE’s simple solution to a big problem
County poll worker program rewarded with 2019 Clearie Award
By M. Mindy Moretti
electionline.org
Sometimes, the simplest things create the biggest returns.
That was certainly the case when the Wake County, North Carolina Board of Elections started including poll worker recruitment “buck slips” into all the elections office mailings as well as tax notices that are sent to everyone in the county.
Not only has the county made substantial increases in its poll worker recruitment and retention, but it is also the recipient of a 2019 Clearie Award from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
Back in 2011, Wake County, like so many other counties throughout the country, regardless of size or location, was struggling with finding enough poll workers, not only to work current elections, but to stick around for future elections.
“We promote an environment of creativity in our office,” explained Gary Sims, director of the board of elections. “We have brainstorming meetings all the time to come up with creative solutions. One of our team members pointed out she received her tax bill and said she wished we could get the word out to so many people like the tax bills. The idea started from there with a simple call to our revenue department and asked them if we could do an insert.”
The program involves “buck slips” being placed inside all elections mailings. For those not in the know (like us), a buck slip refers to a small printed piece that contains a specific sales offer or marketing message. Sometimes called a buck insert or buck sheet, most buck slips are single, unfolded sheets that measure 8.5” x 3.5” or smaller. A buck slip is basically a miniature flyer.
Wake’s buck slips provide information about the county’s poll worker program, a simple form to complete and three ways for the slips to be returned to the county, via mail, email, or even fax! In addition to going into every board of elections mailing, the Vote to Volunteer buck slips are also inserted into the Wake County Revenue Department’s annual tax mailing that goes to every Wake County resident.
Sims said the program just grew from there. The BOE started inserting the slips into everything they had from voter card mailings to handing them out at events.
“It is just another avenue available to help recruit poll workers,” Sim said. “It also reaches a broader base than simple word of mouth or other recruitment methods. The truth is, our largest resource of poll workers are the retired or semi-retired community. This often results in high attrition rates and we need to constantly recruit to properly staff our polls.”
In 2010, a mid-term election year, the county received 345 applications for new poll workers. In 2011, an off-year with only local elections and the first year the Vote to Volunteer program was in place, the county received 1,556 poll worker applications.
Since 2014,the county has gained a net total of 4,420 election officials. This gain allows the board of elections to staff more election officials per polling place, and more importantly, are able to staff a robust “STAR”(Support Trained And Ready) Team. For an average election the board has about 300-500 STAR officials on call should a regular poll worker not be able to fulfill their duties.
In addition to partnering with the county’s Department of Revenue, Sims said the BOE has a great relationship with libraries and high schools. They help the BOE with marketing not only registering to vote, but to join the team as a poll worker. He noted that while working in a county government office can feel pretty siloed at times, it’s important to enlist other departments.
“You have nothing to lose by making a phone call and asking,” Sims said. “You may find that other departments may be willing to absorb the cost or you may find them willing to assist with nominal cost to your department. Voting is a community effort, and you would be amazed by what others may do to help if you simply ask.”
Because the buck slips are going in already scheduled mailings, there are no additional postage costs and the cost of the slips themselves is about $0.025 per slip.
The Vote to Volunteer program is the winner of a 2019 Clearie Award from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. It nailed all the criteria for the poll worker category. It’s innovative, it’s cost-effective, it’s sustainable and it’s easy to replicate.
“The recruitment and training of poll workers is an ongoing challenge for many election offices. The Wake County Board of Elections program to increase interest and recruit election workers was recognized with a Clearie Award for its creativity and highly effective results,” said EAC Chairwoman, Christy McCormick. “By utilizing existing resources, they were able to streamline the recruitment process and increase the poll worker pool to the point they had substitutes available if necessary. Hopefully others will use Wake County Board of Elections’ program example in their own community and see the same exceptional results.”
Sims said the team was excited not only to win the Clearie, but with the opportunity to share with other elections officials their program.
“My team here do so many amazing things, and we truly knew that other elections professionals could benefit from this simple item,” Sims said. “Our team was excited that we were able to share an idea that others may benefit from. Sometimes it only takes a simple idea to make major changes or to help solve a problem.”
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Election Security Updates
Websites: Federal officials and security experts are encouraging state and local elections offices to get .gov addresses for their elections websites. Since .gov sites are controlled by the government, it’s less likely that someone with bad intentions could create a site to mimic the county elections site. “One of the effective ways we think to counter disinformation campaigns is to have highly visible, credible and trustworthy sources of information,” Chris Krebs, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within the Department of Homeland Security told NPR. “Dot-gov is an authoritative message. It says this is, in fact, government.” While many local elections sites don’t have a .gov address, some are making the move including Pasco County, Florida which recently made the switch. A bill currently in committee in Congress would make .gov domain names available to local governments at “no cost or negligible cost.” “There’s an awareness gap,” Krebs told NPR. “We need to do a better job of going out there and helping state and local partners know that this is something available to them.”
Ohio: Election security isn’t just about cybersecurity. The Columbiana County board of elections is considering adding security cameras and tightening up physical security on election night. According to the Morning Journal, Board member Vic Maroscher brought up the idea at last week’s meeting, saying he believes the time has arrived for them to put some security cameras in the office and basement to protect staff and the public. Maroscher said the board should also investigate developing a policy to control the number of people who are in the elections office on election night.
Election News This Week
Last year the Kansas Legislature approved a bill, championed by Sedgwick County, that would allow counties to move to a vote center model if those chose to do so. Recently, Secretary of State Scott Schwab said that the rules and regulations needed to implement such a law would not be ready in time for counties to move forward with vote centers in 2020 so officials in Sedgwick County are turning to their state legislators to get the ball rolling. “I’m very frustrated over this thing,” said county Commissioner Jim Howell. “We passed this law last year, we pushed it forward late in the (legislative) session because we wanted to have this ready for the 2020 elections. Now here we are eight or nine months later and he hasn’t written any rules and regulations yet. Why?” According to The Wichita Eagle, Schwab is on the record supporting the law, but doesn’t want counties to move forward without rules and regs from his office, although legislators don’t believe that’s necessary. “One thing I’ve learned about elections is you don’t want to beta test a new program during a major election,” Schwab told the paper. “What we’d rather do is have the vote center bill happen in a local election where the volume is lower. And if there’s a mistake you have more bandwidth to overcome any mistakes. Members of the Legislature are hoping to fast-track a bill to force Schwab’s hand while Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, said he is considering taking legal action to make vote centers a reality.
Mary Green/KCRG
This is pretty cool. Linn County, Iowa will use heat maps to determine where to place satellite early voting sites for the November general election. The county is pushing to get at least 50% early voting turnout to help ease the Election Day burden and knowing where people are will help them locate sites that hopefully will encourage turnout. Eric Loecher, Linn County’s elections systems administrator, said about 40% of people in Linn County who voted in the 2016 general election did so early, but they’d like to get that percentage up to 50% in 2020. “Just to help relieve stress on Election Day,” Loecher told KCRG. “We don’t necessarily have a lot of stress on our polling places, but it’s nice to get those votes in before Election Day.” The heat maps show the population densities of the voters, nonvoters and absentee voters in Linn County from the 2016 and 2018 elections, and based on them, the auditor’s office is considering permanent satellite locations
We could all use a little bit more civility in our lives these days and Pasco County, Florida Supervisor of Elections Brian Corely is on a mission to bring some to his county. Corely asked the county commission to amend a local ordinance, first adopted in 2006, to ask candidates to “publicly discuss the issues and avoid criticizing my opponent in a personal nature,’’ as well as to “listen to opposing viewpoints and avoid language that is insulting or inappropriate.’’ The amendment also includes a prohibition against using amplified devices to address voters as they enter the polls on Election Day. While there was some pushback to the proposed amendment, the commission voted 5-0 to amend the ordinance. “You’re either for civility or not for civility in this ordinance,” Corley said according to the Tampa Bay Times. “This is above partisanship. … It’s asking to have some decorum from all candidates. I don’t know how you can be against this.”
This week, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose notified officials in Miami County that the board of elections is no longer under state oversight. The county BOE had come under state oversight after election workers failed to count more than 6,000 ballots in the November 2018 election. “When we met with the board on February 12, 2019, I expressed my optimism that the Miami County Board of Elections would enthusiastically take on this challenge and regain the voters’ trust,” LaRose’s letter said according to the Dayton Daily News. “It is my belief that the Board has surpassed expectations and I am thrilled to make this decision today.”
19th Amendment News: Some fun pieces of news about the suffrage movement this week—and two stories include “I Voted” sticker news too. What’s not to love? On January 23, the Final Jeopardy clue was: “A new Election Day ritual is leaving ‘I Voted’ stickers on the headstone of this historic woman at a Rochester, New York cemetery.” This year marks the 200th anniversary of Susan B. Anthony’s birth and the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. In other suffrage news this week, Women and the Vote NYS is working to catalogue the gravesites of New York suffragists. The organization will also have filmmakers stationed at gravesites across the state on Election Day interviewing voters who have come to place their “I Voted” stickers on the site. A new museum dedicated to sharing the stories of women’s suffrage has opened at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia. The Workhouse Arts Center used to be Lorton Prison where people convicted of crimes in Washington, D.C. were incarcerated. During the suffrage movement, 72 suffragists were imprisoned in Lorton for fighting for the right to vote.
It’s not a custom “I Voted” sticker, but it’s still pretty cool. The Cuyahoga County, Ohio board of elections has introduced a new logo for the county elections office. The design makes it easier to understand the board’s job: administrating elections in Cuyahoga County. The new look includes the word, VOTE, and a state map marking the county with a star. It features a mix of red and blue to symbolize the board’s commitment to bipartisanship. “Saying goodbye to our flag and stars logo is bittersweet. I remember when it first made its debut,” said Shantiel Soeder, deputy director of the board of elections in a news release. “We are excited to welcome a monumental election year and new decade. With so many positive enhancements on the horizon, now is the perfect time to refresh the (Cuyahoga County Board of Elections) brand.”
The Rhode Island Board of Elections has a new home at 2000 Plainfield Pike in Cranston. The new facility will include a state-of-the-art multipurpose room made for hearings, training sessions and post-election audits, larger mail-ballot processing facilities, new offices for administrators and 50,000 square foot of climate-controlled, secure warehouse space.
Personnel News: Amy Cozze is the Northampton County, Pennsylvania registrar of elections. Sean McAfee, a former official with the Department of Homeland Security, will be the new chief information security officer for the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office. Karen Pawloski is the new Washington County, Ohio board of elections director. Corinne Duncan is the new Buncombe County, North Carolina director of elections. George Stepps has been appointed Jefferson County, Arkansas election coordinator. Worcester City Clerk Susan M. Ledoux is retiring after 37 years in the office, the last four as clerk. She was Worcester’s first female clerk. Kathryn Peters has resigned from Democracy Works. She will continue to serve on the board and as an outside advisor.
Legislative Updates
Federal Legislation: The Protect American Voters Act (PAVA) would require the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to establish the Emerging Election Technology Committee (EETC), which would help create voluntary guidelines for election equipment, such as voter registration databases, not covered under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). The EETC would be empowered to bypass the existing Voluntary Voting Systems Guidelines process, which is a voluntary set of voting requirements that voting systems can be tested against to ensure their security and accessibility. The new bill would also establish an Election Cyber Assistance Unit within the EAC, which would help connect state and local election officials across the country with cybersecurity experts who could provide technical support.
Kansas: Sen. David Haley (D-Kansas City) proposed legislation that would require the secretary of state’s office to pay for municipal election recounts in general elections if the vote difference between candidates was less than half of 1% of votes cast. Under the current system, cost of recounts in local races is absorbed by the party seeking the recount if the election outcome doesn’t change. If the party triggering the recount prevails, the county must absorb the cost.
Kentucky: An amended bill that would require an ID to vote in the commonwealth has passed the Senate on a 29-9 vote. The amendments allow voter who lack a photo ID to provide items such as a credit or debit card or Social Security card in order to vote.
Also in Kentucky, a proposed constitutional amendment would automatically restore the voting rights to returning citizens as soon as they are released from prison.
Maryland: A bill under consideration by the General Assembly would require the State Board of Elections to provide access to voting to those who are incarcerated but eligible to vote. There are around 6,400 people detained awaiting trial each month in Maryland, according to the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention.
Massachusetts: With a February 5 deadline for legislation to move out of committee or die, advocates are pushing H636, H685 and S396 which would allow for same-day registration in the commonwealth. The advocates have the support of the secretary of state and the attorney general.
Michigan: Rep. Steven Johnson (R-Wayland) is sponsoring a bill that would allow voters to take and post ballot selfies on social media. Current law allows a voter to photograph their ballot and post it online, but the voter themselves cannot be in the photo. This legislation would change that.
Also in Michigan, legislators are considering a bill that would ease the burden of counting absentee ballots. Under the legislations, clerks would be allowed to remove ballots from the mail envelope prior to election night.
Minnesota: According to Minnesota Public Radio, Republicans in the Minnesota Senate said they will renew their push for a voter ID law during the election-year legislative session that begins next month, saying the requirement would help prevent voter fraud.
New Jersey: Assembly man Andrew Zwicker has introduced bills creating a ranked-choice voting system and allowing 17-year-olds who would be of voting age by the general election to vote in primaries this month.
South Carolina: A bill is on its way to the Senate floor that would allow absentee ballots cast in the 30 days before the election get marked and sealed in envelopes — set aside until 9 a.m. on Election Day, when counting can legally begin.
South Dakota: By 10-1 vote the House Local Government Committee has advanced HB1054 to the full House. Under the bill, in addition to providing either a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a social security number, residents would now be able to also provide a non-driver ID number in order to register.
Utah: Sen. Jake Anderegg and Rep. Craig Hall have pitched thae yet-to-be-filed-bill to House Democrats in their caucus meeting these, seeking support for legislation they know may face a steep hill to climb. The lawmakers are championing an effort to loosen election privacy laws to allow candidates and political parties access to voter information, even if people opted to keep their information private.
Vermont: The Burlington city council has reversed course and decided that it will not put a question on the upcoming ballot asking voters whether or not documented noncitizens should be allowed to vote in local elections. The council voted 10-2 to refer the item to a council subcommittee for further discussion. “My personal intention with this motion is to put the initiative in a better position to pass,” he said, “and given how the public discussion has developed as of late, I don’t believe that this time is this coming March.”
Virginia: House Bill 1103, introduced by Del. Sally Hudson (D-Charlottesville), would open a pilot program for ranked-choice voting in local elections, such as city council or school board contests. Glenn Davis, R-Virginia Beach, is a Republican co-patron for HB 1103. He said he supports the legislation because it gives localities more freedom to govern. HB 1103 reported out of subcommittee, 4-3. The bill will now move to the House Committee on Privileges and Elections
Washington: Senate Bill 6228 would make felons automatically eligible to vote once they are released from state prison. Under current law, they are eligible once they have completed community custody. If approved, the bill would affect about 9,000 eligible returning citizens.
West Virginia: A bill that would allow voters with disabilities use the same online voting technology that military and overseas voter from West Virginia now use has been approved by House of Delegates. Senate Bill 94 is the first bill this year that has passed both chambers. According to Donald Kersey, Tusk-Montgomery Philanthropies, a mobile voting advocacy group, has offered to pay for the associated equipment, implementing the bill won’t cost anything to the state or the counties responsible for offering and collecting the ballots.
Legal Updates
Alabama: Convicted felons who lost their right to vote under Alabama law can’t pursue their challenge to that law in a class action, a federal district court in the state said. The plaintiffs, who said they can’t have their voting rights restored until they pay off all the financial obligations associated with their cases, didn’t show class certification was necessary, Judge Emily C. Marks of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama said.
Arizona: In a 239-page ruling, the full 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Arizona’s ballot-harvesting ban and its policy rejecting ballots accidentally cast in the wrong precinct. In the ruling, the deciding judges wrote that both laws were a reflection the state’s “long and unhappy history of official discrimination” in elections. However, according to Cronkite News Service, n a pair of dissents, four judges on the court said the majority’s ruling was unsupported by facts and that plaintiffs in the case “simply failed to show that either policy” presented a discriminatory burden on minority voters. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said Monday he will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
California: The City of Beverly Hills has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court over concerns regarding Los Angeles County’s new VSAP (Voting Solutions for All People) touchscreen electronic voting system. The lawsuit implies that the new system may lead to inaccurate voting at vote centers countywide due to only four candidates appearing on the screen at a time and voters potentially casting their vote without seeing all options.
Also in Los Angeles County, Superior Court Judge Teresa Beaudet had denied a defense motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by two registered sex offenders who were prohibiting from serving as poll workers in the county. According to the Los Angeles Superior Court complaint filed last May 7, the Registrar-Recorder policy preventing registrants from working as poll workers is superseded by state law, which supplants local legislation and has no provision banning sex offenders from working as poll workers. Beadet also denied a request from the plaintiffs for a judgement in their favor without a trial.
Florida: Oral arguments were held before a panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week over Florida’s Amendment 4. Lawyers for the state asked the appellate court to overturn an injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle in October that prevented the implementation of a Florida law requiring convicted felons to pay restitution before having their voting rights reinstated.
Michigan: Super PAC Priorities USA has amended a lawsuit filed against the state’s same-day registration law. In the amendment, the PAC cited a Jan. 13 memo in which the state elections bureau told local clerks that satellite offices can also be used for voter registration up to and including on Election Day. According to The Associated Press, Priorities USA abandoned its argument that forcing voters to travel to a clerk’s office to register is an undue burden, satisfied that clerks can use satellite locations for those with limited access to transportation. The suit continues to contest a documentation requirement and Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s policy excluding teens from being automatically registered to vote when they turn 17½ years old.
Minnesota: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee announced they are challenging the constitutionality of a Minnesota law that mandates that a person may help no more than three voters complete their in-person or absentee ballots. The committees contend that the law has the ability to effect “non-English speakers and people with disabilities” disproportionately. “There’s no place in our society for laws that make it harder for older Americans, non-English speakers and people with disabilities to cast their ballots. We should be working to increase access to the ballot, not restrict it,” DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos, a congresswoman from Illinois, said in a statement.
Mississippi: Hinds County Judge Jeff Weill has ruled that Yalobusha County must hold a special election in two precincts to decide who will be the county’s next sheriff. The judge ruled a special election was necessary because four absentee ballots — two from each precinct — were processed illegally and he could not determine the preference of those four voters. Results from those two precincts will be added to the general election totals from the other precincts to determine a winner.
New Jersey: Judge Stuart Minkowitz ordered Morris County elections officials to county 42 provisional ballots and 10 vote-by-mail ballots in a race for Morris Township committeeman. A complaint filed by the New Jersey Democratic State Committee and the Morris County Democratic Committee included affidavits from poll workers and eighteen voters stating that the envelope glue would not stick. Incumbent Peter Mancuso won the election after the ballots were counted.
North Carolina: Lawyers from the Attorney General’s filed the paperwork before the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of the State Board of Elections, which was sued over the 2018 voter ID law by the state NAACP and local NAACP chapters.
Tennessee: In a unanimous decision, a panel of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that found a voters’ rights group lacks standing to challenge the security of the voting machines used in Tennessee. Shelby Advocates for Valid Elections, or SAVE, filed suit in 2018 against the Tennessee Election Commission and Secretary of State Tre Hargett, among others, claiming outdated software and antiquated machines left elections vulnerable to hackers and manipulation. In an eight-page, unsigned opinion, the court noted that all of SAVE’s claims focused on human error, and not the machines used by the state and Shelby County. “Fear that individual mistakes will recur, generally speaking, does not create a cognizable imminent risk of harm,” the ruling states according to Courthouse News Service.
Tech Thursday
Alabama: Congratulations to the Yellowhammer State. Last week, Secretary of State John Merrill announced that the state’s online voter registration system, which launched in January 2016 registered its one millionth voter.
California: Secretary of State Alex Padilla has granted conditional certification to LA County’s Voting Solutions for All People 2.0 (VSAP) which includes a ballot marking device the county designed and built from the ground up. Elections officials have a duty to make voting both as secure and as accessible as possible,” Padilla said in a press release. “As part of my certification of VSAP, I am insisting on some essential modifications to the system and requiring on-going reports from Los Angeles County so that we can continue to improve the voting experience for Angelenos.”
Illinois: Voters in DeKalb County will only have to visit one location for all their voting needs after the county clerk’s office launched voteranow.com a consolidated, mobile-friendly website with all the county voting information. “We kept wondering why people don’t vote by mail more often or have a difficult time registering,” Johnson told the Northern Star. “Then we realized it was because the information was so scattered. I thought, ‘Why can’t we just put it all in one spot?'”
Virginia: The Virginia Department of Elections has introduced a new website that will provide language assistance to voters including information in Spanish, Vietnamese and Korean. The department worked with local officials to identify the communities that needed language assistance. “We want to do all we can to help voters successfully cast their ballots on Election Day”, said Christopher Piper, Department of Elections Commissioner. “We are proud of our efforts to ensure Virginians are able to successfully navigate the voting process without challenges; our new website resources are designed to assist those who may face language barriers in the elections process.”
Opinions This Week
National Opinions: Voting rights, II | List maintenance | Election security, II, III, IV | Contested results | Voter fraud myth | 15th Amendment
Alaska: Ranked choice voting
Arizona: Court rulings
California: GOTV
Colorado: Elections officials
Illinois: Automatic voter registration, II, III, IV, V | Early voting | Ranked choice voting
Indiana: Primaries | Poll hours | Suffrage
Florida: Open primaries
Georgia: Election preparations
Kentucky: Voter ID
Maine: Suffrage
Massachusetts: Polling places
Minnesota: Voter ID | Voter data
New Hampshire: Election technology
New York: E-poll books
Ohio: Poll workers | Voter registration
Oregon: Misinformation
Pennsylvania: Election laws | Northampton County |Voting machines
South Carolina: Voting rights
Tennessee: Election security
Virginia: Ranked choice voting | Voter confidence | Barriers to voting
Washington: Voter ID; Online voting | Election consolidation
West Virginia: List maintenance
Upcoming Events
Election Center Special Workshop: The following courses will be offered during this workshop: Course 1 (Intro to Election & Voter Reg Systems); Course 2 (Management and Leadership); and Renewal Course 32 (Redistricting/Gerrymandering). Where: Greenville, South Carolina When: February 12-16
Election Center Special Workshop: The following courses will be offered during this workshop: Course 3 (Planning and Budgeting); Course 4 (Information Technology & Security); and Renewal Course 21 (Public Trust and the Integrity of Elections). Where: Seattle When: April 29-May 3
NASED Summer 2020 Conference: — 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 Summer 2020 Conference. Where: Reno, Nevada When: July 19-22.
NASS Summer 2020 Conference: The National Association of Secretaries of State will hold their Summer 2020 conference at the Silver Legacy Reno, Nevada. Check back here for more information about the Winter 2020 conference when it becomes available. Where: Reno, Nevada. When: July 19-22.
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.
Assistant Director, Kentucky State Board of Elections— The Kentucky State Board of Elections is an independent agency of state government, established by the Legislature to administer the election laws of the Commonwealth. The SBE also provides training and resources to the County Clerks and County Boards of Election, and supervises registration and purgation of voters within the state. The position of Assistant Director is a highly skilled and valued member of the SBE staff who performs duties ranging from staff management, advising and training of local and state officials, budgeting and policy development. While not required, a license to practice law is preferred. Compliance with Kentucky Revised Statute 117.025 requires that this position be filled by a candidate that is a registered member of the Republican Party of Kentucky. Out of state candidates will be considered if they can show proof of registration with the Republican Party of their current state of residence. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Associates, Democracy Works— We’re staffing up quickly as we prepare for the 2020 elections, and we’re looking to add seven people to our organization at a Junior level. This application is for all seven of those roles. Here’s how it works: You’ll submit your resume and answer a few questions. We’ll send you a practical exercise to complete within one week. We’ll anonymously grade the practical exercises and select the highest scoring candidates for interviews. There will be two rounds of interviews during which we’ll learn about each candidate. During these interviews, candidates will have the opportunity to ask us questions about the roles and teams below. These interviews are evaluative, but they’re also meant to give you space to learn about which role might be the best fit for you. We will choose a set of finalists. We’ll ask finalists to rank their preferred roles as we begin checking references for each finalist. We’ll select seven of our finalists to hire into our open roles, taking candidate preferences into account. We’ll then make offers to our finalists. The open positions are: Government Associate; Voting Information Project Outreach Associate; Research Associate; Partner Outreach Associate; and Partner Support Associates (three positions open). Salary: $57,000 – $72,000 annually. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Election Assistance Commission— The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is looking for a seasoned manager to serve as Chief Operating Officer (COO). This is an exceptional opportunity for an individual to oversee the functions and programs of the Commission coming up to the 2020 Elections! The COO is the primary management official responsible for supervising the day-to-day operations of EAC staff. EAC has several program operation divisions which will report to the COO: Voting Systems Testing and Certification, Grants, Research, Communications, HR/Administration, and Finance. Plans and implements communications plans, events, media campaigns, press conferences, briefings, messaging and interviews. Participates in developing communications and media initiatives, planning and implementing of media events, and maintaining a proactive media strategy for the EAC. Under the leadership of the Executive Director, EAC is elevating attention on management issues and transformational change. To manage this change, and to enable the Executive Director to focus attention on Congressional affairs, external relations, budget formulation and execution, and clearinghouse activities, the COO position was created to manage the programmatic, financial management, and administrative functions of the Commission, all of which will continue to be directed by talented professionals with strong expertise in their areas of responsibility. The COO will have special responsibility for supervising senior staff, ensuring that key program areas work in a carefully coordinated way, as well as ensuring that new systems and procedures are effectively adopted whenever such change is required to support the Commission’s transformation and improvement. Salary: $134,789 to $156K. Deadline: April 8. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here
Deputy Director of Elections, Douglas County, Colorado — Directs, administers, and coordinates the Core Services of the Elections Division of the Clerk and Recorder’s Office, including voter registration, conducting elections, voter education and outreach, and precincting and boundaries. Performs complex administrative and supervisory work in a variety of management functions including personnel management, statutory compliance, and execution of the integrated processes to conduct all primary, general, coordinated, and other special elections within the county. Responsible for strategic planning, policy/procedure development and implementation, and continuous improvement. Salary: $7,295.58 – $9,119.42 Monthly. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Director of Communications, U.S. Election Assistance Commission— Plans and implements communications plans, events, media campaigns, press conferences, briefings, messaging and interviews. Participates in developing communications and media initiatives, planning and implementing of media events, and maintaining a proactive media strategy for the EAC. Develops and maintains productive relationships with members of the media. Enlist the cooperation of media representatives in providing accurate information to the public that furthers the goals and objectives of the EAC. Provides background information to the media as required and drafts talking points for spokespersons ahead of interviews and presentations. Researches, develops, writes and edits reports, presentations, press releases, fact sheets, feature articles, letters, speeches, testimony, annual reports, opinion pieces, videos, and other public-facing communications materials that effectively communicate the Commission’s goals to EAC stakeholders and a variety of public and internal audiences. Procures and manages contracts and assists with the procurement of other Communications-related needs, i.e. photography, video, subscriptions, and other non-EAC services and goods. Attends staff briefings and policy discussions to gain knowledge of Commission activities in order to remain current on the latest developments of interest to the public, assist in preparing for and responding to media inquiries, and formulate recommendations regarding agency policies and programs. Performs other related duties as assigned. Salary: $96,970 to $148,967. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Elections Clerk I, Douglas County, Colorado— This position serves as office support for the Elections Division of the Clerk and Recorder’s Office. The Election Clerk provides customer service, assists with clerical functions, and performs data entry for voter registration. Other duties in support of the conduct of elections or mail ballot processing may be assigned. Must be detail oriented, well organized, productive, and able to adapt in a high change environment. This role requires both independent judgment and the ability to work well as a part of a team. Professional representation of the Clerk and Recorder’s Office to the public is required to include standards outlined in the Vision, Mission, and Core Values of the Office. Salary: $2,304.00 – $2,879.00 Monthly. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Elections Outreach Coordinator, Thurston County, Washington— The Thurston County Auditor’s Office is looking for a candidate to join our outstanding team as our Election Outreach Coordinator. In this role, the successful candidate will coordinate activities related to candidates, voter and election outreach. This position also develops and produces election information and voter education materials and prepares and disseminates informational materials to encourage citizen participation in the election process. Salary: $3,952-$5257/month. 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 Warehouse Worker, Douglas County, Colorado — This is a highly physical position with a heavy emphasis on warehouse work, requiring the ability to continually lift equipment weighing more than 50 pounds. This position will perform routine maintenance on voting equipment, identify non-routine repairs to election equipment and mark and track equipment for follow up maintenance. incumbent will coordinate equipment and maintain records documenting device history. Forklift certification is a plus. Salary: $2,445.00 – $3,056.00 Monthly. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Executive Director, Chicago Board of Election Commissioners— The Executive Director serves as the chief administrator, providing leadership and implementing policies and programs to carry out the work of the Board. The Executive Director directs an annual operating budget of approximately $34M and leads a staff of 130 full-time employees broken into 7 Divisions comprised of: Registration; Information Technology; Human Resources; Finance; Community Services/Poll Workers; Pre-Election Voting & Logistics; and, Warehouse Operations. All full-time employees, including the Assistant Executive Director, are compensated through the City of Chicago and subject to the benefits offered to City employees, although they are employees of the Board and not the City. Although an employee of the Board, the Executive Director is compensated through Cook County and receives employee compensation and benefits in line with County policies. By statute, the Executive Director must take an oath of office before the Cook County Circuit Court. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Grants Specialist, U.S. Election Assistance Commission— The Grants Specialist will assist the Grants Director to manage and administer the grants program for the EAC pursuant to 5 USC §3109 (See 42 USC §15324(b)) and §204 (6)(c) of HAVA. The incumbent provides expert advice to EAC leadership regarding grants management; provides advice and guidance to States and U.S. territories regarding the use of funds provided by EAC to ensure State/U.S. territory compliance with HAVA, Appropriations Law and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) circulars; conducts pre- and post-audits to review how funds have been spent; and makes recommendations to the Executive Director for audit resolutions. Salary: $69,581 to $128,920 per year. Deadline: June 17, 2020. 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.
Security and Support Technician, North Carolina State Board of Elections— Four position available. The Voting Systems Team is a section of the State Board’s Election Administration Division and works directly with the IT Division of the agency. This professional team is tasked with coordinating, managing, and preparing the voting systems certified for use in North Carolina. This team manages the initial certification of voting systems including hardware, software, and firmware evaluation and testing, procurement, and installation for each of the 100 counties; the ongoing use and support of the voting systems including maintenance, programming of contest and election definitions, ballot coding, logic and accuracy testing procedures, and collaborative work with other IT sections for development and management of election night results reporting, post-election audits, and tools such as the test script generator; and coordination of any subsequent upgrades, modifications, or enhancements. Also works with other IT sections and agency divisions to establish or make modifications to precinct boundaries or district lines through mapping and redistricting software and analysis. This position is 100% travel and can potentially work from one of the following counties: Anson, Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Brunswick Carteret, Craven, Duplin, Greene, Jones, Lenoir, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Pitt, Wayne. This position is grant funded and is time-limited based on the availability of funds. Position currently funded UP TO 3 years. Salary: $46,203- $78,218. Deadline: February 4. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Software Developer, Democracy Works— We are currently looking for developers for all our projects, at a variety of levels. Experience with the technologies listed below is helpful, but not necessary; we hope you’ll bring excitement to learn what you haven’t seen yet. We support junior team members by explicitly setting aside time for learning, and providing training from a more experienced developer. In addition to full-time hires, we’re also looking for two senior, temporary hires for the Voter Engagement team to work with us until the end of 2020 as we prepare for the November general election. Candidates joining our Voter Engagement team will work on TurboVote and the Democracy Works API. You’ll join eight other 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. Candidates joining the Election Administration team will be working on either the Voting Information Project (VIP), or Ballot Scout. For VIP, you’ll join two other software developers to collaborate with the product and data collection teams in building software that helps collect, validate, QA, and publish data about elections, which in turn service millions of queries in major election years. For Ballot Scout, you’ll join a team of two that enables seamless tracking of ballots through the United States Postal Service and allows both voters and election administration officials to monitor progress of the ballots to and from election offices. The technologies that underlay these systems are written in Clojure, Clojurescript, Javascript, Python, and Go, with an emphasis in moving active development towards Clojure and Clojurescript. Infrastructure is hosted on AWS, and developers are beginning the process of migrating to a Kubernetes based deployment. Salary: $90K to $130K. 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.
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