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June 23, 2022

June 23, 2022

In Focus This Week

“It’s turned my life upside down…”
The Carter Center releases a well-being resource guide

By M. Mindy Moretti
Electionline.org

Election officials and their staff are under more pressure than ever.

Nowhere has that been more clear than the testimony from Fulton County, Georgia election worker Wandrea “Shaye” Moss who testified this week before the Select Committee on Jan. 6.

Michael Reynolds/Getty Images

“It’s turned my life upside down. I no longer give out my business card… I don’t want anyone knowing my name,” Moss told the committee. “I don’t go to the grocery store at all. I haven’t been anywhere at all. I’ve gained about 60 pounds. I just don’t do nothing anymore,” she said during her testimony.

Threats, mis-dis-malinformation, a skeptical public, potential budget issues and staffing shortages. With all that pressure, it isn’t any wonder that mental health has become an issue for elections folks.

“Hilary Rudy [deputy elections director] and I bring up mental health every week at the full staff meeting, highlighting various services available through the state and by other means,” said Judd Choate, director of elections for the Colorado. “I can’t really speak to how that’s played out, other than to say that many elections employees have taken advantage of these services.”

One new resource is “Taking Care of Yourself to Serve Others: A Well-being Resource Guide for Elections Officials” from The Carter Center.

The guide is intended to provide resources to election officials to help support their own well-being and the well-being of their colleagues and teams. In it, officials will find information on:

  • The Signs and Impacts of Trauma
  • Techniques for Promoting Resiliency and Recovery
  • Mental Health Support Near You
  • Online Security Tips and Toolkits

Avery Davis-Roberts, associate director of the Democracy Program at The Carter Center said the resource guide really started from listening to election officials tell their stories of what it’s been like to do their jobs in an at-times hostile environment, and seeing what happened to the storytellers, on a human level, as they were relaying their experience.

“Seasoned election officials, election officials with decades of experience were getting choked up telling their stories, or would then go on to tell us about the effects that they were still experiencing when alone in their homes, or picking up their kids from school,” Davis-Roberts said. “Seeing these involuntary responses that were triggered by reliving the experiences they had, made us think that tools and resources that could help people give a name to what they were feeling and experiencing, and knowing that they were not alone might be helpful.”

The Center’s Democracy and Mental Health Programs collaborated on the project. This was the second collaboration between programs with a focus on the United States – in 2020 they worked together on mental health resources and training for journalists covering elections.

As Choate in Colorado noted, states too are doing what they can to help their own employees as well as all the local officials. In Michigan, according to Tracy Wimmer, director of media relations for the secretary of state’s office, all state employees have access to the Employee Service Program, a mental health resource that is free and confidential. Clerks have also been offered access to video workshops through the Defense Health Agency that covered mental health and wellness.

The Associated Press

Back in 2021, The Brennan Center surveyed elections officials and found that one in three election officials feel unsafe because of their job. Nearly one in five listed threats to their lives as a job-related concern, 78 percent said social media has made their job more difficult, and 54 percent said social media has made their job more dangerous. Many of you have received harassing phone calls and text messages and have had to hire personal security, relocate, and find other means of protecting yourselves and your families.

While several states have implemented laws to protect elections officials and state and federal authorities have stepped up their efforts to root out the sources of threats, and for the first time last week, prosecute them, a year later, things are not really any different.

In their March 2022 survey of local elections officials, The Brennan Center found that one in six elections officials reported being threatened. Nearly one in three know of at least one election worker who has left their job at least in part because of fears for their safety, increased threats, or intimidation and three in five are concerned that threats and harassment will make it harder to retain or recruit election workers going forward.

“A lot of emphasis has, understandably, been placed on pushing for legal responses to the threats and intimidation election officials have experienced,” Davis-Roberts said. “We felt that continuing to push for legal responses requires that people have the emotional resilience to do so.”

New Grant Opportunity from MEDSL

MIT Election Data and Science Lab Announces New Grant Opportunity
The Evolving Election Administration Landscape

Thanks to support from the Election Performance Project, an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts, the MIT Election Data and Science Lab (MEDSL) has launched a $2 million grant program to support research projects that illuminate how the evolving election administration landscape has changed in light of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, broadly considered.

Information about the grant program, which was released last Tuesday, can be found at the following URL:  https://electionlab.mit.edu/research/projects/learning-from-elections. (Scroll to the bottom to get the full request for proposals.) The Evolving Election Administration Landscape program plans to support between 15 and 20 projects, with budgets in the range of $50,000 to $200,000.

While the grant program is aimed at research to be conducted at universities and other non-profits, a critical goal is to encourage active collaboration between these researchers and the election administration community, both at the local and state levels.  While university-practitioner collaboration isn’t an absolute requirement, proposals with such an element will have a leg-up over others.

This research program is launched at a critical moment in the nation’s election administration.  The current January 6 hearings have underscored the partisan divisions that attend election administration these days, as well as threats of violence against election officials and misinformation.  Even without these developments, responding to voting during the pandemic has caused disruptions in how elections are conducted and raised questions about what the “new normal” should be.

Despite these challenges, the grant opportunity, entitled The Evolving Election Administration Landscape, proceeds with an assumption that there is an audience (and even a hunger) for fact-based analysis of election administration that will inform the evolution of law and professional practice in the coming years.

As the RFP indicates, there are specific highlighted areas of research the program seeks to support—mail balloting, voter registration, polling places and voter experience, institutional capacity, and combatting misinformation and building trust.

The 2022 election is fast approaching (July 22 and August 12), as are the application deadlines.  To help answer questions and encourage applications, MEDSL will be holding two webinars, on June 24 and June 30.  Details about registering are on the website linked-to above.

How can election officials be involved?  The simplest answer is to reach out to friendly academics you’ve worked with to see if they’re up to working with you to design a project and apply.  Don’t know any academics?  Reach out to MEDSL through the grant project’s e-mail (medsl-grants@mit.edu) and we’ll try to do some match-making.

MEDSL understands that mid-summer right before a national election is not the best time to be putting together major research projects focused on that election.  Yet, the opportunities—both from the likely finding and the research community that will be built—seem great.

 

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Election News This Week

Primary Updates: The District of Columbia and Virginia held primaries this week and Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia had primary runoffs. This was the District’s first official vote-by-mail/vote center election, although it had been used during the pandemic. While there was snarking on social media (isn’t there always?) overall the election ran smoothly with few reported problems. At presstime turnout was about 23% which was higher than in 2018. One of DC’s election day vote centers is also one of the city’s COVID centers and parents with children under 5 were able to vote and get their charges vaccinated. “Our experience is really good, very fast, very efficient,” said Tashi, who declined to give his last name, saying he wanted to protect his privacy. His children were cheerful and circled around him. “The staff at both locations are very nice, very helpful,” he added. In Virginia, many of the candidates were unopposed, and several ballot spots were determined by closed, party-sponsored events, such as conventions and firehouse primaries. “There was nobody waiting in line when we opened the polls at 6 a.m., which is almost unheard of,” Bob McCall chief election officer for Culpeper’s East Fairfax precinct said. “We’d had seven people by 7 and 10 by 8, and that’s really how things have plodded along all day.” On the runoff front it was also very quiet with few problems. In Alabama software issues extended voting by about 45 minutes in one county, but other than that it was relatively quiet. Wes Allen won the runoff to represent the Republicans in the secretary of state race. Turnout for the runoff election in Arkansas was low with few, if any reported problems. Voter turnout was low in Georgia’s runoffs with few problems reported. One polling place in Fulton County was required to remain open till 8:50pm after a gas leak caused it to temporarily close in the morning. Rep. Bee Nguyen (D) won the runoff for secretary of state and will face incumbent Brad Raffensperger.

January 6th Hearings: State and local elections officials including Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Fulton County elections worker Wandrea ArShaye “Shaye” Moss testified before the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.  Raffensperger testified every allegation of voter fraud was checked and said there was no way he could have lawfully changed the state’s election result. “No, the numbers are the numbers. The numbers don’t lie.” Raffensperger said some of Trump’s followers “started going after” his wife and others broke into his daughter-in-law’s home. Nonetheless, he didn’t quit his job, “because I knew that we did follow the law, we followed the Constitution. I think sometimes moments require you to stand up and just take the shots. You’re doing your job. That’s all we did.” The testimony of Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman who also worked for Fulton County during the 2020 election was particularly emotional. “I’ve always been told by my grandmother how important it is to vote and how people before me, a lot of people, older people in my family, did not have that right. So what I loved the most about my job were the older voters,” testified Moss. “Older voters like to call; they like to talk to you; they like to get my card; they like to know that every election, I’m here. Even college students, a lot of parents trusted me to make sure their child does not have to drive home — they’ll get an absentee ballot. They can vote. I really found pleasure in that.” Moss talked about the threats she and her mother have faced since 2020. “It’s turned my life upside down. I no longer give out my business card,” she said. “I don’t want anyone knowing my name. I don’t want to go anywhere with my mom because she might yell my name out over the grocery aisle or something. I don’t go to the grocery store at all. I haven’t been anywhere at all. I gained about 60 pounds. I just don’t do nothing anymore; I don’t want to go anywhere. I second-guess everything I do. “It’s affected my life in a major way. In every way. All because of lies.”

Faces of Democracy: This week, Issue One kicked off a “Faces of Democracy” campaign by convening a bipartisan group of election officials to meet with members of Congress and the White House. According to Politico, the campaign will arm election officials with a broad set of asks that many in the field have held for ages: A “significant and regular investment” in election infrastructure, new funding specifically for threat monitoring, more federal protections against threats and intimidation against election workers, more privacy protections — and a “bipartisan update” to the Electoral Count Act. “Anyone who cares about preserving our freedoms, particularly our leaders in Congress, should pay attention and support these individuals with the tools and resources they need to keep the machinery of our democracy running,” Dokhi Fassihian, deputy chief of strategy and program at Issue One, said in a statement. The push will also include a digital ad featuring election officials pushing for more support from D.C. that will run on the sites of “major news outlets” as well.

Alaska Special Election: The special congressional election in Alaska is still ongoing and although ballots are still being tallied, so far, about 4% of the roughly 155,000 ballots received statewide have been rejected. That’s double the rejection rate from the 2020 primary. “These huge number of rejected ballots are occurring predominantly in rural Alaska, huge Native populations and in low-income areas of Alaska,” said Anchorage Sen. Bill Wielechowski. He’s among a half-dozen Alaska Senate Democrats demanding answers from the Division of Elections about why so many ballots weren’t counted. The rejection percentage varies starkly by region. In areas near Bethel, it’s the highest, at around 17%. That means about 1 in every 6 ballots was rejected — with the votes not counted. The rejection rate is above 10% in the Kotzebue and Utqiaġvik area, as well as around Nome and Bristol Bay. Across rural Alaska, the rejection rate is roughly 1 in 8.  That’s compared to about 4% so far in Anchorage. In the letter to Division of Elections officials, Wielechowski and the other senators asked for an explanation about what they described as a “breakdown of our election system and the democratic process for those citizens whose votes were not counted.” “It’s really imperative for Division of Elections to get a handle on this,” Wielechowski said in an interview Thursday. “Figure out what the problem is, and either figure out a way to educate the voters, or remove these unnecessary bureaucratic barriers that are being placed that are making it difficult for low-income and Native voters to vote.” Division of Elections officials said they’ll have data on why the ballots were rejected after the election is certified on June 25. Additionally, after one of the top four candidates dropped out, the fifth place candidate is seeking to be considered part of the final four. But the Division of Elections announced its interpretation Tuesday afternoon: “Because this withdrawal occurred less than 64 days before the election, Alaska law does not permit the fifth-place candidate to advance,” Elections Director Gail Fenumiai said in a letter.

This and ThatColorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold is sending an election observer to Pueblo County for the primary election after a series of reported errors with ballots. The District of Columbia may not use schools as early voting sites in the November general election following safety concerns from parents over using them this month for early voting in the primaries. The Lake County, Indiana Election and Voter Registration Board voted 3-0 to dismiss a complaint against poll workers because there was no election law violation, but the board asked staff to plan for poll worker training on professionalism in the workplace.  For the first time, the August ballot will be made available in an Arabic translation in the city of Dearborn, Michigan. Despite a sewer leak that damaged carpets and wallboards and destroyed some old ballots, the 2022 primary election was certified on time in Atlantic County, New Jersey. The Otero County, New Mexico commission certified the June 2022 primary. Clackamas County, Oregon Board Chair Tootie Smith says the county has committed funding to select a new ballot printer, to upgrade outdated equipment, and to buy new software, “The county is 100% committed to minimizing the risk that an elections failure could happen again.” The Tennessee Lookout takes a look at the impact evictions, many related to hardships brought on by the pandemic, may have on voter turnout. Weber County, Utah has installed surveillance cameras at all 21 ballot drop boxes. A subcommittee of the Spokane County, Washington Republican Party is calling for an audit of the 2020 election, but the county commissioners say they can’t authorize one and it may not be legally feasible.

Personnel News: Congratulations to Thurston County, Washington Elections Manager Tillie Naputi-Pullar who is the 2021 Elections Employee of the Year for the State of Washington. Osceola County, Michigan Clerk Karen Bluhm is retiring at the end of the month after 30 years on the job. Clinton County, Iowa Auditor Eric VanLancker is running for lieutenant governor. Karen Fanion has retired as the Westfield, Massachusetts city clerk. Lizbet Santana is the new West Bend, Wisconsin city clerk. Douglas Walker has been appointed the new Cecil County, Maryland elections director. Meloni Wray is stepping down as the Craven County, North Carolina board of elections director. Indiana Secretary of State Holli Sullivan failed to get the Republican Party’s nomination to run in the fall election, losing to Diego Morales, who worked in the governor’s office when Mike Pence led the state. Melissa Bourgoyne has retired as the Iberville Parish, Louisiana registrar of voters after 32 years.

In Memoriam: Clela Rorex, former Boulder County, Colorado clerk has died. She was 78. While elections were part of Rorex’s job as clerk, what she’s most famous for is being recognized as the first government official to issue a same-sex marriage license, all the way back in 1975. According to The Daily Camera, Rorex ended up issuing a total of six same-sex marriage licenses before the Attorney General ordered her to stop. Though it was not recognized immediately, her actions became a pivotal moment for marriage equality. None of the six licenses were ever revoked or invalidated. Former Boulder County Commissioner Josie Heath worked with a group in the ’70s that encouraged more women to run for elected offices. She said she wanted the women who wanted to really be involved in the community to run for office, which is how she came across Rorex. “What she did was definitely a little bit scary at the time, but I really admire her for pushing the envelope and standing up for what she believed in,” Heath told the Daily Camera. “I am thrilled that she was able to be honored in her lifetime, because it took a long time for the country to catch up with her first actions that were so important to the equality movement.”

Legislative Updates

Pitkin County, Colorado: The Pitkin County commissioners voted 5-0 to approve an emergency ordinance that will prohibit concealed handguns at and within 100 feet of all voting centers and polling places. The Colorado Legislature previously approved a law to ban open carrying of firearms in and around voting centers. Pitkin County wanted to beef up the ban. The county government will have signs printed as soon as possible that say “No firearms, open or concealed.” The concealed handguns ban is largely symbolic. After conferring with Sheriff Joe DiSalvo, the commissioners decided it would be too costly to install metal detectors at three polling places established for the current primary or the general election in November. If election judges suspect someone of packing, discreetly or not, they will call 911 and seek help from the sheriff’s office. Someone violating Pitkin County’s new ban would be face a civil penalty of $50 for the first offense, according to County Attorney John Ely.

Delaware: Senate lawmakers worked past midnight to pass legislation making voting by mail a permanent feature of Delaware’s elections. State Sen. Kyle Evans Gay’s (D-Talleyville) bill faced stiff opposition from Republicans, and particularly state Sen. Colin Bonini (R-Dover), who stalled last week’s session for hours and introduced more than two dozen amendments to the bill. Most of those amendments would have pushed back the bill’s effective date. One that passed requires voters to provide a driver’s license number or last four digits of a social security number on their vote-by-mail application and ballot envelope. The bill received final passage this week and it now heads to the governor’s desk.

 

Massachusetts: A voting rights bill that would ensure mail-in ballots and early voting become permanent fixtures in future elections was approved the House voted 126-29 to approve the measure. The vote comes a week after the Senate voted 37-3 in favor of the proposal. The bill would also increase ballot access for voters with disabilities and service members overseas. It would make sure eligible voters who are incarcerated can request a mail-in ballot and take steps to modernize the state’s election administration process. The legislation is a compromise version of separate bills approved earlier by House and Senate lawmakers. The final bill does not include any provisions that would let individuals both register and vote on Election Day. The bill would let registered voters vote by mail for any presidential, state or municipal primary or election; set aside two weeks — including two weekends — of early voting in-person for biennial state elections and one week — including one weekend — for presidential or state primaries; and move the voter registration deadline from 20 to 10 days before a preliminary, primary, or general election. Baker signed the bill into law. “Every voter in Massachusetts can expect to receive a pre-addressed, postage pre-paid Vote by Mail application in just a few weeks. Voters who prefer to vote in person will be able to take advantage of expanded in-person early voting or vote at their polling place on Election Day,” Secretary of State William Galvin said in a written statement.

New Hampshire: Gov. Chris Sununu has signed Senate Bill 418 into law. The legislation creates a new type of “affidavit ballot” for first-time voters in New Hampshire who don’t have required documents. Under current law, such voters fill out affidavits promising to provide documentation within 10 days, and those who don’t can be investigated and charged with fraud. But the votes themselves remain valid. Under the new law, which takes effect in 2023, ballots cast by voters who fail to provide proof of their identities and residency seven days after an election would be thrown out. Municipalities would report to the secretary of state total votes, minus the unqualified affidavit ballot votes, no later than 14 days after an election. Sununu said that Secretary of State David Scanlan “has given me his full assurances that this bill does not affect the state’s ability to get military ballots out on time, and that our processes will work without delay or impediments with its passage.”

New Hampshire students with disabilities will get help registering to vote under a new law that will take effect in August. The new law requires school officials, parents, and students with disabilities who are 17 or older to discuss voter registration as part of their special education planning for life after graduation. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mark Paige, said he introduced the legislation after hearing from parents who wanted to be sure that their children graduate ready to be full civic participants in their communities. “Just having that conversation about registering delivers an empowering message to the student,” said Paige, D-Exeter. “It says: we need you involved; your voice and vote matter, and when you use them, you can have an impact.”

New Jersey: Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex) and bi-partisan legislators have authored legislation to require county Board of Elections websites to uniformly report unofficial results on election night. Voters would be able to see the number of votes cast, counted, and remaining to be counted broken down by how a ballot was cast whether by machine during early voting or on Election Day, by mail, or provisionally. Assembly Bill 3822 (A-3822) would enable mail-in ballots to be processed, but not counted, beginning five days before an election in order for the unofficial results of both in-person and by-mail votes to be reported together as soon after the close of polls as possible. Processing ballots involves verifying voter signatures and physically opening and preparation of ballots for tabulation. Currently, election officials must retrieve ballots from drop boxes every day, which in some communities is unnecessary and puts a strain on limited resources. To resolve this time-consuming and potentially costly requirement, the bill would additionally enable county elections officials to establish a pickup schedule to which officials from both parties agree.

New York: Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York, which aims to prevent voter suppression or dilution based on race or language preference, at a ceremony in Brooklyn. The legislation passed both chambers in the final week of the legislative session in party line votes. Among its provisions, it prohibits local election administrators from taking actions that could suppress votes based on race; for instance reducing the number of poll sites in a jurisdiction with voters of color. It also requires election administrators in jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination to seek pre-clearance, an authorization before the change is made, from the state attorney general’s office or a local court. “As always, when the federal government fails to act, you can count on New York to punch back and fight even harder,” Hochul said, adding, “No state in the nation has stood up with the courage and the conviction and the power that we have by protecting these important rights.”

Pennsylvania: Proposals to hold Pennsylvania’s presidential primaries in March rather than April and to permit poll watchers to operate outside the counties where they live were advanced Wednesday by a divided House State Government Committee. Both bills had already passed the state Senate and were approved for consideration by the full House. The bill to move the presidential primary to the third Tuesday in March vote was 16-8, with two Democrats joining all Republicans in favor. The poll watchers’ bill, sponsored by the current GOP gubernatorial nominee, Sen. Doug Mastriano of Franklin County, would give candidates the right to have an additional observer and post them inside, close enough to see any canvassing and precanvassing. “There’s no reason to have poll watchers if they aren’t able to be in the line of sight and clearly see what’s happening,” said Republican Rep. Paul Schemel of Franklin County. Rep. Eric Nelson, R-Westmoreland, called the bill “a clear opportunity to allow voters to have enhanced confidence and belief that we’re achieving election integrity.” Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s spokeswoman said he is firmly opposed to the poll watcher bill.

U.S. Virgin Islands: The Committee on Government Operations and Consumer Protection advanced a bill requiring the Elections supervisor to compile both an active and inactive voter’s list within 30 days of a general election. Such a list is to begin with the November election, if it becomes law. The bill originally called for a 90-day turnaround, but after hearing from Supervisor of Elections Caroline Fawkes agreed to a change the more expedient 30-day turnaround. “We would like to enact this law 30 days after the governor signs. Our goal is to obtain an accurate voters’ participation rate for the 2022 general election because during the four-year cycle, which is when the gubernatorial race is on the ballot, more voters participate,” Fawkes said. “The ESVI does not want to see the fruits of our labor in 2024. We have the tools necessary to begin this process. We can change the status of non-voters in the 2014 through 2020 general elections from active to inactive beginning 30 days after the passage of this legislation.” To not allow for cancellation, she said, puts the agency’s data in jeopardy as the numbers and percentages of active voters radically changes and is not as accurate without the cancellations of inactive voters. “Statistical information is critical in many areas, especially in analyzing the elections results. Our goal in supporting this bill is to obtain, true, accurate statistical information and to inspire, encourage, and energize all our citizens to participate in the electoral process, as done in many other countries,” Fawkes said.

Berlin, Vermont: The Berlin Select Board is interested in a charter change that would end the town’s practice of electing a town clerk. The board is eyeing an August vote — likely in conjunction with this year’s primary elections — on a package of charter changes they reviewed and tentatively endorsed this week. According to the Times Argus, days away from a midterm retirement she announced back in April, Town Clerk Rosemary Morse may have inadvertently set the stage for a change she publicly discouraged in the letter advising the board she would step down on June 30. Attempts to persuade Morse to serve out her latest term — one that expires in March — were unsuccessful and the board scrambled to come up with the succession plan they recently settled on. With two elections looming, that plan involved appointing Assistant Town Clerk Corinne Cooper to replace Morse until voters have a chance to elect her replacement on Town Meeting Day in March. Technically, that’s still the plan, though it is now fraught with uncertainty amid fresh drama involving Cooper’s recent disclosure she planned to appoint her daughter, Minda Stridsberg, to serve as her interim assistant.

Seattle, Washington: The city of Seattle will decide whether to adopt a new voting style that would allow voters to choose as many candidates as they like in future local elections. The proposal, called “approval voting,” allows voters to select every candidate they approve in primary elections. The two candidates with the highest number of votes would advance to a general election, which voters would then be allowed to choose between the two. The group behind the initiative, Seattle Approves, submitted just over the 26,520 signatures necessary to qualify the measure for November’s ballot, according to King County Elections. Approval voting, under I-134, will be on the November 2022 ballot after receiving the necessary amount of signatures.

Legal Updates

Federal Litigation: Judge Eric Davis in the Superior Court of Delaware ruled that a defamation lawsuit against Newsmax filed by Dominion Voting Systems can proceed, with the firm accusing the conservative media company of purposely spreading lies about its voting technology in the 2020 election. Davis denied a motion from Newsmax to dismiss the case, saying the company “knew the allegations were probably false” about the voting technology and “there were enough signs indicating the statements were not true to infer Newsmax’s intent to avoid the truth.” “Given that Newsmax apparently refused to report contrary evidence, including evidence from the Department of Justice, the allegations support the reasonable inference that Newsmax intended to keep Dominion’s side of the story out of the mainstream,” Davis wrote in his opinion.

Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis rejected a motion by the parent of Fox News Network to dismiss Dominion Voting Systems Inc’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit over the network’s 2020 presidential election coverage. Dominion accused Fox of trying to avoid viewer defections to conservative rivals Newsmax and One America News by amplifying false theories that the company rigged the 2020 election so Republican Donald Trump would lose to Democrat Joe Biden. In court papers, Dominion claimed that Fox Corp, through Chairman Rupert Murdoch and his son Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch directly participated in, approved and controlled the network’s election coverage and its aftermath. Without ruling on the merits, Davis said the allegations permitted “reasonable” inferences that Fox Corp acted with malice and proximately caused Dominion’s alleged damages. “Dominion has adequately pleaded actual malice with respect to Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch,” the judge wrote. Davis dismissed a related defamation claim against another Fox entity, Fox Broadcasting, for posting the challenged statements on fox.com, citing a lack of evidence that anyone there was “subjectively aware of anything.”

Alaska: The Justice Department announced that it has secured an agreement with the State of Alaska and state officials to resolve claims that driver license transactions did not consistently provide certain voter registration opportunities required by Section 5 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA). The Justice Department’s investigation found that applications and renewals for Alaska’s driver’s licenses and identification documents did not consistently serve as voter registration applications for federal office as required by the NVRA. Likewise, the procedures by which citizens notify the state’s motor vehicle office that their address had changed did not serve as a notification of change of address for voter registration purposes. Under the terms of the settlement, Alaska will fully integrate a voter registration opportunity into all applications for driver’s licenses and other identification documents. Alaska will also ensure that all change of address information submitted for driver’s licenses or state-issued identification purposes will be used to update voters’ address information unless a voter declines to update their voter registration. Alaska has also agreed to appoint a Division of Motor Vehicles NVRA coordinator and NVRA site coordinators for each Division of Motor Vehicles office.

Arizona: Yavapai County Superior Court Judge John Napper rejected Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s request that he order Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs to do a major rewrite of a nearly 300-page document that tells county election officials how to manage the 2022 elections. Napper had signaled at a hearing last week that many of the complaints Brnovich raised when he refused to approve an updated Election Procedures Manual Hobbs submitted for his review and approval last October were unsupported. He said Hobbs in most cases had followed the law when she wrote the manual for voting and tallying ballots. In his ruling, Napper said Brnovich had waited so long to sue over his perceived problems with the manual that he could not order the few changes that may be merited. Napper instead sided with Hobbs and GOP Gov. Doug Ducey’s position and said the last manual approved by all three in 2019 would be in effect for the upcoming elections. “At this point in the game, there is no mechanism for the Court to assist the parties in constructing an EMP which complies with (the law) within the timelines of the statute,” Napper wrote. “The Complaint was filed far too late for this to occur without disrupting elections that have already begun.

Colorado: Travis Ford, 42, of Lincoln, Nebraska pleaded guilty last week in federal court, admitting he posted threatening messages about Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold. Ford told a federal judge that he posted the messages on Instagram after the 2020 election. According to court documents, one said, “Do you feel safe? You shouldn’t. Do you think Soros will/can protect you?”  Another said, “Your security detail is far too thin and incompetent to protect you. The world is unpredictable these days….anything can happen to anyone,” followed by a man-shrugging emoji. Prosecutors said Ford told law enforcement officers in an interview that his posts went “far far far beyond free speech” and “far past the line.”   He pleaded guilty to using a telecommunications device to issue a threat and faces up to two years in prison. The judge set Oct. 6 as the date for his sentencing.

Florida: A Lakeland attorney wants to know if Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer used a nearly $3 million grant to run a partisan get-out-the-vote campaign leading up to the November 2020 election. In a May 25 lawsuit filed in Hillsborough Circuit Court, Hardam Hitarth Tripathi of Lakeland is seeking public records from Latimer and consultant Vistra Communications of Lutz documenting how the grant was used. Vistra devised and implemented a wide-ranging voter education campaign on Latimer’s behalf in fall 2020 that included advertisements on television, radio, billboards, ride-share vehicles, gas pumps, movie screens, airport displays, print news publications and social media. The suit alleges that records obtained so far from Latimer’s office by Tripathi “provides a basis for believing that the campaign was in fact a partisan get-out-the-vote campaign, and that the supervisor of elections attempted to obscure this fact.” “That baseless attack on my integrity is something I will not let stand,” Latimer responded in a statement to the Tampa Bay Times. “As supervisor of elections, I do want to get out the vote, and there is nothing partisan about it. “I want every eligible resident to be registered, and every registered voter to vote. Voter education goes hand in hand with increasing turnout, because voters who don’t know how, where or when they can vote may miss out on the opportunity,” he said.

Kansas: The Kansas Court of Appeals declined to block a 2021 election law, dismissing challenges from a group of voting rights activists who fear the measure will criminalize their voter registration activities. But the appeals court argued their fears about the law were unfounded and the quartet of organizations had not demonstrated House Bill 2183 had actually harmed their work. In a lawsuit filed last year, Loud Light, the League of Women Voters Kansas, Kansas Appleseed and Topeka Independent Living Resource Center challenged several elements of the sweeping election bill, including provisions related to who can deliver an advanced mail ballot and signature verification. But the groups asked the courts to block the law from taking effect because of a specific provision criminalizing the impersonation of an election official. The groups have said they have paused their voter registration work ahead of the Aug. 2 primary election because of the law. The Court of Appeals ruled the plaintiffs lacked the standing to file a lawsuit because they weren’t tangibly harmed by the law. They didn’t render a verdict on the permissibility of the law itself.

Louisiana: U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick has denied a request by Louisiana legislative leaders to extend the deadline of completing a new congressional map. During the morning hearing was unpersuaded by the legislative leaders that they required more time to complete that once-a-decade task of redistricting. Dick additionally described the efforts by House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, on the first day of the six-day special session, as “disingenuous” and “insincere.” “With five days to work with they met for 90 minutes,” Dick said of the state House’s brief gathering Wednesday. Last week, Dick threw out the adopted map for violating the Voting Rights Act and ordered lawmakers to create a new one with a second majority Black district by June 20. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal briefly put a hold on Dick’s deadline, but removed that hold Sunday. The appeals court is scheduled to hear arguments on the case July 8. “The evidence of Louisiana’s long and ongoing history of voting-related discrimination weighs heavily in favor of Plaintiffs,” Dick wrote in the ruling.

Missouri: Civil rights activists sued Missouri over a decades-old law that prohibits volunteers from offering ballot-booth help to multiple voters who have physical disabilities or are unable to read or write. The federal lawsuit contends Missouri’s limits on voter assistance violate federal voting law and should be struck down. It’s the latest of dozens of voting-related lawsuits across the U.S., as election procedures have come under increased scrutiny both from those seeking to guarantee access and ensure integrity. The federal Voting Rights Act allows people who have disabilities or are unable to read or write to choose someone to help them vote. A 1977 Missouri law outlines a similar procedure but says no one can assist more than one voter per election unless they are an election judge or helping immediate family members. Violations of state election laws can result in up to a year imprisonment and up to a $2,500 fine.  “This lawsuit seeks to prevent the state from punishing some of democracy’s do-gooders – those who take time to assist voters who are informed and eager to cast a ballot,” said Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

New Hampshire: Shortly after Gov. Chris Sununu signed Senate Bill 418 into law, a number of progressive organizations and individuals led by the Washington-based Elias Law Group filed a lawsuit in Hillsborough District Court against the bill, arguing the bill will hamper the right to vote and that it violates state constitutional requirement that town election officials report election results within five days of the election. Plaintiffs are requesting that the court permanently enjoin the law to prevent it from taking effect.

 

 

New Jersey: A conservative group is seeking to force New Jersey’s secretary of state to release information about how her office maintains its voter rolls. In a federal suit lodged last month, the Public Interest Legal Foundation sued Secretary of State Tahesha Way, alleging her department violated federal law when it denied the organization’s Open Public Records Act request for documents on how the state clears duplicate voter registrations. Lauren Bowman, a foundation spokeswoman, said the group performed data analysis of New Jersey’s voter rolls that found more than 8,000 people registered more than once. The New Jersey Department of State denied the group’s records request in March, saying their release would “expose critical vulnerability within the state’s election process” because they detail how to make discrete changes to the Statewide Voter Registration System. “If disclosed, this information would create a grave risk to the integrity of New Jersey’s election system,” the department said in its denial.

 

North Carolina: In a brief filed last week, lawyers representing N.C. legislative leaders oppose an “unnecessarily expedited” plan for the N.C. Supreme Court to consider felon voting as early as August. Legislators’ alternative plan would delay the case until at least October. The brief xplains why lawmakers object to an expedited hearing schedule in the case called Community Success Initiative v. Moore. The case could add 56,000 felons to N.C. voting rolls as early as November. It would apply to felons who have completed active prison time but still face probation, parole, or post-release supervision. Under normal rules, legislative leaders would face a mid-July deadline to file an opening brief with the state Supreme Court. Final paperwork would be due around Sept. 1. Plaintiffs in the case have asked the court to speed up the timeline, with a July 7 deadline for the opening brief and an Aug. 8 due date for final paperwork.

Tennessee: The Tennessee Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments in an ongoing lawsuit over reinstating voting rights to residents with out-of-state felony convictions. Tennesseans with prior in-state felony convictions can restore their rights in a few ways, including by having their citizenship restored by fulfilling their obligations through paying court costs and restitution. In theory, the same pathway is open to everyone equally.  But some newer Tennesseans with out-of-state felonies never had court costs to pay and court documents show they’ve struggled to prove their eligibility. The lawsuit, filed in 2020, argues the distinction is illegal and should be blocked in the courts. Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle dismissed the case in October 2020 after denying an initial motion from the residents asking that the rules be changed before that year’s August primary election. This announcement is the latest step in the appeals process “Until the Plaintiffs meet the same requirements as Tennessee felons seeking reinstatement of their right to vote, Tennessee law does not require that Tennessee reach the same result as Virginia’s Governor or North Carolina’s Legislature — nor does the Tennessee Constitution,” Lyle wrote.

The Shelby County Election Commission has withdrawn its lawsuit over voting machines against the Shelby County government. The dismissal comes after the Shelby County Board of Commissioners voted to fund new voting machines for the November election. The new voting machines will cost $5.8 million and will allow voters to choose between electronic or a paper ballot.  Administrator Linda Phillips issued a statement that said in part, “we all look forward to executing the November election with new voting machines.”

Texas: The Harris County GOP dropped its lawsuit, filed on the day of last month’s primary runoff election, challenging the county’s plan for counting ballots. Local Republican party officials argued the county’s ballot transport protocol violated state election law. The lawsuit, filed just hours before polls closed on Election Day, could have caused serious delays in counting ballots on May 24 had the Texas Supreme Court agreed with the Harris County GOP that the plan was unlawful. Instead, the court did not issue an opinion and election night ballot counting proceeded uneventfully at NRG Arena.

Opinions This Week

National Opinions: Democracy | Election sabotage | Polling places | January 6 hearings, II | Election workers, II, III | Election lies

Alaska: Misinformation

Arizona; Yuma County

California: Election night results | Election month | Ranked choice voting | Turnout | Recall reform

Colorado: Primary | Secretary of state race

District of Columbia: Ranked choice voting

Georgia: Democracy

Idaho: Audits

Illinois: Vote by mail

Minnesota: Election misinformation

Nevada: Results reporting

New Mexico: Open primaries | Otero County, II, III

New York: Citizen auditors | Open primaries | Election integrity

North Carolina: Board of elections meetings

North Dakota: Turnout

Ohio: Secretary of state race

Virginia: Faith in elections

Upcoming Events

Election Disinformation in Communities of Color: As would-be authoritarians seek and gain power at all levels of government, it’s essential that all voters have access to reliable, trusted information so they can make their voices heard in November. Join Protect Democracy on Friday, June 24 at 1:00pm ET / 10:00am PT for a conversation about election disinformation in communities of color in the United States—an offline problem as much as it is an online problem. Experts will discuss the nature of the threat to communities of color in the U.S., its consequences, and what steps stakeholders can take to mitigate it. Hear about tried-and-true methods that organizations on the ground use to build trust and tackle information shortcomings in their communities. Wednesday’s conversation will expand upon Protect Democracy’s new report, written by our partners at the University of Texas at Austin, about structural election disinformation in communities of color. This event is on-the-record and includes open questions from the audience. Where: Online: When: June 24, 1pm.

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.

ESRA 2022: We are delighted to welcome you to the 6th Annual Election Science, Research, and Administration Conference. The conference will commence on Wednesday, July 27 and will run through Friday 29 at the UNC Charlotte Marriott Hotel and Conference Center. Where: Charlotte, NC. When: July 27-29

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.

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.

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 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.

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, 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 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.

Elections Technician or Elections Specialist DOQ, Larimer county, Colorado— The Larimer County Clerk & Recorder Elections division offers an outstanding opportunity for an exciting career in the always engaging field of Election Administration – where the foundation of government begins for our citizens! We are seeking skilled Elections Technicians/Elections Specialists to join our highly respected team. We serve a population of more than 300,000 citizens, of which more than 250,000 are registered voters. We embrace innovative processes and have a shown reputation for integrity. If you are a self-motivated, positive teammate who thrives in a fast-paced professional environment – we want to hear from you! The successful candidate will be dedicated, assertive, and possess outstanding interpersonal and problem-solving skills. The Elections Technician/Elections Specialist position provides support to and/or oversight for certain processes. Deadline: June 26. 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.

Information Services Specialist, Illinois State Board of Elections— Under the general supervision of the Chief Information Officer and Deputy Chief Information Officer and the day-to-day supervision of the Information Services Team Leads, independently and as a project team member, develops, maintains, and enhances the State Board of Elections’ Information Systems. Establishes application development task schedules, testing plans and implementation schedules; Performs technical analysis, design, and programming according to SBE standards; Coordinates development, testing and implementation with end-users, technical consultants and IT Staff according to SBE standards. Consults with end-users to determine application goals, requirements, cost, architecture, and impact to existing systems; Provides Level 1 technical support for Agency end-users as well as end-users of other agency-developed systems. Through continuing self-study and/or formal coursework, acquires knowledge of advanced information systems concepts and techniques, productivity tools, election law, and Board policy as they affect Board Information Systems. Performs other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of the duties enumerated above. 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.

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.

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.

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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