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Primary Updates

SEC Primary 2022
Voters in AL, AR, GA and Texas vote in primaries this week

By M. Mindy Moretti
Electionline.org

This week’s round of primary elections were referred to by some as the SEC primary because every state has colleges or universities that are SEC teams. Voters in Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia headed to the polls for the first time while voters in Texas completed their primary season that began back in March. Overall, it was relatively smooth sailing on Tuesday with small pockets of issues. The primary runoff in Texas showed a marked improvement from the original primary in March where thousands of mail ballots were rejected because voters didn’t complete them in ways required by new state law.

Alabama: Overall, turnout was pretty light in The Yellowhammer State which meant for a relatively problem-free day for state and local elections officials.  Some voters in Calhoun County experienced voting delays this Primary Election Day. Polls in Leary, Edison, and Arlington were reported to have experienced technical issues during voting hours, with some polls resuming sessions later in the afternoon. Because the polling machines were down, there were continued issues throughout the night after the polls had closed. Voters in Tallapoosa County were finally able to return to their old polling place, the National Guard Armory, after the armory underwent renovations. “We would like to thank Russell Medical for their generosity in making The Mill Two Eighty available as a temporary polling location for the 2020 elections,” Tallapoosa County Probate Judge Talmadge East said. “Now that the renovations at the National Guard Armory are complete, it is necessary for us to relocate the largest individual polling location in Tallapoosa County back to the Armory. Tallapoosa County sheriff Jimmy Abbett has already been in touch with the National Guard and we expect a smooth transition.” In the race for secretary of state, on the Republican side, outgoing State Auditor Jim Zeigler and Rep. Wes Allen will face off in a run-off on June 21. The winner of the runoff will face Democrat Pamela LaFitte.

Arkansas: The 2022 primary season in the Natural State was marked by record-high early voting turnout. Washington County elections officials probably faced the biggest hurdle on Tuesday when a power outage at the county courthouse, disrupted the counting process. The outage started at 3:30 p.m. how votes are being counted. Officials say one polling location was impacted due to not having any power. Operations were moved from the county courthouse to the Sheriff’s office annex. “So this is really just a different location of where will be counting the process will be the same the poll workers will bring their ballot boxes all the materials to a different location to election night I’ll have all the equipment we need done at the sheriff’s annex,” said Jennifer Price, Washington County Director of Elections. While voting ran smoothly, officials in Baxter County had election night tallying issues including a lost thumb drive that was found on the floor of a bathroom. “A gentleman told me he had found it (thumb drive) in the bathroom but didn’t want to pick it up. Meanwhile, we were running because we didn’t have the thumb drive from Midway and were re-running the ballots,” Election Commissioner Judy Garner said in an interview with KTLO. The county recounted that the center’s paper ballots and the state Election Commission confirmed all procedures happened correctly. Due to technical difficulties, election commissioners in Marion County suspended counting votes late Tuesday night. The commission issued a statement saying they had technical problems with the machines and stopped trying to get the votes counted at 11:15. A fight broke out at the Springdale Recreational Center that prevented voters from casting their ballots. Around 5 p.m., a fight between some people playing at the entrance of the center broke out. Workers say their supervisor broke it up. Springdale police arrived to make sure the situation was under control. No arrests were made, and police left the scene. In the race for secretary of state, Republican incumbent John Thurston will face Democrat Anna Beth Gorman in November.

Georgia: Although there were a few hiccups reported in various locations throughout the state, overall the first election since the 2021 legislative overhaul of state election laws, voting went smoothly on Tuesday. Record early voting helped keep election day lines in Cobb County to a minimum. “The robust early voting did make election day a lot smoother, but overall, in both early voting and today, the highest areas were the ones in the cityhood area,” Cobb Elections Director Janine  Eveler said. A pair of Fulton County voting sites were required to stay open late after the sites opened about 30 minutes late on Tuesday. One Bibb County precinct was required to remain open until 8pm after a “temporary failure” of election equipment delayed voters for about an hour. Voters in Cherokee County saw a smooth process on Tuesday including first-time voter Sororquidea De La Rosa. “I am an immigrant, and this is my first-time voting… overall they (poll workers) were very helpful and guided me well,” De La Rosa said.  A corrupted memory card slowed results in Muscogee County. Voters in Lincoln County said they were not informed about changes to polling locations. After a polling place was destroyed by a tornado in advance of the primary, voters in Bryan County were forced to cast their ballot in a mobile voting unit which led to long lines with the last voter finally casting their ballot more than two hours after polls closed. “I thought we had a good plan but obviously it didn’t turn out as we had hoped,” Tom Hand, Chairman, Bryan County Board of Elections said. A man was arrested in Columbia County after he threated to blow up a polling site because he was angry that he allegedly had to use two tanks of gas to find his polling site—which had not changed since the last election. A candidate for DeKalb County commission is calling for a hand count of Tuesday’s election results, citing what she called multiple “red flags” in the precinct-level data and day-of vote counts. In the race for secretary of state, incumbent Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger will face off against the winner of the Democratic runoff which will feature State Rep. Bee Nguyen and one challenger that was not yet determined at presstime.

Texas: The primary runoff on Tuesday went off largely without a hitch, although it didn’t seem like that would be the case in the hours leading up to it for Harris County. County elections officials and the county GOP had sparred over how election night would be handled and the county GOP even sued the county around 2pm on Tuesday challenging the county’s plan to move ballots to a central spot for counting. And while the county had warned that results could be delayed, Election Administrator Isabel Longria said things went even better than planned and the results were not delayed. “We certainly think this went smoothly,” said Leah Shah, spokeswoman for the county elections office. “Credit goes to the county workers who made sure we were fully staffed and able to deliver results.” Some fast-moving storms did have a minor impact on in-person voting in Harris County on Tuesday. Computer issues delayed results in Tarrant County. Mail-ballot rejections, that were a huge problem in the March primary due to a new state law, were also a concern coming into the runoff; however, elections officials statewide worked on a variety of ways to make the process easier for voters including new ballot design. Rejections in Bexar County fell from 22% in the March primary to less than 1% in the runoff this week. Elections Administrator Jacque Callanen said the county put a bilingual insert into ballots explaining the new process. “Just from looking at the raw numbers right now, it looks like it worked,” she said. “We came up with an insert to put in there to assist the voters so they don’t miss on the envelopes with the very tiny print that they need to put on their (Texas Driver’s License), or the last four of your social, so we are really excited and now at this point now we’re looking forward to November.”

May 17 Primary Follow-Up
Oregon: A week after the primary, Clackamas County Clerk Sherry Hall has presented a plan to the secretary of state’s office on when the county clerk’s office will be done processing and county mail ballots that had defective barcodes. Hall released a plan via a memo on the county’s elections website. The memo says all of the votes will be counted within nine days, and the election will be certified as planned by June 13. Staff is currently copying votes from the original ballots onto new ones by hand. The secretary of state’s office had asked for the plan after polls closed last week.  According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, the ballot issue has garnered a lot of attention and inspired more conspiracy theories about the state’s vote-by-mail system. Some have even called on the secretary of state’s office  to take over the elections office in Clackamas. “The statute is very, very clear,” Secretary of State Shemia Fagan said. “And so, there are folks out there, I think just out of frustration saying, ‘Fagan should take over.’ It’s just simply the law doesn’t provide for that. Our north star is to make sure the voters of Oregon … have certainty in the accuracy of the results by June 13.” If the secretary of state’s office were to take over, Fagan said, the state would end up with a “summer full of lawsuits” over whether the election was conducted legally. “We’re not going to go anywhere near that. We’re going to make sure to stay in the boundaries of the law,” Fagan said.

Pennsylvania: While some counties are still completing their ballot counting from the May 17 primary election, acting-Secretary of the Commonwealth Leigh M. Chapman announced this week that there would be a statewide recount of the Republican senate race. Chapman said that Mehmet Oz led David McCormick by just 902 votes, or less than 0.08% of the more than 1.3 million ballots cast in their race. Following the press event, evening the margin had shrunk even further. That put their contest well within the 0.5% margin of victory that triggers an automatic recount under state law. And as Pennsylvania’s 67 counties prepared to begin the retallying process as early as Friday, Chapman vowed the recount would take place “transparently, as dictated by law.” “I know Pennsylvanians and, indeed, people throughout the country have been following this race attentively and are eagerly awaiting the results,” she said. “I thank everyone for their patience as we count every vote.” The recount in the McCormick-Oz race is only the seventh time one has been automatically triggered since the implementation of the 2004 law that required them in close races. Over the next two weeks, elections officials will run all counted mail and in-person ballots through different scanning machines than those they used in their original counts to confirm their totals. They must complete this process by June 7.

Election News This Week

Early Voting For The Win: Three-year-old colt Early Voting won the 147th Preakness Stakes in Baltimore on May 21. He went off at 5-1. After stalking the leaders for much of the race before moving into first around the final turn Early Voting finished 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Epicenter, who was second just like in the Derby. Trainer Chad Brown and owner Seth Klarman skipped the Derby which paid off. “We thought he needed a little more seasoning, the extra rest would help him,” Klarman told ESPN. “He was pretty lightly raced — only three races before today. And as it turned out, that was the right call. We wanted to do right by the horse, and we’re so glad we waited.” Early Voting won the race in 1:54.54 and paid $13.40, $4.60 and $3.60. Epicenter paid $2.80 and $2.40 for place and show, and Creative Minister was third and paid $4.20 to show. The Early Voting team has already said they won’t head to New York for the Belmont, but as for what lies, ahead, maybe the Breeder’s Cup, scheduled for November 5—three days before Election Day. I’m just sayin’.

A Trusted Media Source: This week, the folks at Chalkbeat officially launched Votebeat. Votebeat will provide full-time, nonpartisan local coverage of election administration and voting in four states — Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas — through the 2022 midterm elections and beyond.  “Today is an important milestone in Chalkbeat’s evolution, proving that Chalkbeat’s model of topical, local, and philanthropically supported news can extend beyond education,” said Elizabeth Green, Chalkbeat CEO and co-founder. “In the long term, we envision Votebeat operating in every state across the country, and we are excited to bring this vision to fruition.” Chalkbeat launched Votebeat as a popup local newsroom during Election 2020, placing reporters in 10 partner newsrooms across eight states. This network of reporters strictly covered the process and mechanics of voting — no polls, candidate platforms, or election day results — and instead maintained a strict focus on how elections are run, from early and mail-in voting to voter registration and election security. Votebeat’s mission is to help people understand the country’s system of democracy so they can participate in strengthening it — to fill a void in the information ecosystem with facts and nuance on how voting works. Votebeat’s editorial approach will be to produce coverage that counters misinformation through clear explanation, to point to solutions that make voting more accessible and fair, and to spotlight bad actors. The longer-term vision of Votebeat is to employ one to three local reporters in all 50 states, exclusively covering election administration and voting year-round, given the long-term need for accountability and engagement on the topic. Votebeat will make their stories available, at no cost, to local news outlets throughout Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Texas. Votebeat is launching with formal editorial partnerships with Bridge Michigan, Spotlight PA, and The Texas Tribune — three nonprofit news organizations that were among Votebeat’s original partners during its 2020 project phase.

Power to the Polls: Power to the Polls has announced that they will relaunch their poll worker recruitment efforts for 2022. The initiative recruited more than 700,000 poll works in 2020 and looks to build on that success for this year. “In 2020, we were blown away by the number of people who raised their hands to support our democracy and be a poll worker for the first time, especially amid a pandemic,” said Jane Slusser, Program Manager for Power the Polls. “This year, poll worker shortages in a number of states have caused polling places to close, making it more challenging for voters to access the ballot box. We’re looking forward to building on our success from 2020 and ensuring voters from every community can cast their vote in 2022.” Slusser said Power the Polls would look to reengage the 700,000 people who signed up to be potential poll workers in 2020, encouraging them to get in touch with their local election offices to work again. She said Power the Polls would place a particular emphasis on recruiting workers who have specialized skill sets, like knowing multiple languages, that local officials need to run elections smoothly. The initiative was co-founded by Civic Alliance, Civic Responsibility Project, Comedy Central, Fair Elections Center, Pizza to the Polls, MTV Entertainment Group, and the Center for Secure and Modern Elections.

This and That: An investigation by the Mesa County, Colorado District Attorney into potential election fraud claims concluded human error — not a malicious actor — was the cause of anomalies in the county’s vote tabulation system. After being broken for 15 months, a minor change to Georgia’s automatic voter registration website has seen voter registrations “skyrocket” in the last month. The City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii Elections Division re-mailed 17,000 election notification postcards as of Monday due to printing and districting errors. Elections officials in eight Idaho counties are about to embark on the state’s first-ever post-election random audit. Early voting in Chicago has been pushed to May 31 due to court challenges to ballots. Sheriff Tyree Jones is investigating a potential theft at the Hinds County, Mississippi Election Commission headquarters where hundreds of items associated with the use of the county’s voting machines were reported missing from the office. A marker has been unveiled at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick, Maryland to honor prominent suffragists Florence and Bertha Trail who are buried there. Eleven of Nebraska’s 93 counties mailed ballots to every registered voter in the recent election and turnout in those counties reached 55% compared to over turnout of 33.3%. Veterans and town clerks in New Hampshire are asking Gov. Chris Sununu to veto legislation that would create a limited provisional ballot system. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is partnering with the North Dakota Department of Transportation to get residents voter ID cards. Since taking office in January, Virginia Gov. Glen Youngkin has restored the voting rights to nearly 3,500 people. The Park County, Wyoming commission will not approve a proposal by Park County Republican Men’s Club to hand-count ballots in the 2022 elections.

Personnel News: Former State Sen. Mark Miloscia has announced his bid to serve as Washington Secretary of State. Christen Bouchard stepped down as the Passadumkeag, Maine clerk. The Potter County, Texas Elections Administration recently honored Piedad Arebalo, a Potter County Elections worker who has worked elections in the county for 50 years. Waterbury, Vermont Town Clerk Carla Lawrence will retire this summer. Sen. Tara Nethercott has announced her candidacy for Wyoming secretary of state. Dean Knudson has resigned from the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

Legislative Updates

Arizona: A bill is on Gov. Doug Ducey’s desk to make it a felony to allow someone to register to vote and cast a ballot on Election Day.  That however is already not legal in Arizona. Voters cannot cast a ballot if they register less than 29 days before an election. Democratic Sen. Martin Quezada said.  “This is just a political platform to expound upon the Big Lie that our elections are not safe and that our voter registration procedures are not legitimate. And this one is just silly. One, we don’t have same-day voter registration in place right now, at all. This doesn’t exist,” Quezada.  The bill’s sponsor Republican Rep. Jake Hoffman does not dispute it is already illegal to do so. But signatures are being gathered to change voting laws to allow same day voting.

Ducey has signed the following bills into law:

Under Senate Bill 1108, an automatic recount would occur at the county level if an election count was within 0.5% between the two candidates. House Minority Leader Reginald Bolding of Phoenix supported that bill, leading to a wave of Democratic support. The move from .1% to .5% was lauded by Gov. Ducey’s office in a statement. “As Arizona’s population grows, it is necessary and prudent to continue prioritizing accountability,” Ducey said. “This election result confirmation process puts Arizona more in-line with other states’ procedures.”

Senate Bill 1329 mandates a county recorder to provide a real-time tabulation of ballots on Election Day by counting the number of early ballots returned at voting locations. The county recorder would also post these totals with the latest unofficial election count on its website.

The Senate has rejected a bill offered by Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-Scottsdale) that would have required drop boxes to have video monitoring. Ugenti-Rita said drop boxes are rife with possibilities for “ballot harvesting,” a pejorative term for dropping off completed ballots for other people. The Legislature in 2016 made it a felony to return another person’s mail ballots unless it is for a family member or if the person returning the ballot is a caregiver. But GOP Sen. J.D Mesnard noted that banning drop boxes outright would essentially kill the bill, because there’s no support in the House for going as far as Ugenti-Rita was proposing. The original House measure would have completely banned unmonitored drop boxes, but it did not have the votes to pass so it was watered down to allow counties to set up video monitoring where practical.

California: The Senate approved legislation to protect election workers by keeping their home addresses confidential. SB 1131, authored by Senator Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), passed with a 30-8-2 vote. The bill will stymie increasing harassment and violent threats directed at election workers. To offset the growing wave of harassment and violent threats directed at election workers, SB 1131 will allow election workers to enroll in either of the state’s existing address protection programs — the Secretary of State’s Safe at Home program or the state’s address confidentiality program for public officials. Safe at Home, designed to protect survivors of domestic violence and people who work at reproductive healthcare facilities, redirects the mail of victims enrolled in the program to a different mailing address. Alternatively, election workers may enroll in a program that allows state and local agencies to respond to public records requests without disclosing the address of an election worker. To reduce the likelihood that poll workers may be subject to doxing and targeting, SB 1131 also would eliminate the current statutory requirement for posting the names of poll workers at polling places, yet still would require the responsible election official to post the political party preferences of people working at a particular polling place.

Kansas: Lawmakers overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto to enact a law pushed by a conservative Florida organization in response to unfounded claims of election fraud in other states. The measure, approved with a two-thirds majority in the Kansas House and Senate, bars the Kansas governor, secretary of state and attorney general from entering into consent decrees changing election law in the state. The bill was proposed and pushed for by the Florida-based Opportunity Solutions Project. “The Legislature is the one that establishes laws,” Rep. Emil Bergquist, a Park City Republican, said. “There’s not a reason to forego the approval of the Legislature.” But the measure did not respond to any event in Kansas. Proponents pointed to a pre-litigation settlement Gov. Laura Kelly reached with Loud Light, a left-leaning civic engagement group, last year. But that agreement related to federal law on providing voter registration forms to Kansans receiving social services, state not election law. In her veto message, Kelly said the bill tied the hands of executive officials. “There are times when it is necessary or actually better to enter into a consent decree than to require that we litigate an unconstitutional law,” said Rep. Vic Miller, a Topeka Democrat.

Louisiana: By a 57-22 vote, the House has approve House Bill 811 that would ban private funds to pay for election-related expenses. Rep. Blake Miguez, R-Erath. said on that HB 811 simply clarifies the law, and it has the support of both Attorney General Jeff Landry and Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin. The bill states: “No state or local official, including but not limited to a registrar of voters or a clerk of court, or agency responsible for conducting elections shall solicit, accept, use, or dispose of any donation in the form of money, grants, property, or personal services from individuals or profit or nonprofit corporations, for the purpose of paying costs related to conducting elections.” The legislature approved similar bills in the 2020 2nd Extraordinary Session and the 2021 Regular Session, and Gov. Jon Bell Edwards vetoed the legislation on both occasions.

Lawmakers have commissioned a task force to study the expansion of voting rights for people with disabilities. House Concurrent Resolution 14, sponsored by Rep. Matthew Willard, D-New Orleans, received final passage Monday with a unanimous vote in the Senate.  The task force will examine amenities and procedures currently available for disabled voters and any impediments that might exist. Its members will then make recommendations that could be included in future legislation. The proposal received bipartisan support only after House Republicans removed the phrase “curbside voting” from the legislation. The original version included curbside voting as a topic to study for people who use wheelchairs or cannot physically enter a polling place, but it received heavy pushback from GOP lawmakers in the House and Governmental Affairs Committee. The final version instead directs the task force to study, at a minimum, ways to streamline how disabled voters receive “assistance when voting.”

Vermont: Gov. Phil Scott allowed a bill changing the Burlington city charter to become law without his signature and makes way for ranked choice voting. The enactment of H.744 reinstates a voting system that Burlingtonians repealed after a controversial mayoral race more than a decade ago. This time, only city councilors will be chosen by the voting system, which allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, lesser-ranked choices come into play to determine a winner. In a letter to lawmakers, Scott said he allowed the bill to become law because of its limited scope. But he wouldn’t sign it because he’s opposed to instituting ranked-choice voting statewide.  “I believe one person should get one vote,” Scott wrote, “and candidates who get the most votes should win elections.”

Legal Updates

Federal Litigation: U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols ordered MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to pay some of voting machine company Smartmatic’s court costs and fees, saying in a ruling that some of Lindell’s claims against Smartmatic fall “on the frivolous side of the line.” “The Court agrees with Smartmatic that Lindell has asserted at least some groundless claims,” Nichols wrote in his ruling.  “In particular, the Court concludes that at the very least Lindell’s claim against Smartmatic under the Support or Advocacy Clause falls on the frivolous side of the line (other claims do too). As a result, the Court orders Lindell and his previous counsel to pay some of the fees and costs Smartmatic has incurred defending itself and moving for sanctions,” he added. Nichols also granted motions from Smartmatic, Dominion Voting Systems and Hamilton Place to dismiss the lawsuits against them.

Arizona: After losing a bid to end early voting by going straight to the state Supreme Court, the Arizona Republican party has started a similar suit before a trial judge. In legal papers filed in Mohave County Superior court, attorney Alexander Kolodin contends the state’s Constitution requires ballots to be cast in person on Election Day.  While the original lawsuit sought to completely eliminate early voting, this new one would allow for specific exceptions, such as being elderly or plans to be away on Election Day.  Though arguing for some exceptions could undermine the basic arguments that the Legislature cannot allow for early voting in all cases.  In the last general election, nearly 90% of all ballots were cast early.

In a tentative ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Dominic Lanza rejected claims by Mi Familia Vota and others that the 2021 law eliminating the state’s permanent early voting list unconstitutionally interferes with the right to vote. Lanza said that the statute, approved by the Republican-controlled legislature, imposes only a minimal burden. And he said the state has presented legitimate reasons, including reducing costs of having to send out early ballots to people who may not be interested in using them. But the judge said that evidence presented by challengers shows the law will have a disparate impact on different racial groups. And it’s that effect — coupled with the comments of Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, that has Lanza telling the lawyers in the case that he’s inclined to let the case go forward. The law spells out that if someone does not return an early ballot in at least one of four prior elections — meaning a primary and a general election in two successive years — that person is dropped from what would no longer be called the permanent early voting list.

Nevada: Washoe County District Court Judge Egan Walker rejected a lawsuit seeking heightened observation of Washoe County’s vote-counting process. It was brought by Robert Beadles, a Washoe County Republicans central committee member and funder of opposition efforts against a number of local officials and candidates. The suit’s stated intent was to get the court to provide more clarity to legislative edicts allowing the public to meaningfully observe ballot tabulation.  Defendants in the case were the Nevada Secretary of State’s office and the Washoe County Registrar of Voters, with the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada signing on as an “intervenor” opposing the lawsuit. Walker said it was “clear to me” the lawsuit was not about observation but about participation because it asks the court to allow the vote counting process to be stopped at the say-so of an observer. He said the plaintiffs — Beadles and 25 additional Washoe County registered voters — seemed to want to audit the vote count rather than merely observe. “What I have is multiple plaintiffs who filed an unsworn, unverified complaint,” Walker said from the bench after a one-hour hearing, adding “I have in front of me, in fact, no competent evidence which supports the claims.”

New Jersey: The City of Newark is suing local and county election officials, demanding that all polling places be made handicapped accessible for next month’s Congressional primaries and city council runoffs, after the mayor and others said some frail or elderly voters could not cast ballots in the May 10 non-partisan municipal election. The suit, which was filed in state Superior Court in Newark on Friday, charges that the Essex County Board of Elections and other officials violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and a state statute requiring accessibility of polling places. It seeks an order from a judge “requiring that the Board provide handicapped accessible polling sites throughout the city.” A hearing is scheduled for May 31 before Judge Robert Gardner in Newark.

New York:  The League of Women Voters has filed suit seeking to combine the state’s primary elections scheduled weeks apart due to the upheaval surrounding the redistricting process this year.  Currently, primary voters are set to vote in two separate elections: State Assembly and statewide primaries will remain June 28; the primary elections for the state Senate and congressional races has been moved to Aug. 23. A full statewide primary usually costs as much as $30 million, and local elections officials have said more money will be needed to administer the additional election.  The organization’s suit seeks to move the state Assembly and statewide primaries to Aug. 23 as well in order to save money and reduce voter confusion.  “The State Board of Elections, apparently with the support of the leaders of both major political parties, put in place a deliberately exclusionary electoral regime for statewide offices designed to limit further competition in the primary and from independent candidates in the general election,” said Laura Ladd Bierman, the executive director of the League of Women Voters. “Our suit requests the Court to order the postponement of the statewide primary from June 28 to August 23, 2022 – the same date as State Senate and Congressional primaries — and extend the deadline for gathering signatures for both the party primaries and independent candidates seeking to qualify for the general election.”

North Dakota: The Biden administration has waded into a redistricting fight in North Dakota, backing the right of two Native American tribes and several of their members to sue the state’s top election official over their claims that its new legislative districts illegally dilute Native voting power. In an amicus brief filed Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice said federal courts — including the Supreme Court — have repeatedly upheld individual citizens’ ability to challenge racially discriminatory policies and practices under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. By throwing its weight behind the North Dakota case, which the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and the Spirit Lake Tribe filed in February, the administration seeks to rebuke a growing view among conservatives that private parties cannot allege a Section 2 violation. North Dakota Secretary of State Alvin Jaeger took that stance in a bid to dismiss the tribes’ lawsuit last month, noting that Justice Neil M. Gorsuch has said lower courts are treating the issue “as an open question.” But the Justice Department hit back, saying it has a “substantial interest in ensuring the proper interpretation of Section 2” and arguing that the Supreme Court has twice made clear that a private right of action exists under that statute.

Pennsylvania: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that Pennsylvania mail ballots submitted without a date on the envelope last year should be counted. The full extent of the decision’s impact is unclear, because the court issued a judgment and said an opinion would come later. But based on the order, lawyers from both parties said, the path was suddenly cleared for counties to count the undated mail ballots they had been preparing to reject this election. The question before the three-judge panel in Philadelphia was whether to count 257 undated mail ballots in Lehigh County from last November’s general election. State law requires voters to sign and date the outside mailing envelope when they return their mail ballots, and state courts have held that the requirement means undated ballots must be rejected. But throwing out those votes violates the federal Civil Rights Act, the ACLU argued, because the date isn’t actually used in determining the legitimacy of a vote. The group brought the case, Migliori v. Lehigh County Board of Elections, on behalf of five voters whose undated ballots were to be rejected after a separate case wound through state courts. The judges agreed, declaring the date requirement in state law is immaterial under the Civil Rights Act — meaning it can’t be used as a reason to reject ballots. “Accordingly, there is no basis on this record to refuse to count undated ballots that have been set aside in the November 2, 2021, election for Judge of the Common Pleas of Lehigh County,” the judgment reads. The judges returned the case to the federal district court, “and that court is hereby directed to … enter an order that the undated ballots be counted.”

Following the Friday ruling on the 2021 ballots, Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick filed a lawsuit in a bid to ensure certain mail-in ballots aren’t disqualified from last week’s Pennsylvania primary, in which his fight against Mehmet Oz remains too close to call. McCormick, in papers filed in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, said a number of county boards of election are refusing to count ballots that arrived in time for the primary but were missing handwritten dates on the envelopes. “These ballots were indisputably submitted on time—they were date-stamped upon receipt—and no fraud or irregularity has been alleged,” the suit says, adding that boards are refusing to count them because of the technicality.

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania overturned the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s decertification of Fulton County’s voting machines and granted all counties the authority to inspect electronic voting equipment. President Judge Emerita Mary Hannah Leavitt overruled the preliminary objection, citing that “Whether prevention thereof is the responsibility of the Secretary or of the county boards of elections, or both, is not clear. Both are government agencies created by the General Assembly with discrete and separate roles to fulfill toward the end of honest elections in Pennsylvania. The county boards of elections are not bureaus within the Department of State subject to management by the Secretary of the Commonwealth. They are separate and standalone government agencies.”

Texas:  U.S. District Court Judge Xavier Rodriguez has ruled that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland can proceed with voting and civil rights claims against Texas over a state law passed last year to address purported voter fraud. State officials had asked Rodriguez to dismiss the case, arguing that federal officials did not have standing to sue them. They argued that local election officials — not state ones — were charged with implementing the new law. Rodriguez disagreed in an order, finding the U.S. attorney general has “broad constitutional power to protect the right to vote” and is “congressionally authorized” to go after voting rights violations. The federal government had a “significant stake” in protecting “the general welfare of its citizenry,” Rodriguez wrote. He found the U.S. government had plausibly alleged that Texas law would “disenfranchise eligible Texas citizens who seek to exercise their vote,” including those with disabilities, limited knowledge of English and “members of the military deployed away from home.”

Opinions This Week

National Opinions: Voting rights | Online voting | Election deniers, II | Native American voting rights | Election security

Arizona: Election legislation, II

California: Secretary of state race | Placer County | Riverside County | Voting rights

Colorado: Secretary of state race

Florida: Voting rights | Secretary of state

Georgia: Election deniers | 2022 Primary

Indiana: Election security

Iowa: Election security

Maine: Election workers

Minnesota: Ranked choice voting | Election security

Missouri: Ranked choice voting

New Jersey: Essex County

New York: Voting rights

Oregon: Clackamas County, II, III, IV, V |  Voting system

Pennsylvania: Ballot processing | Lancaster county | Primary | Electioneering

South Carolina: Early voting

Virginia; Ex-felon voting rights

Washington: 2022 primaries

Wyoming Secretary of state

Upcoming Events

Facts in a Time of Fiction: Journalists have long been charged with sorting fact from fiction through their reporting. But what happens when readers redefine what they see as truth and what they’ll accept as fact?  New York Times writer and author Elizabeth Williamson is among journalists confronting the rampant rise and spread of conspiracy theories through her reporting and research. Her current work has focused around unraveling the targeted misinformation and lies spread after the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Conn., the surviving families’ lawsuits against Infowars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and the election disinformation fueling the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack.  In this instructional program with the National Press Club Journalism Institute, Williamson will share her reporting and research process, along with insights she gained as she connected the dots on how conspiracy theories grow. Williamson, whose critically-acclaimed book “Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth” published this spring, will describe how she threaded together more than 400 interviews, 10,000 pages of court testimony and other records, and on-the-ground reporting to trace a line from conspiracy theories around Sandy Hook to Jan. 6, 2021. Participants will learn to: Identify how misinformation and political conspiracy theories have spread; Work with sensitivity and clarity while reporting on conspiracy theories;  Pre-bunk conspiracy theories through early reporting; Use trauma-informed reporting methods while working with people suffering tragedy; and Organize reporting and deep research to craft a long-form narrative. Where: Online. When: June 10, 11:30am Eastern.

CIRCLE Growing Voters: How do we develop the next generation of voters and expand the electorate? Join the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), the nation’s leading, nonpartisan applied research institute on youth voting, as we present a new paradigm to guide the work of preparing young people for electoral participation: CIRCLE Growing Voters. Based on exclusive, rigorous research, our framework serves as a guide for every institution and community to help grow voters, with actionable recommendations for educators, organizers, policymakers, journalists, funders, families, young leaders, and more. Only by working together can we close voting gaps, expand the electorate, and support a more equitable and representative American democracy. Where: Online. When: June 14 2pm-3:30pm Eastern.

IGO Annual Conference: Join the International Association of Government Officials for their 5th Annual Conference this summer. Check back here for more details and how to register. When: June 17-24. Where: Indian Wells, California.

NASS Summer Conference: Join the National Association of Secretaries of State for their Annual Conference this summer. Check back here for more details and how to register. When: July 7-10. Where: Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

NASED Summer Conference: Twice a year, NASED members gather to discuss the latest developments in election administration.  Members of the public are welcome to attend at the non-member registration rate. When: July 18-21. Where: Madison, Wisconsin.

Election Center Annual Conference: Join the National Association of Election Officials (The Election Center) for their 37th Annual Conference this summer.  When: August 20-24. Where: Denver.

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.

Administrative Services Manager, Decatur County, Georgia— Supervises, directs, and evaluates assigned staff; develops and oversees employee work schedules to ensure adequate coverage and control; compiles and reviews timesheets; approves/processes employee concerns and problems and counsels or disciplines as appropriate; assists with or completes employee performance appraisals; directs work; acts as a liaison between employees and management; and trains staff in operations, policies, and procedures. Salary: $67,182 – $104,133. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Associate Director, Elections & Voting, Democracy Fund— Democracy Fund champions leaders and organizations that defend democracy and challenge our political system to be more open and just. We believe that experimentation, learning, and adaptation are key to the health and resilience of any system, whether it is our organization or the American political system. As grantmakers, we focus on listening and serving our grantees, who are visionaries and our collaborators. Voting is the single most significant way Americans exercise political power. The Elections & Voting Program works to ensure that all Americans, especially those who have been historically underrepresented at the polls, have the opportunity to fully participate in the democratic process and freely vote for the candidates and issues representing their communities. The Associate Director will help lead and strengthen the Elections & Voting Program’s work to create a more equitable and accessible election system and empower communities to defend voting rights when they are threatened. The Associate Director will also help coordinate this work with Democracy Fund’s other programs, with other foundations, and with election field leaders and organizations. Reporting to the Elections & Voting Program Director, the Associate Director will help manage a growing team of staff and projects across the program, with a particular focus on strengthening our grantmaking processes, internal communications, and team operations. The successful candidate will be a systems thinker and builder who can drive impact while cultivating the internal organization needed to achieve our goals. We are looking for a connector with a demonstrated track record of managing people and creating opportunities for growth, learning, and collaboration. This role will work with the Program Director and Elections & Voting team members to develop the next phase of our strategies, support learning and team growth, and contribute to shaping Democracy Fund’s strategy and position in the field. This position also supports the work of Democracy Fund Voice, a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. Salary: Range begins at $149,040. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Chief Information Officer, North Carolina State Board of Elections— The N.C. State Board of Elections is the statewide agency that supervises elections administration, enforces campaign finance requirements, and conducts associated investigations. The State Board ensures uniform implementation of state and federal election laws and appoints local officials serving on county boards of elections. The Board is composed of five individuals appointed by the Governor from lists of nominees submitted by the chairs of the two political parties having the highest number of registered affiliates. Agency staff are civil servants subject to the State Personnel Act.  Salary: $101,622.00 – $164,766. Deadline: May 27.  Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Communications and Project Consultant, National Vote at Home Institute— National Vote at Home Institute (NVAHI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to expanding the use of mailed-out ballots in local, state, and federal elections across America. Through our education, research, and advocacy efforts with state and local elections officials, policymakers, and partners, NVAHI works to expand this secure, convenient, and voter-supported method of voting and works to ensure state and local election officials have the tools, training, and support they need to conduct successful, transparent, accurate and secure mail ballot elections. NVAHI has launched an Election Official Hub to bring resources, training, advocacy, tools, and support to election officials across the nation as they work to make voting at home more efficient, accessible, equitable, accurate, and secure. The Election Official Hub will have two webinars a month, Wonk Wednesdays, on topics relevant to voting at home with information and resources specifically created for election officials. We will also have a resource section on our EO Hub that promotes the latest research, best practices, tools for implementation, and a communication tool kit. We seek a Communications and Project Consultant to provide consulting services to our Government Affairs Director in implementing and running our new hub. The ideal Consultant will have strong communications skills, knowledge of email marketing, and experience with managing webinars and researching resources for our election officials. This position routinely interacts with election officials, partners, research professionals/institutions, and vendors. This Consultant position is a contract position with NVAHI with consulting fees set between $5,000 and $6,000 a month. The anticipated duration of the contract is through March 31, 2023. The services performed by the Consultant will include implementing and operationalizing two webinars a month There will also be additional services related to research and outreach. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Communication Specialist III, King County, Washington— This position reports to the Communications Lead for the Department of Elections. The person who fills this role will play an integral role in providing accurate and reliable information to King County voters through a variety of mediums. As misinformation surrounding elections has grown, it has become more important than ever for Elections to communicate proactively, regularly, and reliably with our voters. This position will work with a team of highly qualified election professionals and will often be tasked with translating complex technical processes into information that can be delivered on a variety of platforms and easily understood by a variety of audiences. This position will work closely with the Language Services and Community Engagement team to ensure all information is delivered in Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese in a culturally appropriate way. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Communications Manager, Sarasota County, Florida— The Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections is recruiting for a Communications Manager to join the elections team. This is a highly collaborative position primarily responsible for the development and implementation of communications campaigns, creation and execution of election-related information and coordination of public records requests and records maintenance for the Supervisor of Elections office. This position reports to the Communications Director and helps develop and manage internal and external communications that represent the SOE’s mission and goals. Work involves independent planning and execution of projects and responsibilities. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Communications Specialist, The U.S. Election Assistance Commission— The employee and supervisor collaborate to develop the approach, timelines and general framework for projects and, within these parameters, the employee independently plans and carries out the work involved in developing, maintaining, and managing media communication, coordinating with others as appropriate, interpreting and applying policy, determining the content and format for media communication, and consulting with the supervisor on questionable content or issues. The Director of Communications assigns special projects and assignments, defining the nature of the assignment, objectives to be achieved, and resources available. The employee independently resolves most problems that arise, keeping the Director informed on unusual, sensitive or controversial matters. Completed work is reviewed for achievement of objectives and consistency with governing laws, regulations, policies, and the EAC strategic plan. Salary: $74,950 – $95,824. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

County Clerk, Lane County, Oregon— Lane County is seeking a proven leader with experience in elections and real property records. The County Clerk leads a dedicated team that performs their work with accuracy and integrity. The successful candidate is someone who demonstrates a passion to serve the community, high level of attention to detail, and strong communication skills while interacting with the public, elected officials, and outside agencies. The County Clerk is responsible for planning, organizing, and conducting all regular and special elections, voter registration, property tax appeals, permanent real property records, marriage licensing, domestic partnership registrations, and archived records management while ensuring compliance with all applicable Federal, State, and Local laws. Additional duties include preparing, reviewing and analyzing data, working with a staff of 14 full-time employees, budget and financial management, and managing technology solutions that support County Clerk operations. Salary: $82,971 – $122,033. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Development and Communications Specialist, Election Reformers— This part-time specialist, reporting to the Executive Director based in Newton, MA, will help us guide our messaging about complicated (but important) reforms, draft communications, and develop ERN’s member strategy to support engagement and fundraising. The specialist will assist in development and communications. Key responsibilities will include: Helping to define the organization’s communications strategy and to guide regular content and messaging updates; Drafting external communications, email newsletters, website updates, background outreach to journalists, and occasional press releases; Providing input on overall social media strategy and on specific messages; Developing ERN’s member strategy to support engagement and fundraising; Participating in discussions regarding strategy and overall organizational planning; Providing input on ERN reports, op-eds and other publications. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Director of Elections, Cumberland County, North Carolina— The Elections Director works under the administrative direction of the County Board of Elections and Executive Director of the State Board of Election. The Elections Director performs professional, managerial, and administrative work for the Board of Elections and carries out all duties or responsibilities as assigned by Chapter 163 of the General Statutes of the State of North Carolina and as delegated by members of the County Board in accordance with the laws of the State of North Carolina, GS 163-35 (d) and 163-33.  Reports to the Chairman of the Cumberland County Board of Elections. Salary: $78,784.40 – $132,425.23. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Election Hardware Manager, Dallas County, Texas— Manages the lifecycle of election hardware by developing and maintaining processes, policies, systems and measurements. Manages the election hardware inventory; ensures quality control by assigning and deploying equipment; recommends, implements, and utilizes automation and tools to monitor and report on inventory; records and manages licenses, service agreements, and warranties for election hardware and related software/firmware; reviews, analyzes, and evaluates election hardware operations. Establishes and maintains an inventory of election related assets to include but not limited to ballot marking devices, ballot counters, electronic poll books, mobile networking equipment, computers/laptops, mobile devices, tablets, and related software and peripherals. Plans, monitors, and enforces the usage, tracking, and health of election hardware and software. Plans, monitors, and enforces configuration of election hardware to include installed software, security configuration, and election specific programming/configurations. Provides regular reports and analysis on asset usage and related costs. Documents and provides guidance and training on the usage, tracking, and maintenance of election hardware and related peripherals and software in coordination with vendors and election staff. Manages, trains and guides the work of staff in preparing, deploying, and supporting election hardware. Performs other duties as assigned. Salary: $5094.59- $6355.07. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Election Office Technician, Yavapai County, Arizona— The Elections Office Technician is a full-time position within the Yavapai County Elections Department. Major responsibilities include: Recruiting, interviewing, training, and overseeing poll workers; Processing candidate, special district and committee forms and paperwork, including campaign finance reports; Maintaining various databases for the Elections Department; Communicating with various stakeholders and the public; and Performing general office duties including ordering supplies, processing invoices, and filing. 2 years of professional experience in administration of elections, project planning, or adult learning required. Preference to applicants with experience in Microsoft Access. Salary $18.30 – $22.33 / hr, DOE. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Election Security Intelligence Analyst, Illinois State Board of Elections— Under administrative direction, serves as a team member identifying computer system vulnerabilities in partnership with the Illinois State Board of Elections and Department of Innovation and Technology for local election authorities and other state election partners. Identifies vulnerabilities and provides technical analysis and remediation recommendations for those affected computer systems, including forensic analysis for investigations, monitoring and reporting. Provides technical support to the Cyber Security Information Sharing Program Manager and Cyber Navigator Program Manager of the Illinois State Board of Elections Cyber Navigator Program in coordination with the Department of Innovation and Technology Security Operations Center.  Develops and recommends measures to safeguard systems before and after they are compromised.  Conducts monthly Tech Talks on election security and relevant cyber threats for local election authorities and their IT and security staff.  Develop annual cyber security training for local election authorities. Develops publications, guides, and other election security related resources for statewide distribution. Participates in the development of incident response plans, continuity of operation plans, and tabletop exercise training.  Serves on-call for emergency situations and Election Day.  Travel to attend training sessions, conferences, meetings, etc. is required. Serves as a team member identifying computer system vulnerabilities; reviews existing computer systems of local election authorities monitored by DoIT for security violations.  Document incidents as appropriate.  Perform analysis of systems for any weaknesses, technical flaws or vulnerabilities.  Identifies vulnerabilities and provides remediation recommendations for those affected computer systems, including forensic analysis for investigations, monitoring and reporting. Coordinates with regionally assigned cyber navigators to assist local election authorities information technology staff/vendor mitigate incidents or provide technical support. Monitors network traffic by utilizing intrusion detection devices and other technologies. Monitors activities such as automated notification of security breaches and automated or manual examination of logs, controls, procedures, and data.  Salary: $5,667 – $6,000 Monthly. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Election Specialist Lead, Thurston County, Washington — As a Lead Election Specialist, you will assist in the preparation and operation of County elections by coordinating or assisting with all ballot processing, hiring and training of extra help workers, and coordinating voter registration and education programs. There will be significant public contact, requiring effective communication and professional services to customers. Other responsibilities in this role would include, but are not limited to, the following: Assist the Division Manager in supervising and providing direction and training to assigned staff and employees. Assist with the review and approval of leave requests for extra help employees and monitors workloads and task distribution providing feed back to the Division Manager. In charge of communication with all districts and candidates to ensure all elected and appointed officials have taken their oath of office and that the oath of office is on file. Coordinate with other county departments for the set up and running of extra-large voting center in high volume elections, ensuring that all statutory laws are being followed. Process and provide public record requests for voter data and election data. Communicate with customers in person, by phone, and through written correspondence to provide information regarding voter registration, election dates, ballots, laws, and procedures. Implement changes required by federal and state law within areas of responsibility and documents changes in policies and procedures. Salary: $3,819 – $5,079 Monthly. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Election Specialist Trainee, Illinois State Board of Elections— Under direct supervision of the Director/ Deputy Director of Election Operations, functions in an administrative capacity in the Division of Election Operations, developing knowledge and understanding related to the operations of the division. During a training period of up to 12 months in order to qualify for the target title position of Election Specialist I, develops knowledge of election related opinions, court rulings and legislation as it applies to agency/divisional responsibilities.  Development of knowledge related to the aforementioned criteria should be applied answering questions from the public and election authorities. Consults on the preparation of publications;, each trainee is responsible for an individual submission of assigned publications.. Receives training on developing and conducting election judge training sessions. Trainees are responsible for the creation of an individual power point to be utilized in the training of election judges. Each trainee shall attend an amount of election judge training sessions equal to that of the trainers. Establishes working relationships with the election authorities; measured by feedback from county clerks in Illinois. Participates in the development and implementation of election procedures; participates in all formal training programs in the area of election procedures and operations, and divisional responsibilities. Assists in the evaluation of internal election related procedures. Salary: $2,760.00 – $3,464 monthly. Deadline: June 6.  Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Elections Business Intelligence Specialist, Tennessee Secretary of State— Summary: Assist in planning and coordinating the computer functions and responsibilities for the Elections Division which includes, but is not limited to: data processing, integrating the statewide voter registration system with county voter registration systems, improve election reporting capabilities; analyzing and resolving technical software issues (25%) for the Division of Elections and 95 county election commission offices, which includes, but is not limited to cybersecurity practices; reviewing and researching regulations, legislation, government codes, and directives relevant to the technical elections operation; including serving as the liaison to the Office of the Comptroller of the Treasury, Local Government; and performing other duties as assigned. This position is responsible for the accuracy and timely compliance and security of voter registration data, ballot review and approval, producing and analyzing election-related state and federal reports, maintaining and assist in updating elections mobile app. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Elections Manager, Yavapai County, Arizona— The Elections Manager is a full-time position within the Yavapai County Elections Department that reports to the Elections Director. Major responsibilities include: General management of the Elections department including: recruiting, training, and evaluating employees; managing schedules, workflow, and accuracy of work; and developing policies and strategies for the department; Coordinating all logistics for the County’s polling locations; Testing and maintaining all voting equipment and test ballots; Actively liaising with large stakeholders in the elections process, including other government entities, political parties, and candidates. A minimum of four (4) years administrative/supervisor experience with two (2) years in Elections or related field required. Associate’s degree in public administration, project management, business administration or related field required. An equivalent combination of directly related work experience and education may substitute for the degree requirement on a year per year basis. Salary: Salary $56,234.74 – $68,617.06. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Elections Manager, Cochise County, Arizona— Under limited supervision by the Director of Elections, performs professional and administrative work of a high level in the management of election administration work in planning, organizing and directing strategic and daily goals and objectives, operations and activities of the Elections Department. Performs other related work as assigned. Assists the Director of Elections in the administration and supervision of all County, special, primary and general elections with state and local jurisdictions; Manages program requirements through appropriate delegation and work supervision, organization and assignment of task duties including warehouse organization and inventory, delivery and return of election supplies to polling places, poll workers, election boards, training and pay, website, and submitting meeting agenda items; Assists with ballot creation process including proofreading all ballot styles, sending ballot proofs to candidates and jurisdictions, and creating and reviewing ballot orders; Assures accuracy of election materials and maintains chain of custody of ballots, forms, equipment, and materials; Programs, tests, and maintains all voting equipment, following Federal, State, and local requirements; Recruits, coordinates, trains, manages, supervises, and terminates seasonal or temporary staff in consultation with the Director; Develops and presents poll worker education and curriculum for online and in-person training; Assists with ballot tabulation duties including coordinating, hiring, and training the Early Boards to receive, count and prepare early ballots for tabulation, assists with oversight of receiving Boards on Election night to receive and tabulate the polling place ballots, assists with Hand Count Boards as part of the election audition process and completes necessary reports related to canvass of election and post-election audits; Assists with election night reporting, including preparing the necessary data uploads into the State’s reporting system; Assists with oversite of the departmental budget and administers office financial tasks including but not limited to, inputting requisitions, tracking expenditures and budget reconciliation, lease agreements, paying invoices, overseeing and maintains inventory for equipment and supplies and assists with annual budget preparation; Delivers effective, accurate, secure, cost-effective customer service relative to areas of responsibility. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Elections Program Engagement Manager, US Digital Response— USDR is seeking an Engagement Manager to be an early hire for our growing Elections program. As an early hire, we are looking for someone who is excited to influence the shape and structure of the program, particularly the way we build relationships with government partners. USDR partners often reach out with a complex problem knowing that USDR teams will work collaboratively to meet their needs. The Engagement Manager will be responsible for working with new and existing partners and shaping USDR projects in this space, while engaging the elections team and volunteer network to deliver on our partners’ needs. You’ll work with multiple levels of government and non-governmental organizations, interfacing with elections office stakeholders, individual engineers, support personnel, and everyone in between. You would be a good fit for this role if you’re an elections expert, a project or program manager with delivery experience, or a technologist with experience in supporting government partners. In this position, you will: Build and maintain strong, credible relationships with government partners and key stakeholders in the elections ecosystem; Create and maintain the process and infrastructure for maintaining relationships with existing partners, including building a community space for these partners; Explore new opportunities to provide impact and support to new and existing elections partners; Collaborate with government partners and USDR technologists to translate partner feedback into new features and impactful projects; Manage a portfolio of complex projects and initiatives in our Elections Program, including Poll Worker Management; and Represent USDR and the values of our Volunteer Oath in your work. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Elections Specialist, Mesa County, Colorado— As an employee in the Election Division, duties focus on a variety of work related to elections office goals, including voter registration applications, additions, changes, cancellations, and party affiliation in voter registrations. Workload, focused within the election office during an election cycle, including working with other staff to complete voter registration data entry, processing voters, and assisting the voting process of the ACP program and military/overseas voters, operation and maintenance of the election equipment, maintenance of the Address Library, voter cancelations using SCORE, and bulk print mailings. Other duties may include coordinating and organization of supplies for office and polling location in preparation for an election. Assist with election judge recruitment, assisting with scheduling and judge training. Performs daily data entry of voter registration forms, as needed. Overall, working as a team, individuals will gravitate towards and excel at certain tasks but every team member should have a solid understanding of all the tasks, which ensures redundancy and collaboration. Salary: $18.51 – $20.83 Hourly. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Elections Supervisor, Dallas County, Texas— Assists with managing the administration and operation of an election program area, to include program planning, supervising the work of others, establishing goals and objectives, developing schedules, priorities and standards for achieving goals, and coordinating and evaluating program activities. Assists management by planning, organizing, delegating and overseeing the daily operations of one or more areas of responsibility associated with the election process. Oversees the election program area to ensure staffing coverage is adequate, and productivity standards are met and are effective develops and implements goals and objectives, performance measures and techniques to evaluate programmatic activities reviews correspondence and reports from local, state and or federal agencies analyzes statistical data and prepares and maintains related reports. Researches and maintains comprehensive knowledge and understanding of applicable laws, policies and procedures to effectively communicate with staff, and acts as liaison and departmental representative to elected officials, political representatives, candidates, judges, contracting customers, vendors, general public, and or other county, state and federal representatives to resolve problems, answer questions, provide assistance and modify policies/procedures. Hires and trains supervisory and support staff, evaluates performance and initiates disciplinary actions coordinates and monitors scheduling, productivity and workloads. Assists in budget preparation and maintains related data and reports. Performs other duties as assigned. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Executive Director, Elections, The Pew Charitable Trusts— The Executive Director will guide the efforts of several interested philanthropic funders, which aim to advance evidence-based and nonpartisan solutions that improve the access to, integrity of, and trustworthiness of the U.S. election administration system. This position will lead a team of 3-4 staff to drive transformative investments, and will be accountable for developing investment recommendations, allocating resources to sourcing and due diligence, supporting fundraising, and providing leadership to drive progress and performance. The ideal candidate will have significant and distinguished work experience relevant to election administration and U.S. democracy, managing senior-level professional staff, and working with executive leadership, boards, or donors. This senior role requires a proven track record of leadership and accomplishment in designing and implementing programs aimed at solving complex and dynamic problems. The individual in this role must understand best, promising, and emerging practices and innovations in the field of election administration, and have well-honed political, strategic and analytical skills. The Executive Director must be flexible and results-oriented, with exceptional interpersonal, relationship-building and communication skills, and experience translating concepts into action, with a proven record of success in developing and implementing innovative strategies and solutions with the engagement of a broad set of stakeholders. This position will report to the Executive Vice President and Chief Program Officer. The position has a set time frame that could be extended based on the success of the program, funding sources, and board decisions on continued support. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Executive Director, National Association of Election Officials— The Election Center Board of Directors is inviting highly qualified professionals to apply for the Executive Director position. Tim Mattice, who has successfully served the Election Center for 16 years, is retiring in December 2022. The Election Center Board of Directors invites you to apply to be the next Executive Director for the Election Center – The National Association of Election Officials. The new Executive Director will be the leader of the oldest and most respected organization formed exclusively for election and voter registration officials. This is an opportunity to lead the organization into the future focusing on the strategic plan, providing service and education to members, and helping to preserve democracy. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Executive Director, U.S. Election Assistance Commission— The Executive Director has overall Commission-wide responsibility for implementing, through its operating divisions and offices, the management and administrative policies and decisions of the Commissioners. The Executive Director serves as a key management advisor to the Commissioners. The Executive Director is responsible for ensuring the agency meets its mission defined in HAVA. The Executive Director’s responsibilities include: Ensuring that EAC administrative activities comply with governing statutes and regulations in support of the effective and efficient accomplishment of EAC’s mission. Understanding HAVA and other election laws, regulations, and legal decisions pertinent to the EAC mission to assist with agency oversight. Maintaining good relationships with the U.S. Congress and the various EAC oversight committees and governing bodies of elections, including, state legislatures, city/county officials, and EAC FACA boards. Ability to establish program/policy goals and the structure and processes necessary to implement the organization’s strategic vision and mission, to ensure that programs and policies are being implemented and adjusted as necessary, that the appropriate results are being achieved, and that a process for continually assessing the quality of the program activities is in place. Providing periodic assessment of the administrative efficiency and managerial effectiveness of the EAC through strategic planning including: program reviews, reviews of programmatic goals and outcomes, and resource utilization in achieving results. Consulting with and advising Divisions and Offices on general management and operating practices affecting their substantive program areas. Developing solutions to potential and existing barriers that may limit or impede goal achievement. Planning, assigning, and appraising work products to assure high levels of performance. Deadline: June 13. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Executive Support Assistant, Decatur County, Georgia— Provides executive/administrative support to the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and/or other executive official as assigned; relieves executive staff of routine administrative tasks; screens calls, mail, and e-mail messages and initiates appropriate action/response; composes, types, edits, or proofreads correspondence on behalf of executives; records and/or transcribes dictation; keeps executives informed of significant matters, messages, documentation, or other information; conducts special projects as needed; and maintains confidentiality of departmental documentation and issues. Salary: $50,119 – $77,684. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Finance Coordinator, Sarasota County, Florida— The Finance Coordinator is a professional, administrative position mainly responsible for the oversight and management of the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections budget and finance activities. Work involves independent planning and execution of projects and responsibilities; demands long hours during election cycles. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Initiative Internship Program, Arizona Secretary of State’s Office—The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office is offering a paid Initiative Internship Program working with the Elections Division for 6 weeks (June 27 to August 8, 2022), for students who want to learn about election administration and support the initiative review process leading up to the 2022 election. An intern with the Elections Division, will learn about the application of state law through the initiative process. Interns will contribute to the team by assisting with the processing of initiative petitions. There will be in-person as well as remote processing requirements, and an intern must be available for both. Students or recent graduates interested in public service and witnessing democracy in action are encouraged to apply. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Information Technology Security Analyst, Illinois State Board of Elections— The IT Security Analyst reports directly to the Manager of Cyber Operations and Infrastructure. Supports the administration, implementation, review, and improvement of endpoint, network, hardware, application, and data security practices. Implements, supports and monitors the agency’s information security applications, including email security, web security, endpoint security software, firewalls, intrusion prevention applications, data loss prevention, etc. Monitors system dashboards and logs for threat indicators. Analyzes data and performs necessary incident response procedures. Conducts network, system and application vulnerability assessments. Analyzes agency threat surface and makes recommendations to management to harden agency systems. Evaluates agency processes and implements and/or makes recommendations to enhance security. Reviews information received concerning threat events from end users, supervisory personnel, other federal, state, county and local agencies and governmental entities involved in the exchange of data with the State Board of Elections (SBE), external entities such as the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC), trusted cybersecurity vendors, law enforcement agencies, and public information sources. Consults with SBE staff on security issues. Provides a high level of customer service to agency staff, state, county, and local election officials. Ensures service desk queues and incidents are handled in an appropriate and timely manner. Salary: $6,264 – $8,917 Monthly. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

LAN Administrator, King County Elections— King County Department of Elections (KCE) is searching for an energetic and resourceful professional who likes to “get stuff done.” The LAN Administrator – Journey position in the Elections Department combines an exciting environment with the opportunity to cultivate talents and apply a variety of skills. The ideal candidate will thrive in an innovative, fast-paced environment and will not hesitate to roll up both sleeves, work hard, have fun, and get the job done. This position is responsible for the build and support of laptops, desktops, and all other Elections auxiliary technology equipment. Duties include providing workstation provisioning, imaging, and support for Office 365. This position will also resolve software and hardware problems for end users locally and remotely; maintain end user hardware and software and the inventory of such; and be primary back-up for account setup, administration and management. This position reports to the Information Technology Division Director. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Multistate Project Manager, Election Reformers Network— The specialist will assist our Vice President of Programs in building and maintaining relationships with state-level stakeholders. Key responsibilities will include: Preparing analysis of state election administration structures and laws, and of political landscape for reform; Self-directed communication and coalition-building with election officials, nonprofit organizations, and other actors from across the ideological spectrum; Tracking and maintaining relationships across multiple states; Clearly communicating and distilling complicated information to interested audiences; Scheduling remote conference calls and video calls across multiple time zones; Providing input on ERN reports, op-eds and other publications. This role offers a great opportunity to be a part of the solution to the country’s pressing democracy challenges. ERN is committed to developing election solutions that can gain support from a wide range of political perspectives; for that reason it is essential that the candidate be open-minded, non-dogmatic, and skilled at understanding and working with a wide range of people and perspectives. The specialist will work remotely, most likely on a half-time basis, though the time frame is open to discussion. The specialist will report to the Executive Director (based in Newton, MA) and Vice President of Programs (based in Santa Fe, New Mexico). Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Nonpartisan Elections Observer, The Carter Center— The Carter Center is guided by a fundamental commitment to promote human rights, alleviate human suffering, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health conditions. The Center seeks a highly qualified, motivated and energetic consultant to the Center’s US Elections Project. The Democracy Program at The Carter Center works globally to support democratic elections and strengthen participatory democracy, consistent with human rights. Beginning in 2020, The Carter Center began efforts to support good elections in the U.S. There are multiple key aspects to this project, contributing to electoral reform, promoting candidate codes of conduct, tracking disinformation and dangerous speech, and establishing nonpartisan observation efforts. The Carter Center plans to advance possible nonpartisan observation efforts in two key states: Arizona and Michigan. These states were selected following state assessments completed on multiple states. Nonpartisan observation efforts implemented and/or supported by The Carter Center will differ from existing partisan poll watchers and election protection groups. The goal of this observation is to provide credible and transparent information on the conduct of election in each state through public reports. The Carter Center is seeking Observation Coordinators to lead efforts in Arizona and Michigan to establish and support nonpartisan observation efforts. Working with Carter Center staff and consultants, the Observer Coordinators will work to meet with new and existing stakeholders to build an observation effort and determine the best possibility for nonpartisan observation in each state. The work will be conducted in two Phases. In Phase I, the Coordinators will focus on partnership and network building. The second phase will focus more deeply on the logistics of observer deployment and project implementation based on the plans and partnerships developed in Phase I. Start date: As soon as possible, with potential travel around the state. Location: Michigan or Arizona. Length of assignment: This project is in two phases. Phase 1 will be for 3 months with possibility of extension into Phase 2 which will last up to 9 months. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Program Coordinator, MIT Election Data & Science Lab— PROGRAM COORDINATOR, Political Science, to coordinate and perform day-to-day operational activities and project planning for the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, a research project that encourages a scientific approach to improving elections in the U.S. The lab’s activities include the conduct of its own research, coordinating the research of others, and fostering a larger community of allied researchers around the country. Will oversee the lab’s budget and reconcile accounts; plan seminar series/workshops; and work as part of a team on a wide range of projects, special initiatives, and events. Responsibilities include developing, implementing, and monitoring the lab’s research projects; overseeing budgets related to grants received by the lab; coordinating seminars, conferences, and workshops; remaining aware of the progress of the lab’s projects and helping to problem-solve bottlenecks; representing the lab at special events and committee meetings; preparing correspondence in response to internal/external inquiries; composing, editing, and proofreading lab materials; helping to track progress on lab achievements and communicating them to funders; making vendor and purchasing suggestions/decisions; developing documentation/reporting for stakeholders; developing and maintaining website content; and performing other dues as necessary. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Program Manager III (Director of Election Reform and Management), Maryland State Board of Elections— The Director of the Election Reform and Management Division manages and supports the State’s implementation of the Help America Vote Act, Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, and other federal election laws, develops and implements efforts to improve election administration, and oversees the duties assigned to the Division. The position also manages the State’s provisional voting program conducted by the local boards of elections and the agency’s election judge training program and supports the State’s mail-in voting program. The Division oversees an audit program of the local boards of elections and statewide training and education programs for election officials. Salary: $66,516 – $108,929 /year. Deadline: June 6. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Program Manager, California Voter Foundation— CVF seeks an experienced and accomplished part time program manager who is passionate about voting rights and advocacy, election reform, support for election officials, and nonpartisan expertise. This position will be instrumental in supporting the day to day operations of CVF, managing communications, and supporting important programmatic initiatives. Candidates must be eager to work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment and be able to balance and prioritize competing demands. This is a remote, part-time position, with the potential to transition to a full-time position, who reports to the president of CVF. Responsibilities: Manage communications and outreach with a network of diverse leaders and stakeholders from all sectors across many time zones; Coordinate projects and research related to election funding, curtailing mis- and disinformation and legal and law enforcement protections for election officials; Support grant writing and research fundraising opportunities; Write news releases, social media posts, meeting agendas, and meeting notes; Respond to emails in a timely and professional manner; Help manage CVF social media accounts: Twitter and Facebook; Schedule meetings and plan webinar events; Attend webinars and monitor election news and events; and Support other CVF projects as needed. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Research Associate, Data Analysis, CEIR— The Research Associate will work under the direction of the Research Director and in collaboration with other colleagues to support CEIR’s research initiatives. These initiatives include matters pertaining to voter registration, voter access, election integrity and security, and election administration policy. As an integral member of the research team, the Research Associate will support CEIR’s mission by developing and conducting surveys and studies, analyzing data, and contributing to research reports and other written materials for CEIR’s diverse audience of election officials, policymakers, the media, and key stakeholders. Primary responsibilities: Collect and clean data, analyze data using statistical software, visualize findings, and develop presentations on results for internal and external audiences; Brief members of the leadership and research teams on research results, including through graphs, charts, and other data visualization tools; Synthesize findings and help draft reports, issue briefs, and other written products for publication; As a member of the research team, help assess where CEIR’s work can have the biggest impact, identify growth opportunities, and develop research proposals; Assist with all research activities, including project design, data collection and analysis, and dissemination of findings; Develop deep expertise on issues relevant to CEIR’s mission, including policies affecting election administration and voter access; Monitor trends, research, and publications in the election space to inform CEIR’s research portfolio; Promote a team culture of high performance and continuous improvement that values learning, quality, collaboration, positivity, and transparency; Maintain effective communication with team members and participate in regular team meetings. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Senior Programmer Analyst, Clark County, Nevada— This position provides project and program leadership to professional and technical staff; performs applications systems design, modification and programming of a routine to complex nature in support of County administrative and business services for multiple computer platform applications. Provides lead direction, training and work review to a programming project team; organized and assigns work, sets priorities, and follows-up and controls project status to ensure coordination and completion of assigned work. Provides input into selection, evaluation, disciplinary and other personnel matters. Gathers and analyzes information regarding customer systems and requirements and develops or modifies automated systems to fulfill these needs. Conducts feasibility studies and develops system, time, equipment and cost requirements. Using computer generated techniques, simulates hardware and software problems, tests and evaluates alternative solutions, and recommends and implements appropriate applications design. Develops program logic and processing steps; codes programs in varied languages. Plans and develops test data to validate new or modified programs; designs input and output forms and documents. Troubleshoots hardware and software problems, as needed, for customers, other agencies and information systems personnel. Writes program documentation and customer procedures and instructions and assists user departments and staff in implementing new or modified programs and applications; tracks and evaluates project and systems progress. Writes utility programs to support and validate adopted systems and programs. Confers with customer department staff regarding assigned functional program areas. Maintains records and prepares periodic and special reports of work performed. Maintains current knowledge of technology and new computer customer applications. Contributes to the efficiency and effectiveness of the unit’s service to its customers by offering suggestions and directing or participating as an active member of a work team. Uses standard office equipment in the course of the work; may drive a personal or County motor vehicle or be able to arrange for appropriate transportation in order to travel between various job sites depending upon departments and/or projects assigned. This is an open and continuous recruitment, scheduling dates will vary depending on when the application was received and reviewed by Human Resources. This examination will establish an Open Competitive Eligibility list to fill current and/or future vacancies that may occur within the next six (6) months or may be extended as needed by Human Resources. Human Resources reserves the right to call only the most qualified applicants to the selection process. Salary: $32.07 – $49.74 Hourly. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Senior Software Engineer, Ballotpedia— Ballotpedia seeks a full-time, 100% remote Senior Software Engineer to join its Tech team. Our Senior Software Engineer will provide technical leadership to a group of web developers and data engineers and will be able to advise on best practices, champion code quality, assist in the professional development of team members, and scope out new opportunities for the organization. At a high level, you will develop a holistic view of Ballotpedia’s architecture, infrastructure and software design and develop the ability to guide the team accordingly. Reporting to the Director of Technology Operations and in collaboration with organization leadership, you will help define requirements and inform priorities around software development at the organization across many products. As a Senior Software Engineer, you will also implement these software solutions and contribute your own code to further Ballotpedia’s mission of making high-quality political data and unbiased encyclopedic content available to the American public. This is a full-stack role that may include various aspects of development, design, programming, architecture, testing, and tooling. This role also includes higher-level decision-making related to technology used at the company, as well as leadership of the other web developers. Salary: $100,000-$120,000. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Training Coordinator, Sarasota County, Florida— This position is primarily responsible for curriculum development and training of election poll workers. Additional responsibilities include assisting in the selection of and communication with poll workers; procuring polling locations, including ensuring their suitability and accessibility, and developing and training other elections staff. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Voter Education & Outreach Specialist, Washington Secretary of State’s Office— This position reports to the Voting Information Services Manager of the Elections Division and works collaboratively to provide outreach and educational services. This position leads onsite customer service to candidates during annual peaks, voters’ pamphlet training for internal staff, organization of printed materials for proofing, fulfillment of outreach materials to stakeholders, and coordinates the printing and distribution of the state Voters’ Pamphlet. The passage of new legislation (ESHB 2421) increases the business needs to be met by the Secretary of State’s Office. Each May and June, the office must preview and process candidate’s statements to be printed in local county primary pamphlets as well as the processing necessary July through October for the state general election pamphlet. The Voting Information Services (VIS) team promotes accessible, fair, and accurate elections. Through educational programs and service excellence, we help eligible Washington residents register to vote, file for office, and cast an informed ballot. VIS exercises visionary leadership to publish the state Voters’ Pamphlet. The team provides voters and candidates with essential tools and training, digestible data and auditing reports, outreach programs and publications. VIS also advises County Auditors in interpretations of federal and state election law to uphold the integrity of election administration throughout the state. These objectives are accomplished through official communications, collaboration with stakeholders, and educational publications including the state Voters’ Pamphlet. The VIS program also acts as liaison for the Office of the Secretary of State. Salary: $55,524 – $74,604. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Voter Services Supervisor (Republican), Lucas County, Ohio— Reports to the Directors.  Voter Services Supervisor is charged with managing and evaluating staff in accordance with the standards established by the Lucas County Board of Elections including training of said staff (shared responsibility with Democrat). Responsible for the accurate and timely data entry of all registration information including, but not limited to, new registrations, address changes, deletions, corrections and name changes in the voter registration system (both local and state); Responsible for supervision of all absentee by mail operations including but not limited to, processing absentee applications and assembling/mailing absentee ballot packets to voters as prescribed by law;  Responsible for processing of all returned absentee ballots; Responsible for supervising inspection and counting all absentee ballots;  Responsible for preparing absentee ballots for tabulation and the balancing of said tabulation as prescribed by law. Assisting in the processing and reviewing of the validity and sufficiency of all candidates, initiative and referendum petitions; Responsible for adhering to all statutory deadlines regarding campaign finance, registration, absentee voting and local options; Responsible for maintaining the supervision of the switchboard operations; Responsible for administrating the processing of the NCOA and Duplicate Lists; Responsible for maintaining confidentiality and business integrity. Responsible for providing the Directors with periodic written status reports regarding work processed and still outstanding in a format established by the Directors; Responsible for ensuring that a sufficient number of staff are logged into the phone queues at all times. Performs all other duties as assigned, by the Directors, the Board of elections, and/or as prescribed by law. Responsible for daily supervision of operations within the absentee department by mail and in person voting. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Web Developer, Ballotpedia— Ballotpedia is seeking a full-time, senior full-stack Web Developer to join our organization. This is a remote position. Ballotpedia’s Tech team supports the rest of the staff in making high-quality political data and unbiased encyclopedic content available to the American public by improving many aspects of Ballotpedia’s web presence and the behind-the-scenes tools used by staff. This is a full-stack role that may include various aspects of engineering, development, design, programming, architecture, testing, and tooling. We are looking for someone with at least two years of career experience in full-stack web development who can demonstrate abilities across the stack. Salary: $65,000-$85,000. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

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