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Election News This Week

U.S. Postal Service News: This week, during the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) summer conference, election directors voiced serious concerns to Steven Carter, manager of election and government programs for the postal service, that the system won’t be able to handle an expected crush of mail-in ballots in the November election. Carter attempted to reassure the directors that the system’s Office of Inspector General will publish an election mail report next week containing “encouraging” performance numbers for this year so far. “The data that we’re seeing showing improvements in the right direction,” Carter told a conference of the National Association of State Election Directors. “And I think the OIG report is especially complimentary of how we’re handling the election now.” But, according to the Associated Press,  state election directors stressed to Carter that they’re still worried that too many ballots won’t be delivered in time to be counted in November. They based their fears on past problems and a disruptive consolidation of postal facilities across the country that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has put on hold until after the elections. Bryan Caskey, the elections director for Kansas asked Carter to consider a hypothetical jurisdiction that has a 95% on-time rate for mail deliveries, which he said is better than what almost all states are getting. “That still means that in the state that sends out 100,000 ballots, that’s 5,000 pissed-off, angry voters that are mad about the mail service,” Caskey said, adding, “Actual elections are being determined by these delays, and I just want to make sure that you’re hearing why we’re so upset.” “It’s totally understandable,” Carter said. “The frustration is understandable.” Meanwhile, a group of 19 U.S. Senators are still awaiting a response from a June 24 letter they sent to DeJoy. The letter focused on USPS’s Mail Process Facility Reviews (MPFR), an effort that began last summer to consolidate the postal network around Regional Processing and Distribution Centers. The rollout is part of the 10-year ‘Delivering for America’ plan, which aims to save money and improve service nationwide. And in Oregon, where the entire state votes by mail, postal workers will hold a rally next week to raise awareness about the consolidation of some mail services up to Portland ahead of the November election.

Ranked Choice News:  In Alaska, an initiative aimed at repealing the state’s ranked choice voting system still has sufficient signatures to qualify for the November ballot, attorneys for the state said in court filings this week, days after a judge disqualified some of the booklets used to gather signatures. Superior Court Judge Christina Rankin in a ruling last Friday found instances in which the signature-gathering process was not properly carried out and disqualified those booklets. She ordered elections officials to remove the disqualified signatures and booklets and to determine if the measure still had sufficient signatures. Alaska Department of Law attorneys in court documents July 23 said the Division of Elections had completed that work and found the measure “remains qualified” for the ballot. In Idaho, implementing the ranked-choice voting component of the open primaries ballot initiative that will be up for a vote in Idaho’s Nov. 5 general election could cost the state at least $25 million to $40 million if the state needs to replace its vote tabulation systems, Secretary of State Phil McGrane wrote in a letter to lawmakers earlier this month. McGrane wrote that the state may need to replace its vote tabulation systems because the two vote tabulation system vendors that are certified for use in Idaho are not currently capable of tabulating the results of a ranked-choice voting ballot. In Multnomah County, Oregon, the Elections Division is gearing up to transition to ranked-choice voting. The new system is rolling out for the City of Portland elections this November and for county-wide elections in 2026. Multnomah County gave an update on July 23  on where they’re at with the transition. officials said they’re testing and implementing the voting software and will conduct a large-scale testing event next week. Though the City of Portland’s local elections will be the first to implement the ranked-choice system locally, Multnomah County Elections is in charge of issuing and counting those ballots to citizens. It’s the first time ranked-choice voting will be used in Oregon, though it’s already being used in Alaska, Maine and about 50 other local jurisdictions around the country. An extensive voter education campaign is also underway to get people familiar with the new ballot design and how to cast your vote. 

Sports Partnerships: Last week electionlineWeekly featured an article about how, once again, elections office can/should partner with sports stadiums to serve as polling places. This week, it was announced that Coastal Carolina’s distinctive, “Surf Turf” teal field will feature the logo for the South Carolina State Election Commission this season. The school and the organization that administers elections in the state announced July 22 that the group’s logo will be displayed on the field at Brooks Stadium. Coastal Carolina said it’s the first FBS program to secure branding for its football field that does not involve naming rights. The agreement is for one year. Financial terms were not disclosed. State Election Commission executive director Howie Knapp called it a “fantastic” opportunity to remind South Carolina residents of the importance of voting. It “gives us another opportunity to remind voters about another important voting season while they enjoy watching the Chanticleers play,” he said in a statement. Chance Miller, the school’s vice president for intercollegiate athletics, said the collaboration shows the importance of partnering with state agencies and businesses for support — and helping further “state agency missions and initiatives.”

Voter Education: Louisiana has Mark de Ballot on an “I Voted” sicker and now Washington has Mark the Ballot in an educational campaign about vote-by-mail.  The Secretary of State’s Office has invested $1.8 million in an effort to battle misinformation surrounding mail-in ballots. The new campaign, created with the help of the creative agency Happylucky, uses stylized imagery and animation to promote mail-in voting and highlight its security. “Washingtonians should know our elections are conducted securely and transparently by trained and dedicated election officials,” Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said. “These elections administrators, in every county, are our neighbors and deserve our trust.” Videos published by the campaign break down the process from when ballots are sent out to how they are counted by local elections offices. It also explains how staff reach out to voters if there are any issues with their ballots. Hobbs said this new campaign is live across all media platforms. 

Personnel News: Meghan Hassler, Sebastian County, Arkansas election coordinator has resigned. Michael Ock has been named Carroll County, Georgia elections supervisor. Tasha Bell has been sworn in as the Wilson County, North Carolina board of elections director. Williams County, Ohio Elections Director A.J. Nowaczyk has resigned from his position effective Aug. 9.

New Research and Resources

Ballot Access: Following the announcement on July 21 that President Joe Biden would not seek re-election a number of organizations put out information about ballot access and what happens administratively when one candidate steps down. Secure Democracy USA has a rundown of statements made to date by the top elections officials in each state on what the ballot access process is there. The Center For Tech and Civic Life released a one-pager on election administration workflow when a presumptive nominee drops out. The National Task Force on Election Crises released an explainer about candidate succession.Members of Issue One’s Faces of Democracy campaign put out a statement reassuring voters of the integrity of elections in the wake of changes to Democratic presidential ticket

2024 General Election Needs Assessment: The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights recently produced a Needs Assessment Mission Report for the November 5, 2024 General Election. Following an invitation from the United States Mission to the OSCE to observe the 5 November 2024 general elections, and in accordance with its mandate, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) from 13 to 17 May. The NAM included Ulvi Akhundlu, Deputy Head of the ODIHR Election Department, and Hamadziripi Munyikwa, ODIHR Election Adviser. The ODIHR NAM was joined by Stéphanie Koltchanov, Head of Elections of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The mission assessed the pre-election environment and the preparations for the elections. Based on this assessment, the NAM recommends whether to deploy an ODIHR election-related activity for the forthcoming elections and, if so, what type of activity best meets the identified needs.  All ODIHR NAM interlocutors expressed confidence in election administrators’ integrity and their capacity to fulfill their roles, including on election day, despite the presence of rhetoric denigrating their integrity. Many ODIHR NAM interlocutors also emphasized the widespread presence of political party and non-partisan observers as contributing to transparency on election day. Notwithstanding the volume of changes to state election laws, most issues identified in previous reports remain unaddressed and only some ODIHR recommendations have been implemented. Most ODIHR NAM interlocutors saw value in a potential ODIHR observation activity for these elections recognising that an external assessment may contribute to further improvements to the electoral process by informing the ongoing debates about legislative changes at federal and state levels. They also noted the importance of international observation given the highly polarized environment and the discourse sowing distrust in the integrity of elections. The ODIHR NAM recommends specific attention be paid to the legal framework and its stability, the conduct of the electoral campaign, particularly in media and social networks, the effectiveness of campaign finance regulations, as well as voter rights, registration and identification. On this basis, the ODIHR NAM recommends the deployment of a Limited Election Observation Mission (LEOM) to observe the 5 November general elections. In addition to a core team of analysts, the mission recommends the secondment of 100 long-term observers from OSCE participating States to follow the electoral process countrywide. In line with the ODIHR’s standard methodology, the LEOM would contain a media monitoring element.

Designing impactful and culturally responsive voter education: The Center for Civic Design recently wrapped up a big research project focused on how visual design can help create more culturally responsive voter materials. This research led to fascinating insights about the relationship between trust and design, how layout, color and images can invite participation, and a lot more! The research report is out now on their website along with a toolkit that has more practical instructions on how to apply these principles to your own voter materials. While the toolkit is aimed at community groups, CCD thinks election officials will find these insights useful, too. And if you think the findings are cool, the research method CCD used to get there was just as exciting. So today, we’re going to take you behind the scenes and show you what we did.

Elections Websites: The Bipartisan Policy Center recently released an analysis showing that the use of the .GOV domain by state and local elections offices is on the rise. In 2022, analysis by the Center for Democracy & Technology found that only 25% of election websites used the .gov domain. As the 2024 election approaches, BPC finds that there has been an uptick in adoption: now, 31% of election websites are on .gov. BPC analyzed a dataset maintained by the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) consisting of websites and contact information for all local election offices across the country. We found the following changes since 2022: Of approximately 7,000 unique local election websites, the share using the .gov domain increased from 25% to 31%. (We should note that this grouping overrepresents states like Wisconsin and Michigan that administer elections at the sub-county level, such as by town.); Adoption by the approximately 3,000 websites associated with counties and county equivalents increased from 31% to 39%; and Among the 20 most populous counties according to the 2020 Census enumeration—together home to over 60 million Americans—usage of the .gov domain increased from 42% to 53%. This shift is due to two of those counties—Tarrant County, TX, and Santa Clara County, CA—adopting .gov. (This analysis considers the 19 unique websites belonging to these 20 counties; Brooklyn, NY, and Queens, NY, both use vote.nyc)

Rulemaking and Legislation Updates

Michigan Rulemaking: Election recounts could soon become limited to only those cases when the outcome could change. The Board of State Canvassers, which oversees parts of the election process, advanced that proposed rule change and others to the final step of the rulemaking process July 19. Now it’ll be up to a panel of lawmakers to decide whether to accept the new rules once the Bureau of Elections prepares all the materials for it. Bureau of Elections Director Jonathan Brater said the changes are a way to stop people from misusing the recount process. “The purpose of the recount is to recount the ballots. It’s not to look into other issues that are really in the purview of law enforcement or the courts,” Brater said. The proposed administrative rule changes reflect a new state law that was signed earlier this month. That law is expected to go into effect next year. Brater said going through the administrative rulemaking process could allow the changes to take effect in time for the November general election Outside of the recount process, the Board of State Canvassers approved some proposed changes to its meeting procedures. One of the biggest changes would require anyone who comes before the board to submit materials, like briefs, at least 48 hours ahead of time. Brater said it would help cut back on people bringing information before the board at the last minute. Those proposed changes are now at an early stage in the rulemaking process. They’ll go through public comment and review by the panel of lawmakers before they can become final.

Kansas City, Missouri: The Kansas City, Missouri, city council passed an ordinance on July 18 that protects election workers from aggressive behavior ahead of the upcoming primary elections and in future elections. The vote comes after city officials, including Mayor Quinton Lucas, said they were concerned about an increase in reports of problems at polling sites in recent elections. “The purpose of this ordinance is to regulate and punish acts of aggression, violence, threats of violence, interference, or intimidation, or acts of disorderly conduct that disrupt or interfere with the conducting of an election or an election worker in the discharge of an election worker’s official duties,” the ordinance states. Democratic director of the Kansas City Board of Elections Laurie Ealom said the passage of the ordinance was a huge exhale for her. “I’ve been on this bandwagon, literally, since 2020,” Ealom said. That was the year she was threatened while working with voters during an election. “I felt extremely violated, ‘cause I was just doing my job,” Ealom said. “I was extremely unprepared.” Council member Melissa Patterson Hazley co-sponsored the ordinance. Patterson Hazley has volunteered at every election over the last decade. “I have seen more angst here in recent years than I have in the past,” she said. Ealom said she hopes the ordinance will bring awareness to the new protections and that it’s a preventative measure the city has taken.

Northampton County, Pennsylvania: Northampton County Council rejected a resolution concerning election integrity during its meeting July 18. The legislation calls for fair elections and that each legitimate vote is counted. The resolution is a response to issues with electronic voting machines from vendor Election Systems & Software during the 2019 and 2023 elections. The resolution cites an organization called “Keep Our Republic,” with the bill’s impetus. Keep Our Republic says it is a non-partisan organization “dedicated to protecting a republic of laws and strengthening the checks and balances of our democratic electoral system.”  The organization wrote a creed which is included with the legislation. It states that Americans would “rededicate” themselves to “let every eligible voter vote…every vote be counted…let the electoral count stand.” Commissioner John Brown said the resolution was not productive. “A resolution like this is, to me, kind of like fluff,” Brown said. “…I don’t think we need to keep restating over and over and over again around elections.” The measure failed by a 3-6 vote.

Legal Updates

Alabama: The Campaign Legal Center filed suit on July 17 arguing that a new Alabama law that expanded the list of felonies that cause a person to lose their right to vote is “out of step” with what is happening in most of the nation on voting rights for formerly incarcerated people. The suit, filed in  Montgomery Circuit Court, is seeking to clarify that the new law cannot block people from voting in the November election. The lawsuit argued House Bill 100, which has a Oct. 1 effective date, cannot be used in the upcoming election, because the Alabama Constitution prohibits new election laws from taking effect within six months of the general election. Without clarity, they argued, it is setting up a confusing situation for voters and registrars over who can and cannot vote in November. The new law adds that a conviction for attempting, soliciting or conspiracy to commit one of the more than 40 existing crimes of moral turpitude, would also be considered a disqualifying crime. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two men, convicted of crimes years ago, who could lose their right to vote under the expanded list. Secretary of State Wes Allen’s office declined to answer questions about the effective date, citing the ongoing litigation. The head of the Legislative Services Agency, which advises lawmakers and helps draft legislation, told The Associated Press that they had advised it “would not impact who could vote in November” because of the constitutional requirement but would impact future elections. Allen’s office declined to comment on the litigation or the impact of the new law.

Alaska: Superior Court Judge Christina Rankin disqualified numerous booklets used to gather signatures for an initiative that aims to repeal Alaska’s ranked choice voting system and gave elections officials a deadline to determine if the measure still had sufficient signatures to qualify for the November ballot. The decision by Rankin comes in a lawsuit brought by three voters that seeks to disqualify the repeal measure from the ballot. Rankin previously ruled the Division of Elections acted within its authority when it earlier this year allowed sponsors of the measure to fix errors with petition booklets after they were turned in and found the agency had complied with deadlines. Her new ruling focused on challenges to the sponsors’ signature-collecting methods that were the subject of a recent trial. Rankin set a Wednesday deadline for the division to remove the signatures and booklets she found should be disqualified and for the division to determine if the measure still has sufficient signatures to qualify for the ballot. Rankin wrote there was no evidence of a “pervasive pattern of intentional, knowing, and orchestrated misconduct to warrant” the petition totally be thrown out. But she said she found instances in which the signature-gathering process was not properly carried out, and she disqualified those booklets.

Arizona: Arizona won’t be able to block those who sign up to vote using a federal registration form from casting a ballot in the presidential race — at least not now. In a brief order last week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a plea by Republican legislative leaders to delay a ruling by a trial judge barring enforcement of such a ban. In the same order, the three-judge panel also said those using that federal form still can cast their ballots by mail. What the judges decided, however, is that anyone who tries to register to vote using a state form is required at the same time to provide documented proof of citizenship. More to the point, if they do not, the application must now be rejected. That overturns what had been occurring. House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) acknowledged the limited nature of the victory. “But it’s still a win,” he told Capitol Media Services. None of this precludes Toma and others from pursuing an appeal of last year’s order by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton about the ability of those using the federal form to cast a ballot in the presidential race. A hearing is being scheduled on that for September. And that means there still could be a decision before the Nov. 5 election. But unless Bolton’s ruling is overturned, it means that the more than 35,000 Arizonans who have signed up using that federal form will get a say in the upcoming election. Their views could have an impact: Joe Biden won Arizona over Donald Trump in 2020 by fewer than 11,000 votes.

The group behind a ballot measure that would overhaul Arizona’s election laws is suing lawmakers for approving a description of the measure that the group says only serves to mislead and confuse voters.  Sarah Smallhouse, chairman of the Make Elections Fair Arizona Act campaign, said that lawmakers refused to make the changes to the description requested by her campaign because it would benefit them to preserve the status quo. before Arizonans get a chance to consider the act in November, election officials must first send out voter information pamphlets. State lawmakers are in charge of crafting and approving the descriptions of each ballot proposal included in that pamphlet. And backers of the Make Elections Fair Act say that lawmakers violated Arizona law by greenlighting a summary of the act that could turn voters away. On July 8, a legislative panel made up of eight Republicans and six Democrats OK’d a summary of the Make Elections Fair Arizona Act that, in its first paragraph, highlighted its use of ranked choice voting.  The proposition “would amend the Arizona Constitution to: 1. Allow for the use of voter rankings at all elections held in this state to determine which candidate received the highest number of legal votes,” reads the description written by the legislative council and approved by lawmakers. “It’s unsurprising that none of the 14 legislators on the Council agreed to adopt our proposed changes to clarify their analysis and describe the most important elements of the initiative first,” she said, in an emailed statement announcing the lawsuit’s filing in Maricopa County Superior Court on Wednesday. “As the beneficiaries of the current electoral process we are proposing to change, the Council each have an inherent conflict of interest.”

California: Digital voter records are completely separate from the equipment used to tally votes, so allegations in a lawsuit that conflate the two are unfounded, lawyers for the county of Orange and the state argue in a response recently filed in court. Earlier this month, lawyers representing the state and the county filed their response to a lawsuit alleging that the digital voter records, which are connected to the internet, are a part of the voting system and thus in violation of California law. The lawyers argued the lawsuit has no grounds and asked an Orange County Superior Court judge to dismiss it. Three registered Republican voters in Orange County — Michelle Morgan, Raul Ortiz and Stefan Bean — filed the lawsuit in March against OC Registrar of Voters Bob Page, the OC Board of Supervisors, Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Gov. Gavin Newsom, alleging that the California Voter’s Choice Act goes against the state election code. The core of the lawsuit’s argument is that electronic poll books, accessible to every vote center in real time to verify voter eligibility and whether someone has already voted, are connected to the internet. The lawsuit alleges this violates a state election code that says “no part of the voting system shall be connected to the internet at any time” and “no part of the voting system shall electronically receive or transmit election data through an exterior communication network” or “receive or transmit wireless communications or wireless data transfers.”

Colorado: Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters asked the Supreme Court on July 19 for emergency intervention to prevent the start of her trial over leaked voting machine passwords. Peters faces criminal charges for giving a security company unauthorized access to voting machines during a system update in 2021.  In an attempt to avert her July 29 trial, Peters filed an emergency application with the justices, claiming federal elections protections give her immunity from the state’s prosecution.  “An injunction stopping the state trial while this court considers this case is necessary to preserve the status quo and prevent an irreparable injury to the institutional interests of the federal government and to Ms. Peters’ right not to be subjected to state trial for executing her duty under federal law,” Peters wrote in her application.  Peters said prosecutors’ charges relate to her duty to preserve election records as Colorado’s chief election official. She argued her actions reflected official responsibilities under federal law, giving her immunity under the 14th Amendment. On July 22, the U.S. Supreme Court turned down the request. 

Judge Charlotte Sweeney ruled in favor of defendants in a case involving three Colorado election conspiracy theorists who’d been accused by a coalition of voting rights groups of violating civil rights laws by conducting “voter verification” canvassing in the summer of 2021. Sweeney said that the plaintiffs had failed to present credible evidence of voter intimidation. “The court finds that there is simply insufficient evidence to proceed any further in this matter,” Sweeney said. Ashe Epp, Shawn Smith and Holly Kasun, through their work with the group U.S. Election Integrity Plan, were accused of voter intimidation in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Enforcement Act of 1871, also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court of Colorado in 2022 by attorneys with the liberal nonprofit Free Speech For People, on behalf of the Colorado NAACP, the League of Women Voters of Colorado and Mi Familia Vota. Plaintiffs sought to tie USEIP’s activity to “our nation’s troubling history of voter intimidation and disenfranchisement.” Their witnesses included Chris Beall, Colorado’s deputy secretary of state, and Beth Hendrix, director of the League of Women Voters of Colorado, both of whom testified that the campaign raised concerns and relayed secondhand reports of voters feeling intimidated by canvassers. The judge’s findings came in response to a motion from the defense for an early end to the trial, after the plaintiffs acknowledged on Wednesday that they had no further evidence to present on the issue of intimidation.

Georgia: American Oversight, a government watchdog organization, filed a lawsuit July 19 in Fulton County Superior Court accusing conservative appointed election board members Rick Jeffares, Janice Johnston, and Janelle King of failing to provide timely public notice for a July 12 meeting, not having enough board members present to conduct business and violating several other the board’s rules. American Oversight claims that the Republican board members orchestrated the illegal meeting in order to advance proposed rules that would dramatically increase the number of partisan poll watchers permitted at tabulation centers and impose unnecessary burdens on election workers. Also named as defendants in the lawsuit are the board’s two other members, Chairman John Fervier and Sara Tindall Ghazal, the lone appointee of the state Democratic Party. Both members did not attend the July 12 meeting after expressing concerns about its legitimacy. Georgia law requires the State Election Board to provide at least one week’s notice to hold regular meetings, emergency meetings should be announced 24 hours in advance except in limited circumstances. American Oversight claims that notice of the July 12 election board meeting was not publicized in the customary methods of posting online to the board’s website and emailed to its subscriber list.

Idaho: Attorney General Raúl Labrador is suing to block the Idahoans for Open Primaries initiative, a ballot initiative that would open Idaho’s primary elections and revamp how Idahoans cast votes in the state’s primary and general elections. Labrador’s lawsuit alleges the initiative — which has enough signatures to be on the Nov. 5 election ballot, according to the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office —  was deceptively pitched as an open primary initiative and violates the Idaho Constitution’s requirement that laws address a single subject. Labrador’s lawsuit asks the Idaho Supreme Court to, in effect, block the initiative from the November ballot by either blocking Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane from including the ballot title on November ballots, or ordering McGrane to invalidate signatures in support of the initiative. The Idaho Secretary of State must submit the ballot title to county election officials by Sept. 7, according to the lawsuit. “We feel that the Supreme Court will look at this very seriously, and we’re hoping that they agree,” Labrador told reporters. Idahoans for Open Primaries campaign spokesperson Luke Mayville, in an interview with the Sun, called the lawsuit a “political stunt” and said he was confident the court would dismiss it.

Mississippi: Mississippi legislators, not the courts, must decide whether to change the state’s practice of stripping voting rights from people convicted of certain felonies, including nonviolent crimes such as forgery and timber theft the the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week.  The state’s original list of disenfranchising crimes springs from the Jim Crow era, and attorneys who sued to challenge the list say authors of the Mississippi Constitution removed voting rights for crimes they thought Black people were more likely to commit. A majority of judges on the 5th Circuit wrote that the Supreme Court in 1974 reaffirmed constitutional law allowing states to disenfranchise felons. “Do the hard work of persuading your fellow citizens that the law should change,” the majority wrote. Nineteen judges of the appeals court heard arguments in January, months after vacating a ruling issued last August by a three-judge panel of the same court. The panel had said Mississippi’s ban on voting after certain crimes violates the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. In the ruling, dissenting judges wrote that the majority stretched the previous Supreme Court ruling “beyond all recognition.” The dissenting judges wrote that Mississippi’s practice of disenfranchising people who have completed their sentences is cruel and unusual.

Mississippi can wait until next year to redraw some of its legislative districts to replace ones where Black voting power is currently diluted, three federal judges said. The decision updates a timeline from the judges, who issued a ruling July 2 that found problems with districts in three parts of the state — a ruling that will require multiple House and Senate districts to be reconfigured. The judges originally said they wanted new districts set before the regular legislative session begins in January. Their decision means Mississippi will not hold special legislative elections this November on the same day as the presidential election. It also means current legislators are likely to serve half of the four-year term in districts where the judges found that Black voters’ voices are diminished. The judges wrote that waiting until 2025 avoids an “exceedingly compressed schedule” for legislators to draw new districts, for those districts to receive court approval, for parties to hold primaries and for candidates to campaign. Attorneys for the state Board of Election Commissioners argued that redrawing districts in time for this November’s election is impossible because of tight deadlines to prepare ballots. Attorneys for the NAACP, who sued the state, argued it’s important to redraw districts quickly because having special elections next year would create burdens for election administrators and cause confusion for voters.

Montana: Officials asked the state Supreme Court on July 18 for an emergency order to block a ruling that allowed signatures from inactive voters to count on petitions for several proposed November ballot initiatives, including one to protect abortion rights. A judge said Tuesday that Montana’s Secretary of State wrongly changed election rules to reject inactive voter signatures from three ballot initiatives after the signatures had been turned into counties and after some of the signatures had been verified. The judge gave county election offices until July 24 to tally signatures of inactive voters that had been rejected. All the initiatives are expected to qualify even without the rejected signatures. In granting a restraining order that blocked the change, state District Judge Michael Menahan said participation in government was a “fundamental right” that he was duty-bound to uphold. He scheduled a July 26 hearing on a permanent injunction against the state. In an order issued July 23, justices unanimously said Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen hadn’t made the case that District Court Judge Mike Menahan erred when he told her office to count the signatures of “inactive” voters toward the minimum threshold for placing initiatives on the ballot — as has been practice. “(Montana code) provides that the Secretary bears the responsibility to obtain and maintain uniformity in the application, operation and interpretation of election laws,” the order said. “Jacobsen’s decision to change the Secretary’s longstanding practice to count the signatures of inactive voters — and to do so without notice to county election administrators after they had commenced petition processing — failed to maintain uniformity in the application, operation and interpretation of the election laws in this instance.”

North Carolina: Judge James C. Dever has dismissed a lawsuit challenging a law requiring North Carolinians to reside in the state for at least 30 days prior to an election in which they seek to vote. Dever concluded in an order that “North Carolina’s 30-day durational residency requirement poses only a modest burden on voting rights” and does not unconstitutionally burden the right to vote. Dever additionally held that the rule does not violate the VRA.  In a complaint filed last October, the North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans argued that the state’s so-called “durational residency requirement” flouts a provision of the VRA that expressly prohibits states from imposing such rules.  The VRA permits states to impose a 30-day pre-election registration cutoff for presidential elections in order to ensure accurate voter lists and limit registration to bona fide residents — but as the suit averred, registration requirements are distinct from residency requirements.  The lawsuit further reasoned that North Carolina’s 30-day durational residency requirement is longer than the state’s registration deadline, which allows eligible voters to register up until the Saturday before Election Day using the state’s same-day registration process. Consequently, individuals who do not satisfy the 30-day residency requirement cannot take advantage of this same-day registration opportunity and are thus disenfranchised, according to the lawsuit.  In the motion to dismiss from GOP state legislators, Dever held that the portion of the VRA at issue in the case “does not prohibit or abolish durational residency requirement” in all elections. Rather — as the ruling states — the VRA solely prohibits residency requirements from interfering with citizens’ ability to vote in presidential elections, which North Carolinians who are new residents of the state may still do. “A state violates Section 202 only if its durational residency requirement bars a citizen from voting for president,” the order reads. Dever also agreed with GOP state lawmakers who averred that the requirement is necessary to preventing voter “fraud.”

Ohio: U.S. District Judge Bridget Meehan Brennan has ruled that Ohio’s election law violates the rights of people with disabilities who rely on caregivers or family members to return their absentee ballots. The decision came down in a lawsuit that challenged a rule allowing only certain family members to help relatives who are hospitalized or homebound because of an illness or disability. While the list includes spouses, parents, siblings and grandparents, the state does not allow grandchildren or caretakers to handle another person’s absentee ballot. Brennan said that violates the federal Voting Rights Act, which allows voters with disabilities to get help from anyone except their employer or union representative. Her decision means Ohio’s law can no longer be enforced.

The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that the Stark County Board of Elections could only discuss in executive session the purchase of voting machines if “premature disclosure” of the information discussed in private would give a private party an unfair bargaining advantage. In what was a debate over which rules of grammar to follow in reading a law, the state’s highest court reversed the rulings of the Canton-based 5th District Court of Appeals in July 2023 and Stark County Common Pleas Judge Taryn Heath in October 2022. The lower courts had ruled that the “premature disclosure” clause did not apply to behind closed-doors discussions about the purchase of property for public purposes. The case now goes back to Heath’s court for a new trial applying the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the state open meetings law. The 7-0 ruling was a victory for Washington D.C.-based Look Ahead America, an organization founded by former campaign staffers of former President Donald Trump. The group and Jackson Township resident Merry Lynne Rinni filed the lawsuit in May 2021 against the Stark County Board of Elections. The group alleged that the board’s four closed-door sessions to discuss the purchase of property for public purposes from December 2020 to March 2021 violated Ohio’s Open Meetings Act. Look Ahead America said the board members discussed the matter without any indication that “premature disclosure” of what they discussed would give a private party an unfair advantage.

Pennsylvania: The state Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal to determine whether provisional  ballots should be counted in a narrow Republican primary race for a Luzerne County state House seat. The case is one of three before the court involving the race in the 117th Legislative District as incumbent state Rep. Mike Cabell (R-Luzerne) and challenger Jaime Walsh, who has already declared victory, fight to mop up any uncounted votes.  At issue in the appeal granted July 24 is whether two provisional ballots – one submitted lacking a signature and the other cast by a voter who recently moved to another county – should be counted. The Supreme Court has not announced whether it will hear appeals by Walsh in a dispute over six mail-in ballots, and by Cabell, who wants the county board of elections to tally 22 write-in votes for state representative in the district. Walsh, who claimed victory earlier this month, holds a five-vote lead over incumbent Cabell, according to unofficial Luzerne County election results. Only the write-in votes could change the outcome of the race, though a lawyer for Walsh said the likelihood of that is slim. Walsh contends the Commonwealth Court incorrectly reversed decisions by the Luzerne County elections board and a panel of Luzerne County judges that found one of the provisional ballots should be counted and one should not.  The elections board and county judges found, in accordance with guidance from state election officials, that a provisional ballot submitted without one of two required signatures should be counted because the voter’s intent was clear. A Commonwealth Court panel ruled 2-1 that the ballot should not be counted, citing a statutory requirement that both an affidavit and the ballot’s outer envelope be signed by the voter.

Utah: A complaint from gubernatorial candidate State Rep. Phil Lyman requesting to inspect unredacted signatures of his opposition’s campaigns, including those that helped get incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson on the ballot was denied on July 19.  “The Court heard oral arguments on the Motion on July 18, 2024, at which time neither party sought to supplement the record with testimony or other evidence. Having carefully considered the papers and arguments of counsel, the Court respectfully DENIES the Motion,” a filing in the Third Judicial Court states. Lyman and his campaign had filed official notice requesting election returns, including cast vote records (CVR), tabulator information, ballot images, tabulator tapes, and back up project databases, for all 29 Utah counties. The filing denying Lyman’s motion states that he and his campaign sought “an unredacted list of signors to the Signature Packets with their accompanying personal identifying information, including name, date of signature, address, age or birthdate, voter identification number, and whether the signature was verified,” as well as “a sufficient opportunity to inspect the unredacted Signature Packets, so they may evaluate and, if necessary, challenge the signatures gathered by these competing campaigns before the July 22, 2024, statewide canvassing deadline.”

Judge David Nuffer denied a request from Utah 2nd Congressional District candidate Colby Jenkins to delay the state election certification and reprocess some ballots. But the judge also said the state’s reliance on U.S. Postal Service postmarks appears to be problematic. Jenkins filed a lawsuit in United States District Court on Wednesday alleging that Utah election officials violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution by unfairly rejecting some ballots that were mailed before the deadline but received a late postmark from the U.S. Postal Service. Nuffer ruled that Jenkins did not provide sufficient evidence that rejected ballots had been mailed on time or that state officials showed disparate treatment of voters under state code. Judge Nuffer rejected Jenkins’ request to halt Monday’s state election certification and his request to process rejected ballots affected by USPS postmarking delays.

Virginia: Liam Joseph Watson, 24 a Blacksburg Town Council member has been arrested on four fraud indictments, according to Virginia State Police. Watson surrendered to state police July 24, 2024 after indictments were handed down by a Montgomery County grand jury. At the direction of the Office of the Virginia Attorney General, state police say they initiated the investigation in March 2024 into an allegation of election fraud. July 23, 2024, the grand jury handed up three felony counts of election fraud and one felony count of illegally voting in an election against Watson. The United States Postal Inspection Service assisted the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation. A statement from Watson’s attorneys, Fishwick & Associates PLC, says, “Liam Watson has served the citizens of Montgomery County in various roles for a number of years and was most recently elected in 2023 in a write in campaign by the citizens of Blacksburg for a seat on the Blacksburg Town Council. He is 24 years old, with a heart for public service, and has worked diligently for the citizens who elected him. We look forward to appearing in Court.”

Analysis and Opinions This Week

National Opinions: Voting rights | Voter rolls 

Alaska: Ranked choice voting

Colorado: Election security | Ranked choice voting 

Florida: Broward County 

Georgia: Election integrity | State board of elections

Kansas: Bilingual voter information 

Kentucky: List maintenance

Minnesota: Voting system

Missouri: Secretary of state

Nevada: Recount 

South Carolina: Ranked choice voting 

Washington: Artificial Intelligence

West Virginia: Poll workers

Wisconsin: Election security 

Wyoming: Purged voters 

Upcoming Events

Fix the Insurrection Act: A law last updated 150 years ago gives presidents dangerous authority to use the U.S. military as a domestic police force. The Insurrection Act has virtually no limits on when and how this power can be used, making it a loaded weapon in the hands of any leader, Democrat or Republican, who is tempted to abuse it. Without urgent reforms, the law is a threat to civil liberties — and American democracy. Join The Brennan Center  for a live virtual event moderated by Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the Brennan Center Liberty & National Security Program, featuring lawyer and writer Hawa Allan, Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith, and Brennan Center counsel Joseph Nunn. The panel will shed light on a president’s alarming powers under the Insurrection Act and examine possible solutions to prevent the law’s misuse. Speakers: Hawa Allan, Author, Insurrection: Rebellion, Civil Rights, and the Paradoxical State of Black Citizenship; Jack Goldsmith, Learned Hand Professor of Law, Harvard Law School; Joseph Nunn, Counsel, Brennan Center Liberty & National Security Program; and Moderator: Elizabeth Goitein, Senior Director, Brennan Center Liberty & National Security Program. When: July 25, 3pm Eastern. Where: Online

Generative AI for Elections Officials: Join The Elections Group for Generative Artificial Intelligence for Election Administrators at noon EDT on Tuesday, July 30. During this webinar, we’ll consider ways of using generative artificial intelligence in election administration. Don’t miss this opportunity to ask questions and learn about AI tools that can help boost efficiency in your office. When: July 30, 12pm Eastern. Where: Online. 

National Poll Worker Recruitment Day: The U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s fourth annual National Poll Worker Recruitment Day will be held on Thursday, August 1, 2024! State and local election officials, civic organizations, and others can use this national awareness day to encourage Americans to sign up to become poll workers in their communities for upcoming elections. To help participate in this day, the EAC has created a customizable social media toolkit for election officials. The toolkit is easily editable to meet the needs of your jurisdiction or organization. The sample posts are sized for X, Facebook, and Instagram, but can be used for printed materials, websites, and more.  With the increasing popularity of videos on social media, you can now even make a short video using this toolkit. Also new this year is a template for outreach to community partners who can help increase the reach of recruitment efforts. The EAC also offers a Poll Worker Recruitment Lookup Tool to help people interested in signing up to be poll workers find information for their local election offices. When: August 1. Where: Everywhere! 

Data & Democracy Workshops: In today’s data-driven world, Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIST) can be a vital tool for fostering voter turnout and strengthening democracy. This August, the Spatial Analytics and Visualization Institute (SAVI), an official SJSU Campus Institute in the California State University system is offering a special virtual workshop series to empower election officials, policy professionals and researchers to pursue data-driven projects that support free and fair elections. The Data & Democracy Workshop series will be taught by expert SAVI faculty. The six workshops will take place across three Saturdays: August 10, 17 and 24. Each workshop includes a lecture, a lab session and a hands-on exercise. Participants will earn badges by completing individual workshops, or a certificate of completion for completing all six. Participants will explore how Python, R and open source GIST skills can unlock the power of data analysis and visualization in the design and administration of elections, defending democracy in November 2024 and beyond. When: August 10, 17 & 24. Where: Online

Election Center Annual Conference: The Election Center National Conference will be convening at the Marriott Renaissance Center. CERA Class Dates: Saturday, Sept 7 – Sunday, Sept 8, 2024. Committee Meetings and Evening Reception: Sunday, Sept 8, 2024. Conference Dates: Monday, Sept 9 – Tuesday, Sept 10, 2024. Optional Tour: Detroit Election Facilities – Wednesday, Sept 11, 2024. We will honor the winners of the Election Center’s acclaimed Professional Practices Papers’ Program on Tuesday, Sept 10. All of the 2024 best practices submissions will be posted on the Election Center website post conference. Help us celebrate the 2024 CERA/CERV graduates at the graduation ceremony and hosted luncheon on Tuesday, Sept 10. The Vendor educational exhibits featuring elections suppliers and manufacturers will be available beginning Sunday and continuing through Tuesday. The room block at the Marriott Renaissance Center will sell out quickly so do not delay in making hotel reservations. Additional information can be found on the registration page. One night deposit required. When: Sept. 7-11. Where Detroit

National Voter Registration Day: National Voter Registration Day is a nonpartisan civic holiday dedicated to celebrating our democracy. Since its kickoff in 2012, the holiday and its team of thousands of Partners have worked to get over 5 million Americans registered to vote in time for their next trip to the ballot box. Celebrated each September, National Voter Registration Day involves dedicated Partners of every stripe from all over the country hitting the streets for a single star-spangled awesome day of coordinated field, digital, and media action focused squarely on growing our shared democracy. When: September 17. Where: Everywhere.  

National Voter Education Week: National Voter Education Week (NVEW) is an open-source and nonpartisan campaign to help voters bridge the gap between registering to vote and actually casting a ballot. During this week of interactive education, voters have the opportunity to find their polling location, understand their ballot, make a plan to vote in person or remotely, and inspire others to get involved. NVEW strives to help voters overcome common barriers to become confident voters and ambassadors of voting in their own communities for every election. When: Oct. 7-11. Where: Everywhere. 

Vote Early Day: Vote Early Day is a nonpartisan movement of media companies, businesses, nonprofits, election administrators, and creatives working to ensure all Americans have the tools to vote early. Vote Early Day was founded by MTV as a new civic holiday focused on helping every voter know how, where, and when they can vote early. Launched in the midst of a global pandemic, Vote Early Day became a critical resource to ensure no voter had to choose between their health and casting their ballot. In its first celebration, Vote Early Day attracted 134 premier partners and 2,700 general partners from every state in the nation. Over 3,000,000 voters cast their ballots on Vote Early Day alone. When: October 29. Where: In states that allow early voting

Election Hero Day: Election Hero Day recognizes the important work and contributions of poll workers, election administrators, and clerks to ensure efficient and secure elections. Join business leaders, elected officials, nonprofit leaders, and citizens from around the country the day before Election Day to celebrate these heroes of our democracy. When: November 4. Where: Everywhere.

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.

Cybersecurity Junior Analyst, Palm Beach County, Florida– The Cybersecurity Junior Analyst is responsible for monitoring the organization’s log aggregation tools and triage suspicious activity or detection alerts generated by the security controls implemented within the Supervisor of Elections Office network environment. Additionally, this position will serve as the first line of defense and response for identified security events in accordance with the Information Security Policy, and cybersecurity procedures. Candidate must be organized and personable with a great attitude, be able to work well in a team environment, calmly respond to identified security incidents, and meet deadlines under pressure. Excellent work ethic, including consistent performance, integrity, reliability, and attendance, is a must. Candidate must be detail-oriented and understand the importance of security and safety for all. Must be available 24/7 365, be able to handle simultaneous projects, be a self-starter, and remain informed on emerging threats and technologies. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Departmental Analysts-Training and Election Assistance, Michigan Dept. of State– Provide training, guidance and policy interpretation to county, city, and township clerks statewide on the administration of elections, based on Michigan Election Law and established election-related policies and procedures. Provide guidance and troubleshooting to county, city, and township clerks regarding the Qualified Voter File (QVF). Assist with the coordination of Bureau of Elections (BOE) activities related to the planning, scheduling, development, revision, delivery, and ongoing assessment of BOE training programs for over 1,600 election officials statewide. Assist in the supervision and administration of the election laws under the direction of the Secretary of State, Director of Elections, and the Board of State Canvassers. Salary: $52,166.40 – $77,916.80 Annually. Deadline: July 30. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Deputy City Clerk, North Las Vegas, Nevada— Under general supervision, performs specialized administrative and technical work related to the operation of the Office of the City Clerk. Prepares, processes and distributes City Council Regular, Special and Redevelopment agendas: publishes, mails, and posts agendas as required by the Open Meeting Law. Maintains agenda mailing list. Maintains invocation log and schedules for the City Council meetings. Prepares correspondence including memos to department directors and letters to applicants, representatives and property owners describing the action taken at the various City meetings. Confirms documentation needed on all contracts approved by the City Council and advises  contractors of the requirements. Obtains City signatures as necessary. Follows-up on contract expiration dates and notifies appropriate department staff. Attends bid openings. Prepares and distributes meeting minutes, action reports, and summary minutes of public meetings. Publishes, mails, and posts public hearing notices as required by the Open Meeting Law. Prepares City Council Regular, Special and Redevelopment meeting follow-up letters, memos and final action notices; provides administrative support for City Council, commissions, committees, and boards. Performs all related duties in compliance with Nevada Revised Statutes, Nevada Administrative Code and North Las Vegas Municipal Code. Responds to inquiries from the public regarding procedures, activities and other matters that require knowledge of the department’s operations. Ordinance follow-up and log maintenance. Administers agreements which do not need to be approved by City Council. Processes vacations of streets and rights-of-way and annexations; processes bonds, both financial and construction. Responsible for preparing daily, monthly, and annual statistical reporting. Assists in producing election and election related brochures and materials in all necessary languages, including requirements, important dates, methods and means of voting opportunities and necessary documentary evidence required by federal law; acts as filing officer for candidate filing, applications and expense reports. Receives payment from the public in the form of cash, check or money orders; utilizes appropriate cashiering procedures for accepting money, safeguarding the received money and accurately balancing at the end of each day. Performs other related duties as assigned. Salary: $27.01- $42.59/hr  Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Election Protection Hotline Specialist, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law– Are you passionate about safeguarding democratic processes? Join us as an Election Protection Hotline Specialist! This pivotal role involves collaborating with hundreds of legal volunteers to address voter concerns reported to the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline. As part of our dynamic hotline infrastructure team, you’ll be at the forefront of managing day-to-day operations. Expect a fast-paced environment, multitasking, and a commitment to early mornings, evenings, and weekends. Embrace the opportunity to learn and employ cutting-edge technology. Responsibilities of the Election Protection Hotline Specialist include but are not limited to: Support the Election Protection contact center, ensuring top-notch assistance to voters using the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline. Organize schedules and workflows for numerous legal volunteers, ensuring exceptional assistance and collecting essential data. Craft volunteer communications such as newsletters and emails, and promptly respond to volunteer inquiries Maintain proper staffing levels based on anticipated call volumes and direct volunteers to necessary resources. Aid volunteers with technical queries related to Twilio, Rocket Chat, Okta, and troubleshoot connectivity and login issues. Collaborate on updating voting rights reference materials and conduct volunteer training. Conduct research to enhance resources addressing caller questions and update volunteer references.Monitor interactions in the Election Protection database to ensure information accuracy and identify trends. Create daily reports summarizing call data to inform Election Protection coalition activities.Identify and engage volunteers for leadership roles and assist in post-election analysis. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Elections Clerk, Part-time, Karnes County, Texas– This position requires a flexible schedule and will report to the Elections Administrator.  The applicant must be able to work various hours during election season and not take off work during election season.   Requires some 13-hour workdays on voting days and also some weekend hours.  Previous Elections experience is preferred.  Responsible for the election polling location preparation of election supplies and voting equipment. Delivery of supplies and equipment and set up of the polling locations.   Skilled in use of Microsoft programs.  Must have own vehicle and driver’s license.  Must be able to lift and carry 30 lbs. Salary: Pay: $20,000 – Hourly: $19.23. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Elections Coordinator, Kaufman County, Texas– The Elections Coordinator position plays a pivotal role in our operations, coordinating and supervising the daily operations and overseeing the productivity and quality of the work done by the elections staff. Receive and process applications for ballot by mail and maintain all such records. Assist Elections Administrator in preparation and conduct of county elections and early voting. Required to work compensatory time on election night to report election results to Secretary of State’s Office. Also required to work Saturday and/or Sunday during extended Early Voting hours. Responsible for assisting with the preparation of each election, including ordering ballots and other supplies; preparing electronic poll books; conducting voting schools for all election judges annually; hiring presiding and alternate judges appointed by the Commissioners’ Court. Responsible for providing unofficial election results on election night, reporting to Secretary of State on election night and after canvass, and providing results to IT Department for website posting. Assist the public in person, by telephone, and by mail concerning department information, researching records, filling out forms, and resolving relevant problems. Receive and distribute PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) to judges and clerks. As the Elections Coordinator, you will be responsible for creating and maintaining complex database files for all elections conducted by the department. You will also coordinate and establish the use of the polling locations and the placement of election officials for each election. In addition, you will oversee compensating election officials and customizing and procuring specific procedures, equipment, and materials for them. Your role may also involve handling difficult problems, developing and documenting programs/curriculum, monitoring work unit resources, and ensuring compliance with policies and laws. You will play a key role in the process of Federal, State, and local elections pursuant to the Texas Election Code, which includes tasks such as preparing ballot formats, ordering and furnishing election equipment and supplies, preparing election returns for canvassing, and filing all reports for the Secretary of State. To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the essential job functions satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the primary job functions herein described. Since every duty associated with this position may not be described herein, employees may be required to perform duties not explicitly spelled out in the job description, but which may be reasonably considered to be incidental in the performing of their duties just as though they were written out in this job description. Salary: $52,769 – $52,869. Deadline: Aug. 10. Application: For the complete listing and to apply, click here. 

Field Operations Coordinator, Hays County, Texas– Reporting directly to Election Network Engineer, responsible for overseeing the inventory, distribution, maintenance, warehouse storage, and logistics of all equipment, voting ballots, and department assets for Hays County Elections Department. Responsible for identifying and reserving polling sites including overseeing the coordination of all polling site compliance and usage. Ensures polling locations follow the Texas Election Code for early voting and election day. Oversees the day-to-day tasks of the election technicians’ program. Salary: $46,378 – $50,678. Annually Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Investigations Specialist (Compliance Specialist 2), Oregon Secretary of State’s Office– We are recruiting for individuals to join our Elections team. In this role, you will help investigate possible violations of Oregon election laws and rules. This is accomplished in part by, but not limited to: Reviewing investigation requests/complaints alleging possible violations of Oregon election laws/rules. Evaluating and determining whether the division should proceed with an investigation. Conducting thorough investigations into possible election law violations. Recommending Division action and outcome of cases. Assessing civil penalties for non-compliance with Oregon election laws/rules. Explaining election laws and rules. Answering the public’s questions about registering to vote and voting. Salary: $5,079- $7,784/month-pers; $5,385 – $8,252/month/non-pers. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

IT Assistant Manager, Palm Beach County, Florida– The Assistant IT Manager plays a supportive role in the smooth operation of the IT department, ensuring that both the technical infrastructure and the team are aligned with the organization’s goals. This position involves collaborating closely with the Election Technology Director to oversee the implementation of technology solutions that meet the needs of the organization. The Assistant IT Manager helps maintain an efficient and effective IT environment. Oversee daily operations of the IT department, including help desk operations and performance, troubleshooting issues, and ensuring efficient workflow. Hold department meetings and provide weekly performance summary. Manage IT projects under the direction of the Election Technology Director, ensuring timely completion, budget requirements, and organizational needs. Enforce IT policies and procedures to ensure data security, network access, and system availability. Assist in the management of IT staff by developing skills, coaching, and communicating job expectations. Coordinate vendor renewals, assist with IT budget development, and manage grant applications. Evaluate and assist in maintaining the organization’s disaster recovery and business continuity plans for IT. Assist with IT Public Records requests research and fulfillment. Assist the Election Technology Director in all facets of IT operations. Lead projects and mentor team members. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Manager of the Office of the Mayor and City Council/City Clerk, Moreno Valley, California– Located in the western portion of Riverside County, the beautiful City of Moreno Valley is a small, progressive and welcoming town boasting big city amenities! Solid growth has propelled Moreno Valley to its position as the second-largest city in Riverside County and fourth largest in the Inland Empire. The City is evolving from a bedroom community to one that is successfully attracting new business and fostering well-managed growth to create a superb quality of life for residents and visitors to enjoy. The City of Moreno Valley is a general law city that operates under a Council-Manager form of government. The City Council appoints the City Manager, the City Attorney, and the City Clerk. The new Manager of the Office of the Mayor and City Council/City Clerk will join a thriving executive team which works in tandem to deliver quality services in a transparent and effective manner. As an officer of the City of Moreno Valley and under administrative direction of the Mayor and City Council, the City Clerk exercises direct supervision over an assigned staff of eight(8) full time equivalent positions in accordance with the City’s Personnel Rules and Regulations. The City of Moreno Valley is looking for a well-qualified and compassionate City Clerk who has the ability to maintain the City’s high level of quality customer service. Candidates who are innovative, oriented toward continuous improvement, and committed to collaborating alongside a highly functioning executive team, are desired. The City is looking for strong minded individuals who embrace modern practices and approaches to problem solving and who have experience with the Brown Act, Roberts Rules of Order, parliamentary procedures, and other rules governing the notice and conduct of public hearings. Salary: 131,185.60 – $208,915.20. Deadline: August 23. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Operations Associate, NASED– A part-time (approximately 20 hours per week), fully remote, Operations Associate for a small nonpartisan, nonprofit membership association. Reporting to the Executive Director, this new role will support all the organization’s operational needs. The responsibilities of this position will include, but are not limited to, the following: Help update and maintain website content; Help maintain NASED’s social media presence, including developing content and creating basic graphics; Work with NASED’s controller on monthly financial reports and with the auditor and accountant on annual reports and filings; Monitor and assist with responses to inquiries sent to NASED’s shared inboxes; Maintain organization distribution lists; Assist with scheduling Board and Committee meetings; Assist with conference planning, including developing the conference website via the conference management platform, creating and proofing materials, planning activities, and budgeting; Support the execution of two national conferences per year; Create and send annual invoices to organization members and Corporate Affiliate members; and Other duties and special projects as assigned. This position is part-time and fully remote, but the candidate must live in the United States. Travel to support NASED’s Winter and Summer conferences is required (approximately 10 days per year). This position reports to NASED’s Executive Director. This role does not supervise any staff. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Physical Security Specialist, Palm Beach County, Florida– This position is responsible for administration of the physical security programs in a manner consistent with Supervisor of Elections Office policies, procedures, quality standards, and applicable local, state, and federal regulations. These programs include conducting facility security risk assessments, assisting with access control, monitoring alarms and CCTV systems, and providing security related training. Must be organized and personable with a great attitude, be able to work well in a team environment, and meet deadlines under pressure. Excellent work ethic, including consistent performance, integrity, reliability, and attendance, is a must. Candidate must be detail-oriented and understand the importance of security and safety for all. Must be available 24/7 365, be able to handle simultaneous projects, and be a self-starter. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Regional Coordinator – Observe New Mexico Elections –Observe New Mexico Elections, funded by The Carter Center, is a nonpartisan election observation effort designed to increase trust and transparency in elections. The effort is led by and for New Mexicans. Observers will be trained about relevant laws, procedures, and safeguards in New Mexico’s electoral process and will verify that those procedures are followed consistently. Nonpartisan election observers represent all voters, do not interfere in the election process, and report what they see. Observers’ findings throughout the state will be aggregated to assess the quality of elections in New Mexico. The Carter Center has led similar efforts internationally for decades and is now engaging in related efforts here at home. We are honored New Mexico was among the handful of states they selected to participate this year. Observe New Mexico Elections, a project of the Carter Center, is seeking a detail-oriented Regional Coordinator. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Senior Director, Election Law Program, William & Mary–The Election Law Program (ELP), a joint initiative of the William and Mary Law School and the National Center for State Courts, has a mission to provide resources for judges deciding election disputes. This vacancy is for an experienced attorney to serve in the role of Senior Director of the Election Law Program. The Senior Director will be an attorney with experience in election law. Reporting to the ELP Co-Directors, the portfolio of responsibilities will include, but not be limited to: Developing resources for judges deciding election cases; Supporting projects that enhance understanding of federal and state election laws and the role of courts in resolving election disputes; Sharing research findings and legal resources through a variety of mechanisms such as publications and educational programs (e.g., webinars, presentations, and conferences); Overseeing ELP project implementation; Identifying and capturing trends in election litigation; Engaging in collaborative projects with trusted partners; Supervising student research; and Participating in fundraising efforts to support existing and future ELP initiatives as required. NOTE: If interested, an opportunity for appointment as an adjunct professor to teach a relevant course within the field of election law is available. Salary: $110,000 to $125,000, commensurate with experience. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Senior Regional Engagements Specialist (Remote), EI-ISAC– CIS is in search of a proven, capable, confident, competent, and dynamic self-starter who is passionate about working collaboratively to achieve meaningful and lasting impacts on the security maturity of State, Local, Tribal and Territorial (SLTT) government agencies and entities, including public sector education. This position is within the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC), a division of CIS. The ideal candidate will be comfortable building and supporting relationships within an assigned region of the United States; interfacing with State Chief Information Officers (CIOs), State Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), executive level staff, as well as technical staff and US DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) partners. This position will provide exceptional service to SLTTs while expertly informing on the solutions and services that can protect their technology. The Center for Internet Security (CIS) makes the connected world a safer place for people, businesses, and governments through our core competencies of collaboration and innovation. We are a community-driven nonprofit responsible for industry leading best practices for securing IT systems and data. We lead a global community of IT professionals to continuously evolve these standards and provide products and services to proactively safeguard against emerging threats. Salary Range: $69,100 – $104,600. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Registration & Elections Manager, DeKalb County, Georgia– The following duties are normal for this position. The omission of specific statements of the duties does not exclude them from the classification if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment for this classification. Other duties may be required and assigned. Manages, 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. Organizes, prioritizes, and assigns work; prioritizes and schedules work activities in order to meet objectives; ensures that subordinates have the proper resources needed to complete the assigned work; monitors status of work in progress and inspects completed work; consults with assigned staff to assist with complex/problem situations and provide technical expertise; provides progress and activity reports to ; and assists with the revision of procedure manuals as appropriate. Conducts elections; manages personnel to ensure that all elections are conducted in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations; secures early voting locations and recommends schedules; appoints site managers and determines staffing requirements for early and election day voting; works with polling location personnel and county information technology and GIS staff to ensure provision of technology training and services; develops and reviews training for compliance with election laws; monitors early voting traffic; recommends changes in procedures to resolve issues; conducts election night precinct check-in, election audit and preparation of precinct statistics; monitors election tasks lists; monitors election software programming; and oversees financial filing process. Implements, monitors and maintains registration functions and processes; reviews registration functions and processes including felon registrations, duplicate voters, citizenship verifications, jury summons questionnaires, provisional voting, election night precinct check-in and election audit; monitors and ensures compliance with established protocols and procedures; and updates protocols and procedures as needed. Prepares and completes a variety of registration, production and election reports;  compiles and/or tracks various administrative and/or statistical data; generates and prepares data; submits all mandated reports to local, state and federal regulatory agencies or others as required; and maintains related records. Maintains training and procedure manuals; and develops, updates, and revises procedural manuals for voter registration and election functions. Interprets, applies, and ensures compliance with all applicable codes, laws, rules, regulations, standards, policies and procedures; initiates any actions necessary to correct deviations or violations; maintains comprehensive, current knowledge of applicable laws/regulations and pending legislation that may impact department operations; and maintains an awareness of new products, methods, trends and advances in the profession. Assists in developing and implementing department budget; reviews budgetary needs and makes recommendations to executive management; and monitors expenditures against approved budget. Salary: $68,778 – $110,732 Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Marketplace

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