electionline Weekly

Prebunking 2024

UCSD study shows explaining complexity of counting ballots eases voter distrust
Keep it simple and early

By Thad Kousser
UC San Diego

 Voters are inherently skeptical of election results released after Election Night. But for many reasons, from the need for careful certification processes to varying state laws to coping with natural disasters, election administrators often need some days after Election Day to count many ballots.  This process makes plenty of sense – but voters don’t like, and often don’t trust, delays in results.  As a social scientist who studies election trust in partnership with several state and local jurisdictions around the nation, I was part of a research team that found a simple set of things election officials can do to build trust – if you have time to fit these in now, before Election Day.

Here’s the bottom line from our recent study: simple messages explaining why election results might take time can, if presented before Election Day, can prevent voters’ decline in trust. Together with my colleagues Jennifer Gaudette and Seth Hill at UC San Diego, Mindy Romero (USC), and lead author Mackenzie Lockhart (Yale), our peer-reviewed research article looked at what happens when you inform Americans that election results took multiple days to be reported in Arizona’s 2022 governor’s race. We find that:

1. Learning that votes took multiple days to count makes Americans less trusting, but…

2. Voters can be inoculated against this decline in trust through a factual message produced by election officials.

 Watch the video: The message in this video made for voters by the Arizona Secretary of State’s office was simple, explaining the timeline for counting ballots, security measures to ensure each ballot is correctly tabulated, and the final canvass deadline dates. Similar videos tailored to other jurisdictions could be made inexpensively.  It might also be possible to have news media organizations transmit similar messages, for example by inviting local TV in for an interview in which an election administrator walks them through the process and explains how it works, why it is secure, and why it may require more time after Election Night for complete counting.

 How do we know this? We conducted a nationwide survey of eligible voters in the Spring of 2023 including over 10,000 Americans. Respondents were randomized into four groups:

1. A group who only received information about the outcome of the 2022 Arizona governor’s race
2. A group who received information about the outcome and how long vote counting took
3. A group who was presented with an informational video about why vote counting might take time but only received information about the outcome
4. A group who was presented with an informational video about why vote counting might take time and were told how long vote counting took

We examined the level of trust in each of these four groups, measured as the percentage who said they trusted the accuracy and integrity of Arizona elections “a lot” or “somewhat,” versus those who distrusted Arizona elections somewhat or a lot.  We then made two comparisons – the difference between those who heard about the slower vote counting and those who did not, and the difference between those who saw the pre-bunking video and those who did not. 

Results: Percent who report they trust elections in Arizona, by group.

How can election officials act on these findings? Being transparent with voters and explaining why election results take time is critical. In cases where ballots can’t be counted on Election Day, clearly describing the process to voters in advance so they know what to expect and why the counting sometimes takes longer in some cases can reduce the impact of delays on trust and increase trust among all voters.   

This isn’t the end of the story.  Our research will continue, because there are things we still don’t know, such as: How long do the effects of messaging last? What is going on in voters’ minds when they see the videos – do they really learn about why votes take time to count in Arizona? And what are the effects of messages like this when mixed with other messages voters see, including misinformation spreading unsubstantiated theories about fraud. 

Our research group and other scholars across the country are partnering with election officials to test these and other questions about voter trust during the 2024 election; you can read more about our work at this website. In the meantime, I wish you the smoothest October and November possible, high turnout, and satisfied voters.

Thad Kousser is a professor of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego and co-Director of the Yankelovich Center for Social Science Research. 

Learn more: Full research paper available online. Support for this project was provided by the MIT Election Data and Science Lab.

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Election News This Week

Hurricane(s) Update: Elections officials throughout the southeast continued to prepare for the 2024 election while assessing the damage left by back-to-back hurricanes. In Florida, Hurricane Milton did the same in Manatee, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, and Sarasota counties — plus additional damage in central and eastern Florida, including Collier, Glades, Highlands, Indian River, Orange, and St. Lucie, this after Hurricane Helene caused damage to Charlotte, Citrus, Dixie, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, and Taylor counties. Officials in the Milton-affected counties are calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis to sign a new executive order allowing them to ease voting procedures for the General Election next month. Supervisors cited “excessive rain or tornadic activity” and said “such counties may need to be included in certain provisions of any Executive Order issued to ensure that there are no interruptions resulting from these impacts,” according to a letter signed by David Ramba, executive director of the Florida Supervisors of Elections (FSE). The letter says that polling locations have been destroyed or rendered inaccessible due to flooding and structural damage. The supervisors claim that power outages and disrupted communication lines hinder them from coordinating preparations and informing voters about changes to polling locations or procedures. The letter goes on to say that “a significant number of residents have been displaced from their homes, staying in temporary shelters or with relatives in other areas. These voters may lack access to traditional voting methods or information about alternative options.” Officials in six Helene- impacted Tennessee counties started early voting this week albeit with some changes. Similarly, Georgia counties impacted by Helene were able to launch early voting this week. And in North Carolina, where more than 20 counties in the western part of the state suffered from the impacts of Helene, early voting was set to kick off in all counties at press time. More than 400 early voting sites are in operation across the state’s 100 counties. “Western North Carolina will vote,” Karen Bell, the executive director of the state’s board of elections, said on Tuesday.  In September, Helene knocked out power, washed out roads and left dozens of polling places unusable.  “The vast majority [of polling places] are going to be open and available to the voters in some shape or form,” Bell said. “It might require a generator, it might require a porta-potty, but we are getting those sites open.” Buncombe County Director of Elections Corinne Duncan says there is a shift in voter needs following Hurricane Helene. She says in the last two weeks, voters voiced concerns about how they’ll be able to cast their vote in this year’s elections. “Voters did start reaching out very early. People and poll workers even showed up to our office on the Saturday afterward,” she said. “There has been a big increase in requests for absentee by mail. So we have about 14,000 requests just in Buncombe County.” In an attempt to make things easier for voters, Duncan says they will make a number of changes to early voting/ “[We’]ve expanded the hours on the weekends. We did that because there are a lot of people that don’t have power. We didn’t want our poll workers to be out late at night, and it’s very good for communication, which we’re having challenges with. It’s just 9 to 5 every single day, including weekends, until that last Saturday,” Duncan said.

Early Voting News: Early voting is off to a fast pace this season. Voters in eighteen states may now vote in-person or in-person absentee. While a few jurisdictions have reported a decline in early voters compared to previous years, voters are lining up, literally, in other states to early vote. Georgia, which started early voting on Tuesday is breaking turnout records all over. By the end of the first day, 305,900 votes had been cast in person, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s datahub.  The first day early voting record is 136,000 votes cast in 2020. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said his office’s goal at early voting sites and at the 2,400 polling places on Election Day is to have voters spend as little time as possible filling out their ballots. It took the average voter only a few minutes to cast a ballot on Tuesday morning. “We want to make sure that they’re less than an hour. We loved when we had in 2022 the average wait time was less than three minutes and got down as low as two minutes at times,” Raffensperger said. “This morning, there appeared to be no slowdowns and lines have been moving everyone in less (time) than that.” In Idaho, Ada County Clerk Trent Tripple said it’s been brisk. “Turnout has been really surprisingly good,” Tripple said. Iowans were lined up all the way down the block waiting to enter the Polk County election office in Des Moines just before 8 a.m. Wednesday, the first day of early voting in Iowa for the 2024 general election. Once the doors opened, the line moved inside but voters waited about a half-hour to move to the counter to check in and get their ballots. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate encouraged Iowans to make a plan to vote in the upcoming election, either absentee voting or on Election Day. According to WOSU, early voting in central Ohio is nearly doubling in most area counties compared to the 2016 election, but is lagging behind the 2020 election, when many people voted absentee because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Early voting began Wednesday in Tennessee, and lines were long in some locations—some voters waited close to an hour. “This is my first time voting at this location, so I was a little surprised. I’m encouraged by that; I love to see people voting,” said KT Lawton, one of the first voters in line at a Shelby County polling place. And while there have been lines and some waiting, overall there have been very few reports of problems. However, a U.S. Virgin Islands elections board member was forced to apologize after creating a situation at an early voting site on Monday. And while it wasn’t early voting in the true sense of the term, fifteen members of the Philadelphia Orchestra lined up outside the drop-off box on the south side of City Hall to submit absentee ballots. The orchestra will be tour in China on Election Day. Principal bass Joseph Conyers hopes everyone is watching and similarly makes a plan to vote. “It’s less about letting them know that Joseph Conyers is voting, and more about the fact that there is a group of citizens of the city who are not going to be in town, but are recognizing that our vote and our voice matters,” he said.

Michigan Dashboard: This week, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson launched the Michigan Voting Dashboard, an interactive tool that allows the public to access election data by county and jurisdiction with a focus on absentee and early voting. Secretary Benson announced the new dashboard while speaking in Detroit alongside partners from the Center for Civic Design, who helped design the look and feel of the dashboard, and the University of Michigan School of Information (UMSI). “Democracy works best with an informed and engaged electorate, and I’m very excited today to announce our latest effort to make government more transparent and accessible to the people we serve,” said Secretary Benson. “We know that election misinformation frustrates voters. We also know that official sources of information are more important than ever to help center our conversation on the rule of law, on the truth, and on the security of the system. Making those official sources of information more user-friendly, more accessible, and easier to understand makes them more useful. It prebunks misinformation and builds trust in our elections.” Data is posted starting 45 days before each Election Day, reporting the number of absentee ballots requested by voters, the number of absentee ballots completed and returned to be tabulated, and the number of ballots cast at early voting sites. The totals are broken down by county and jurisdictions. Data on the dashboard is updated daily and is pulled from the state’s Qualified Voter File (QVF). The QVF is the secure database of voters used by the Michigan Bureau of Elections and more than 1,600 election clerks throughout the state. The dashboard will not display information about individual voters to protect their right to ballot secrecy. The Michigan Department of State and Bureau of Elections are working with the students at UMSI enrolled in a year-long User Experience capstone course to further develop the dashboard. The team intends to release more data in 2025. “It’s important that voters are able to distinguish a trusted source by providing a look under the hood like this tool does in the ballot request, ballot returns, early voting, and turnout statewide,” said Canton Township Clerk Michael Siegrist. “Most importantly, the information is provided by legal members and is distributed through the department’s trusted dashboard. It is trusted, reliable information that anyone can see how their community is, and the public will have a better understanding of how elections work.”  

A Voter Till The End: Break out your hankies! The Durango Herald has an emotional story about the power of voting and what elections officials will do to make sure everyone has that chance. Almost 98-year-old La Plata County, Colorado resident Fritz Herbine wanted one last chance to vote. He knew it would be his last. His daughter Kate Feldman reached out to  La Plata County Clerk and Recorder Tiffany Lee to see what could be done. Nothing, was the answer, until Sept. 21 – the first day that electors may be issued a ballot in Colorado. As that date neared, Feldman called again and spoke with Lee. “She said, ‘We’re coming, we will come to your father’s bedside,’” Feldman told the paper. “I was like, ‘Are you really kidding me?’” On Saturday, Sept. 21, Lee arrived with two election judges, one Democrat and one Republican, in tow. Herbine was weak – he could barely speak, his daughter said. Even though he needed it, he was not on morphine. Herbine clutched Lee’s hand as she asked if he knew what they were doing. “Voting,” he responded with a nod. Just as when a voter’s markings on a ballot are unclear and must be interpreted by judges to determine intent, Lee and the bipartisan delegation had to agree on Herbine’s intent. “Without a doubt, all three of us were like, ‘We know exactly what that man wanted,’” Lee said. “She said, ‘We’re finished, Fritz,’ and he just closed his eyes and leaned back,” his daughter said. “… She (Lee) looked at all of us, and she said ‘Fritz Herbine is the first person to vote in La Plata County in the 2024 election.’” About 48 hours later Herbine died. “It was his last act,” Feldman said.

Podcast News: The Center for Election Innovation and Research (CEIR) has launched The Count with David Becker, a new podcast that explains how the fundamental civic act of counting votes became embroiled in deceit, rage, and insurrection. These five episodes — hosted by CEIR Executive Director and Founder David Becker — will break through the misinformation and disinformation and help restore the confidence we once had in the way we elect our leaders. Joining The Jon Stewart Weekly Show for a bipartisan breakdown of election security myths vs. facts were Stacey Abrams, voting rights activist and host of “Assembly Required,” and Matt Masterson, Senior Director of Microsoft’s Democracy Forward Program. 

Sticker News: Fast Company has a look at how/why “I Voted” sticker design contests have become so popular. The El Paso County, Colorado Clerk and Recorder’s Office has chosen six winners in their ‘I Voted’ sticker contest. The office says they received around 140 original designs from first through 12th grade students. They awarded two winners in the following categories: elementary school, middle school and high school. The Clerk and Recorder’s Office says the contest allows young community members to participate in the election process, even though they aren’t old enough to vote. “It was a joy for me to see what ‘I Voted’ meant to our winners and how they used their talent to translate it into their design,” said El Paso County Clerk & Recorder Steve Schleiker. “These meaningful and impactful pieces of art truly capture the essence of civic pride and the importance of voting. Their creativity and talent shine through, and I can’t wait to see their design proudly worn by voters across the entire county.” Last week, the DeKalb County, Georgia Board of Elections announced the winners of the ‘I Voted” sticker challenge. Board Chair Karli Swift said, “We partnered with DeKalb County school system to encourage DeKalb’s 11th and 12th graders to submit original designs that will be provided to voters as an option as they exit the polls this upcoming election.” “The challenge was a way to promote civic engagement, and inspire some of our youngest voters and future voters to get involved in the democratic process,” Swift said. Grand prize winner, Charlie Anderson said, “I wanted to focus on the idea of peace. Voting is important, but peace is arguably more important…or as important, so I have a dove as the main focus of my piece.” Anderson’s design also featured Stone Mountain and a bald eagle but included a magnolia tree and flower as well as the former DeKalb County courthouse. Congratulations to Round Rock Christian Academy 6th grader Andi Abbott for winning the Williamson County, Texas “I Voted” sticker contest. “Voting is our constitutional right as Americans and a privilege that should not be taken for granted. This contest was a great way to make our next generation of voters feel included in this important process,” said Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell. The contest was open to all middle school students in Williamson County and a panel of four judges selected Andi’s winning design “I love doing art. I have been doing art for as long as I can remember. When I first heard about this competition, I was a little scared. I was competing against 7th and 8th graders, kids a lot older than me,” said Andi. “I want to thank Ms. Redding, my art teacher who taught me so much about art.” She added, “In conclusion, y’all go vote!” Montgomery County, Pennsylvania  has partnered with Fresh Artists, a local nonprofit that showcases the artwork of K–12 public school students, to produce the “Montco Votes” stickers that voters will receive at all 426 Montgomery County voting precincts. “Engaging our youngest residents in the civic process is always a priority in our work, which is why we hold Fresh Artists as such a valued partner,” said Jamila H. Winder, chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners and vice chair of the County Board of Elections. “Fresh Artists is not only bringing beautiful art into our public spaces, but also introducing these students to local government and encouraging them to pursue their artistic talents. Soon, all of Montgomery County will see that talent on display.” The winners of the 2024 Indiana Secretary of State “I Voted” Sticker Design Contest have been announced. There were nearly 1,000 sticker designs submitted, according to the Secretary of State’s office. First, second, and third places winners were announced in three categories: K-3rd grade, 4th-8th grade, and 9th-12th grade.First place winners will be recognized at the Indiana Statehouse on Oct. 29. Second and third place winners will have their designs displayed on the Secretary of State’s website. 

Personnel News: Lucia Longhurst has resigned as the Norton, Massachusetts clerk.

New Research and Resources

Election Hero Day: Election Hero Day is a national day of celebration on Monday, November 4, 2024 that highlights the tremendous contributions local election administrators, their staff, and poll workers who ensure a safe, secure, and accessible voting experience for all. 

• Sign up here to register with Election Hero Day as an official partner
• Check out EHD’s partner toolkit which provides resources and content to amplify appreciation for election heroes, including: in-person activation best practices, graphics to share on social media, and general messaging suggestions. We encourage you to design an activation or celebration that best fits the needs of election heroes in your community. You know your community best! 
• The Election Hero Day team is gathering stories to spotlight incredible election heroes on social/traditional media. Fill out this brief form to nominate your personal election hero! 
• Request FREE EHD swag including posters, thank you cards, and stickers to support your activations by filling out this form before October 23rd.

Election Thank You: As election officials across the country head into a busy season where public recognition is scarce but criticisms are magnified, the Center for Civic Design thinks it’s important to spread some election joy. Election officials do so much, often with limited resources. So they designed a postcard that celebrates the many hats that they wear. Follow the instructions to print, personalize, and send a thank you card to your local election officials to celebrate their work this election season. Not sure what to write? They’ve also included a few sample letters. Feel free to adapt them to include personal stories.

Election Day Explainer: R Street has released a new short explainer called “What To Expect On Election Day In…” where they outline a handful of the expected media narratives in key states on Election Day. While recognizing that many others have done great work tracking down specific policy differences or providing comms guidance among the states, they were looking to marry the two together and explore how policy choices in the states are likely to impact traditional media and social media narratives on Election Day. While those in national spotlight states are likely to be laser-focused on managing their local storylines, this document could be helpful for those in non-spotlight states who are looking to understand storylines around the country.

Ballot Measures, Legislation & Rulemaking

Riverhead, New York: Riverhead officials are considering a local law requiring town elections, which take place every two years, to be held in odd-numbered years. A resolution is on the agenda of Wednesday’s Town Board meeting to schedule a Nov. 7 public hearing on the proposed law. The proposal has not been discussed during a public Town Board meeting and was added to the agenda after last week’s work session. The proposed local law would add a new Article VII to Chapter 103 of the town code, pertaining to biennial town elections. It would require elections for the offices of supervisor, town council, town clerk, receiver of taxes, highway superintendent and assessors to be held in odd-numbered years. Riverhead’s action is in response to a state law enacted last year that mandates most local elections in counties outside of New York City to be held in even-numbered years. The bill was vehemently opposed by Republicans, who argued it was an attack on local control in counties outside of New York City. Several upstate counties, along with Nassau and Suffolk counties, two Nassau County  towns and four Suffolk County towns, sued the state in the hope of having the law invalidated.  Last week, their legal challenge succeeded. A State Supreme Court judge in Onondaga County on Oct. 8 ruled that the “Even Year Election Law” is void because it violates local home rule provisions protected by the state constitution.

Texas: Lawmakers this week signaled plans to consider a new law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote, though even one of the strongest supporters of such legislation acknowledged instances of noncitizens voting are rare. During a Senate State Affairs committee hearing, lawmakers expressed interest in reviving legislation modeled on a proof of citizenship requirement in Arizona, currently the only state with such a requirement in force. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called the hearing on noncitizen voting after Gov. Greg Abbott issued a press release boasting that the state had removed more than potential 6,500 noncitizens from its voter rolls. An investigation by ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and Votebeat published this week found the governor’s figure was likely inflated and, in some cases, wrong. The secretary of state’s office confirmed the news organization’s reporting during the hearing after state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, a Democrat, cited the article’s findings and pressed Christina Adkins, the state elections division director. After the hearing, Zaffirini told Votebeat she is concerned that the intense focus on making sure noncitizens aren’t on the voter rolls “will be interpreted as voter intimidation in some cases,” even if it’s not intended that way. Nonetheless, multiple lawmakers on the committee, which is comprised of nine Republicans and three Democrats, said they believe the state needs to adopt requirements similar to Arizona’s 2004 law. Only six committee members attended all or part of the hearing.

Legal Updates

Federal Litigation: Smartmatic convinced a U.S. appeals court to uphold its win against a patent infringement lawsuit brought by rival Election Systems & Software. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed, without comment, a Delaware federal judge’s decision to dismiss ES&S’s lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Richard Andrews said last year that the last remaining ES&S patent in the case was invalid. Spokespeople and attorneys for the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision. Omaha, Nebraska-based ES&S sued the U.S. branch of London-based Smartmatic in 2018. It said Smartmatic infringed two patents covering improved voter-assistance terminals and ballot-marking devices for physically disabled voters. ES&S dropped one of the patents from the case in 2022. Andrews ruled last April that the remaining patent related to the abstract idea of “giving voters a choice of returning or depositing their ballot.” ES&S told the Federal Circuit that the Delaware court had oversimplified its invention. The appeals court held oral arguments in the case last week.

Alabama: Judge Anna M. Manasco ruled that Alabama’s program that flagged thousands of registered voters and accused them of illegally registering must stop until after the presidential election. Manasco said that Alabama must stop moving those voters from active to “inactive” status, as the election is just three weeks away. “As part of this program, they were all reported to Alabama’s chief law enforcement authority for criminal investigation,” said Manasco, adding “as far as I know nothing has been done to undo that.” Manasco, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President Donald Trump in 2020, said she could not discount the negative impact that such a notice from the state would have on a potential voter.

A three-judge panel on the 11th Circuit Court unanimously affirmed a lower court decision from September that blocked a portion of the law that limits help with absentee ballot applications. The measure made it illegal to distribute an absentee ballot application that is prefilled with information such as the voter’s name, or to return another person’s absentee ballot application. The new law also made it a felony to give or receive a payment or a gift “for distributing, ordering, requesting, collecting, completing, prefilling, obtaining, or delivering a voter’s absentee ballot application.” In a two-page decision, the appeals court judges ruled that removing the lower court’s injunction would “injure” voting access for disabled voters and goes against the public interest. In the original lawsuit, voter outreach groups said their paid staff members or volunteers, who are given gas money or food, could face prosecution for helping disabled voters with an application. “The court’s decision recognizes that many vulnerable voters would be unable to vote if Alabama were allowed to enforce the blocked law,” the plaintiffs said in a joint statement on Friday.

Arizona: Arizona District Judge Krissa Lanham denied a group’s request to require Arizona county election officials to verify the citizenship status of every federal-only voter ahead of the November general election. Current practices for voter roll maintenance will stay in place as litigation continues.  This order is in response to a Sept. 15 request from the plaintiffs asking the court to require the defendants to submit citizenship inquiry requests to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for all federal-only voters before the general election. Lanham ruled that the plaintiffs lacked standing and failed to show how the relief they requested would address the harm of “vote dilution” that they alleged. Additionally, she noted that voters cannot be removed from voter rolls within 90 days of an election per the National Voter Registration Act.  In her order, she wrote, “The court declines to order Arizona’s county recorders to divert resources from preparing for the general election to instead submitting thousands of requests to DHS.”

The criminal trial of two rural county supervisors who initially refused to certify election results in 2022 will not occur before this year’s elections after it was again delayed. Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd, two of the three supervisors in the Republican-led Cochise county, face charges of conspiracy and interfering with an election officer, brought by the Democratic attorney general, Kris Mayes. The trial has been pushed back multiple times and is now set for 30 January 2025, the court docket shows. The delay was mutually agreed upon, the attorney general’s office said.

Arkansas: Election officials in an East Arkansas county should not be required to conduct early voting at a West Memphis church because the county clerk acted beyond their authority, Attorney General Tim Griffin wrote in an amicus brief this week. Filed October 15 in a state Supreme Court case that will decide if an early voting site will be available in West Memphis come Monday, Griffin supported the Crittenden County Board of Election Commissioners, whose members recently appealed a lower court’s ruling that required them to conduct early voting at the Seventh Street Church of Christ. Griffin sought the Supreme Court’s approval to file the “friend-of-the-court” brief around noon, and the 10-page brief appeared on the state’s online court system about four and a half hours later. “The Court’s decision in this case will determine whether State election laws are interpreted inconsistently with the text of the statute and current practice in counties across the state,” Griffin’s brief stated. “The circuit court’s decision sidesteps the safeguards put in place by the Arkansas Legislature, disrupts the balance of power between the county board of election commissioners and the county clerk, and grants unfettered discretion to one county official. Worse, the circuit court’s novel interpretation arrives just before early voting begins, threatening the orderly administration of early voting in the State.” Griffin continues to support the argument brought by commissioners’ attorney Joe Rogers that the county clerk cannot designate an early voting polling site outside of the county clerk’s office in the county seat, which in this case is Marion. Attorney Jennifer Standerfer, who represents two West Memphis voters who intend to cast their ballots early, has asked the Arkansas Supreme Court to strike a recent filing by Attorney General Tim Griffin and disqualify him from the case.

California: Michelle M. Morrow, 55, a supervisor candidate in the March 5 primary election in San Luis Obispo County charged with voter fraud appeared before a judge October 10.. Morrow was charged Sept. 11 with four felony counts. She was in a San Luis Obispo County courtroom Thursday morning for her arraignment but did not enter a plea. According to the criminal complaint filed against Morrow by the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office, the Grover Beach resident registered to vote at an address she did not live, adding that in February, she submitted paperwork to run for District 3 supervisor but at the time, lived in District 4 and “did so under penalty of perjury.” The DA’s Office also reports Morrow voted fraudulently in the March 5, 2024 election by voting in District 3 while her home was in District 4. She ran as a write-in candidate, obtaining 866 votes or 7 percent of the vote. The DA reports if convicted, Morrow could face probation, jail time or even a prison sentence.

Georgia: Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney issued a ruling October 15 rejecting a Georgia State Election Board’s new ballot hand-count rule from taking effect on the night of Georgia’s Nov. 5 general election. McBurney issued the ruling temporarily blocking the new Georgia election board rule challenged in a lawsuit filed by Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration, which argued it would impose onerous new rules onto poll workers during  the 2024 election in a closely contested presidential election. McBurney wrote in his court order that the election board’s approval of the hand-count rule came too late in this year’s election season to give  local election workers time to comply with new procedures for the November election. The injunction will remain in effect until McBurney makes a final decision on the case at a time to be determined, according to McBurney’s order. The new state rule, which the state attorney general says could be invalid, calls for a trio of poll workers to hand count every paper ballot cast on election day and verify that their count matches the machine-calculated totals. McBurney wrote that the hand count rule on paper appears to be consistent with the election boards mission to ensure fair, legal, and orderly elections, however its timing complicates the electoral process in a way that is not in the public interest. “A rule that introduces a new and substantive role on the eve of election for more than 7,500 poll workers who will not have received any formal, cohesive, or consistent training and that allows for our paper ballots – the only tangible proof of who voted for whom – to be handled multiple times by multiple people following an exhausting Election Day all before they are securely transported to the official tabulation center does not contribute to lessening the tension or boosting the confidence of the public for this election,” McBurney said in the Tuesday order.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney has ruled that certifying elections is a required duty of county election boards in Georgia, and they’re not allowed to refuse to finalize results based on suspicions of miscounts or fraud. McBurney rejected claims brought by Fulton County election board member Julie Adams, who voted against certifying this spring’s presidential primary. McBurney ruled that Georgia law requires certification and county election boards don’t have any discretion not to do so. “If election superintendents were, as plaintiff urges, free to play investigator, prosecutor, jury, and judge and so — because of a unilateral determination of error or fraud — refuse to certify election results, Georgia voters would be silenced,” McBurney wrote. “Our Constitution and our election code do not allow for that to happen.”

Several Georgia Democrats have filed an appeal seeking to force Gov. Brian Kemp to investigate and potentially remove three Republican members of the State Election Board over rule changes they claim could undermine the integrity of the upcoming election. State Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes, D-Duluth, former Fulton County Election Board Chair Cathy Woolard, and Democratic state Senate candidate Randal Mangham filed the suit, alleging that the three board members — Janice Johnston, Janelle King, and Rick Jeffares — violated state law and ethics codes. The Democrats sought an administrative law hearing as the first step in the process to remove the trio from their positions.  That lawsuit was thrown out last week, but Monday, the trio filed a notice of appeal for the Georgia Court of Appeals to review the merits of the case. Fulton County Chief Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville dismissed the case last Wednesday, dealing a blow to Democrats’ efforts to challenge the GOP-appointed board members. Despite the setback, Sen. Islam Parkes vowed to continue the fight, saying the board members were “sowing chaos within our election system.” 

U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross said October 10 that she won’t order Georgia to reopen voter registration for November’s elections despite recent disruptions to registration caused by Hurricane Helene. Ross rejected arguments that the state should reopen registration through next Monday. The registration deadline was last Monday and she said in her ruling from the bench Thursday afternoon that there would be no extension. Ross said in her verbal ruling that three groups that sued didn’t sufficiently prove their members were harmed and said there are no state laws allowing Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the Republican defendants in the case, to order an extension of the voter registration deadline. Although the groups presented testimony Thursday that they know of at least two people unable to register, Ross said the testimony wasn’t detailed enough to link that failure to the burdens of Helene. “I don’t think we had even one voter who had been harmed or would likely be harmed by failure to register to vote,” Ross said.

A right-wing website that spread false claims of election fraud against two former Fulton County poll workers has settled a defamation lawsuit filed by the women. The settlement was filed in a St. Louis, Mo., circuit court, where Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss had sued The Gateway Pundit, an influential site that shared false and misleading information about the 2020 election. The terms of the deal were not made public. We “respectfully provide notice to the court that the parties have reached agreement to settle all claims and counterclaims asserted” in the case, attorneys for Freeman, Moss and The Gateway Pundit stated in a joint notice of settlement, news of which was first reported by The Guardian. In a statement, Freeman and Moss’ legal team said the dispute “has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties through a fair and reasonable settlement.”

Iowa: The Iowa Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the Linn County Auditor can pursue his lawsuit that questions the security of Iowa’s voter registration system. In 2019, Linn County Auditor Joel Miller, a Democrat, alleged the state’s computerized database of registered voters is potentially vulnerable to cyber threats. Secretary of State Paul Pate, a Republican, said Miller failed to give an example of a specific security threat and the Iowa Voter Registration Commission dismissed the complaint. The Linn County Auditor filed a lawsuit in 2020 and a district court dismissed the lawsuit last year. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled Miller has the right to proceed with his lawsuit that questions whether the state’s computerized list of registered voters is vulnerable to hacking.  Secretary of State Paul Pate, in a written statement, said “first and foremost,” he wants to “assure Iowa voters that Iowa’s election systems are secure.” Pate said in the years since Miller’s complaint was filed in 2019, the state has installed “robust cybersecurity measures” in its election systems. In a statement to The Des Moines Register, Miller said his complaint is still valid because Iowa is “using the same voter registration system that I complained about in 2019.”

Massachusetts: Justin David Gaglio, 50 of Lynn threatened online to kill an election official and their family, federal authorities said. Gaglio was charged by criminal complaint with one count of transmitting interstate threats, acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy said in a statement. Gaglio sent over 80 messages to the election official through their website between January 2023 and September 2024, federal prosecutors said. Sometimes he sent several messages within minutes of each other. If found guilty, Gaglio could face up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, according to Levy’s office.

Michigan: Republicans sued Michigan in a bid to force rejection of votes from what the state says is a “tiny” number of citizens who were born overseas and have never lived here. It’s the latest in a half-dozen “election integrity” lawsuits from the Republican National Committee, which alleges guidance from Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson violates residency requirements in the Michigan Constitution.  Benson’s office called the suit a public relations “campaign to spread unfounded distrust” in Michigan elections and said it targets voting rights of U.S. citizens, including children of military members “making sacrifices for our freedom.” At issue is a small number of U.S. voters who have never lived in the U.S. but were born to parents who previously lived in Michigan. GOP attorneys fear those voters could “overwhelmingly” support Democrats and thereby harm Republicans like presidential candidate Donald Trump. Federal law requires states to allow eligible citizens living abroad to vote in federal elections. And Michigan is one of 38 states that also allow “never resided” voters to cast ballots, according to the Federal Voting Assistance Program, which aids members of the military and U.S. citizens abroad. Benson’s guidance to Michigan election administrators instructs that a citizen who has never lived in the U.S. “but who has a parent, legal guardian, or spouse who was last domiciled in Michigan” is eligible to vote “as long as the citizen has not registered or voted in another state.” Attorneys for the RNC and Michigan Republican Party contend that violates the state constitution, which says voters must be 21 years old, “resided in this state six months” and meet “the requirements of local residence provided by law.”  But both the age and residency requirements in the state constitution were previously nullified by a U.S. constitutional amendment and U.S. Supreme Court ruling, respectively. There is still a 30-day residency requirement in state law, which the lawsuit does not mention.

Minnesota: The Republican Party of Minnesota is part of a lawsuit against Hennepin County regarding the 2024 election and its eventual handling of absentee ballots. A state law requires counties to appoint election judges to absentee ballot boards from lists provided by the two major political parties. Republican Party Chair David Hann says Hennepin County did not select any names from their list of 1,500 provided to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office. The petition was filed in conjunction with the Minnesota Voters Alliance, a conservative organization that often sues over election matters. It asks the state Supreme Court to require that Hennepin County create party balance on election absentee ballot boards. In a written response, the Hennepin County Auditor says the county is complying with Minnesota law and the Office of the Secretary of State with respect to the absentee ballot board members.

Missouri: A settlement has been reached between the Gateway Pundit and two Georgia poll workers who accused the St. Louis-based far-right website of defamation in a civil suit in St. Louis Circuit Court. Notice of the settlement was filed October 7. The parties to the dispute “provide notice to the court that the parties have reached agreement to settle all claims and counterclaims asserted in the … action, which settlement shall be satisfied on March 29, 2025,” the notice reads. “The parties respectfully request that this court vacate the trial date set in this matter,” the notice continues, “and stay this matter until March 29, 2025, at which point the parties will dismiss this matter pending satisfaction of the terms of the Parties’ settlement agreement.” The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. A representative of the legal team working for the two poll workers wrote in an email that the settlement offers “mutual satisfaction” and is “fair and reasonable.” The poll workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, could not be reached. Jonathan Burns, the St. Louis-based lawyer for Jim Hoft, the Gateway Pundit’s owner, did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.

Montana: District Judge Judge David Grubich has ordered Cascade County and the Fort Shaw Irrigation District to redo the May 2023 election. Grubich ordered a redo of the election for districts 2 and 4, which he wrote that the district “concedes…were flawed and agree the appropriate remedy is to have a special election.” The Dstrict 5 election was flawed, but the issue is moot because it was a one-year term which was on the May 2024 election. Terry Thompson, county election administrator, told The Electric that she has set the special election for Feb. 25, 2025 and that the Fort Shaw district will pay the election cost since it was also at fault for the election flaws. In his order, Grubich wrote that he was voiding the results of those two seats in the Fort Shaw election and that “regarding ballot irregularities involving Cascade County and Sandra Merchant, those issues have been mooted by ordering special elections.”

Nevada: Citizen Outreach Foundation voluntarily dismissed three lawsuits it filed in Nevada that asked county election officials to process around 30,000 voter challenges weeks before the election.  The organization, through its “Pigpen Project” initiative, filed thousands of voter challenges across the state in late July. Following the guidance of Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar (D), election officials in Carson City, Storey County, Clark County and Washoe County did not process those voter challenges. In September, Citizen Outreach Foundation and its President Chuck Muth filed lawsuits against the local election officials claiming that they violated state law when they failed to process the voter challenges.  The plaintiffs asked state courts to order county officials to process the challenges immediately by mailing notices to the challenged registrants and marking them as inactive voters if they did not respond within 30 days. The plaintiffs also requested that ballots cast by the challenged registrants be separated until their voter eligibility could be confirmed. County and state officials argued that Pigpen Project had failed to meet state requirements when submitting the challenges and that voter challenges cannot be processed within 90 days of an election per the National Voter Registration Act. Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar announced the withdrawal on Monday, saying: “In a victory for Nevada, several meritless challenges to our voter rolls – which could have affected eligible voters including members of our military and their families, who fight and sacrifice to protect our fundamental right to vote – are being dropped. No eligible voter should be subject to suspicion or confusion about their voter status. That’s especially true when the challenges do not meet the standards of either Nevada or federal law.”

Ohio: In a 4-3 decision, the Ohio Supreme Court has turned down an attempt to make it easier for Ohioans to drop off a family member’s ballot. Under state law, several close relations are legally allowed to do so. But following a federal court ruling requiring greater flexibility for disabled voters, Ohio’s Secretary of State Frank LaRose imposed a new requirement that anyone dropping off a ballot on behalf of someone else must sign a form attesting that they are following state law. Two voters and the Ohio Democratic Party challenged LaRose’s directive, arguing the attestation would unnecessarily restrict voting access. By demanding helpers fill out a form, they said, the directive limits drop off to hours when the board of elections is open, and access to drop boxes is restricted to people dropping of their own ballot. The Supreme Court sidestepped the question of whether LaRose’s directive violates state law. Instead, the majority determined the challenge came too late in the process. But in a pair of dissents, the minority blasted LaRose’s directive as “a sleight of hand that should make our citizens shudder” and chided the majority for its “failure to uphold the rule of law.”

Last week, the Ohio Supreme Court partially dismissed a complaint against the Montgomery County election board, ordering local election officials to pass along updated training materials to precinct election official volunteers who took classes before the evening of Sept. 25 and voting location managers who attended the board’s training before Sept. 29.

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has filed a lawsuit in federal court over the decision of Ohio election officials not to count votes for her after her running mate was named by the national party after a state administrative deadline. Cleveland.com reports that the lawsuit was filed October9 in U.S. district court in Columbus by Stein, the person named as her running mate on the state ballot and three Ohio voters. It alleges that the decision infringes on their constitutional rights to free speech, association, and equal protection and the voting rights of the Ohio-based plaintiffs. The Ohio Secretary of State’s Office granted a request to remove Rios from the ballot but said Ware’s name couldn’t be added because the state deadline to replace an independent vice presidential candidate on the 2024 ballot had passed. Office spokesperson Dan Lusheck told Cleveland.com that Stein’s name will still appear on state ballots, which were already being sent to overseas and military voters, but votes for her would not count. The lawsuit asserts that the withdrawal letter was written and delivered by a local party official without the knowledge or consent of Rios. The plaintiffs are asking the federal court to issue a preliminary injunction and restraining order to ensure that any votes for Stein and Rios are counted.

Pennsylvania: Six Republican Pennsylvania congressmen say in a lawsuit that Pennsylvania violates federal election law by failing to verify the identities of service members who apply for overseas absentee ballots. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg claims the Pennsylvania Department of State guidelines that say military voters and their spouses are exempt from voter identification and eligibility verification requirements violate the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and  Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). The suit seeks an injunction requiring election officials to verify the identities of people applying for overseas ballots and any ballots received before Nov. 5 to be segregated and not counted until the senders’ identities have been verified. The Pennsylvania Department of State, which oversees elections in the commonwealth, said in a statement that the suit appears to be a continuation of litigation first filed in 2020 and intended to sow confusion and throw out the votes of millions of Pennsylvania residents in that year’s presidential election. “Thousands of Pennsylvanians are currently serving our country abroad as members of the military, putting their lives on the line to defend our freedoms. But despite the sacrifices they make to protect us, some elected leaders are now making bad-faith arguments to prevent these votes from being counted,” DOS spokesperson Matt Heckel said. Heckel noted the suit was filed two weeks after Pennsylvania counties started mailing ballots to military and overseas voters and it baselessly challenges Pennsylvania law, which clearly lays out procedures for processing ballot applications by overseas voters.

Luzerne County settled a federal lawsuit brought by residents alleging that election administration issues — including paper ballot shortages across at least 50 precincts — disenfranchised voters during the county’s 2022 midterm elections.   As part of the settlement agreement, Luzerne County agreed to adopt written election policies and procedures that outline specific requirements to ensure adequate ballot paper supplies in future elections. Per the settlement, the county will continue to order ballot paper after each election cycle to avert potential shortages and will retain an election law attorney to revise its election administration policies. The agreement further stipulates that county election personnel will receive annual training on election administration and states that the county will pay the plaintiffs’ counsel $30,000 for litigation expenses. The county did not, however, admit any wrongdoing. The lawsuit at issue in today’s settlement agreement claimed that Luzerne County and its election officials mismanaged the Nov. 8, 2022 midterm elections in a manner that left some voters unable to cast a ballot on Election Day.

Texas: U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez has ruled that provisions of Texas’ sweeping 2021 voting law that restricts voter assistance violate the federal Voting Rights Act and cannot be enforced. Among the rules struck down by Rodriguez was a ban on compensation for anyone who assists a voter and a requirement for anyone who assists a voter to sign an oath under penalty of perjury that the voter qualifies to receive help. Rodriguez also blocked provisions that require assisters to make certain disclosures about their relationship to the voter they are helping and a provision that restricts voter assistance given during door-to-door voter outreach operations. Rodriguez based his decision on the section of the 1965 federal Voting Rights Act that guarantees voters with disabilities or literacy limitations the right to receive assistance from whoever they choose. Although the judge has blocked any type of prosecution under these provisions, the rules and instructions on forms about requiring voter assisters from signing an oath are technically still in place for the upcoming Nov. 5 presidential election, because it is too close to the election to change the forms themselves. “This ruling will be most impactful for voters with disabilities, voters who have limited English proficiency, voters with literacy issues and the people who assist them,” said Sean Morales-Doyle, voting rights program director at the Brennan Center for Justice.

On October 7, a federal court returned a lawsuit to state court that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had filed against Travis County over an effort to register voters before the November election. The federal court found that it did not have jurisdiction over the issue, as Travis County officials had argued, and it granted Paxton’s request that the lawsuit be returned to state court. The decision is the latest development in a bitter pre-election brawl between Republican state officials and Democratic county leaders. Republican leaders have maintained that they are trying to keep the state’s voter rolls secure ahead of a charged election, while Democrats, county officials and nonprofit groups have accused them of stoking baseless fears to suppress Democratic votes and to cast doubt on the election results.

Virginia: The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Virginia election officials October 11 that accuses the state of striking names from voter rolls in violation of federal election law. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria says that an executive order issued in August by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin requiring daily updates to voter lists to remove ineligible voters violates federal law. The National Voter Registration Act requires a 90-day “quiet period” ahead of elections for the maintenance of voter rolls. “Congress adopted the National Voter Registration Act’s quiet period restriction to prevent error-prone, eleventh hour efforts that all too often disenfranchise qualified voters,” Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement. “The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy and the Justice Department will continue to ensure that the rights of qualified voters are protected.” In its lawsuit, the Justice Department said the quiet-period provision reduces the risk that errors in maintaining registration lists will disenfranchise eligible voters by ensuring they have enough time to address errors before the election. A similar lawsuit was filed earlier by a coalition of immigrant-rights groups and the League of Women Voters.

Waynesboro city elections officials are refusing to certify the November election without changes to Virginia election policy in a lawsuit recently filed in Waynesboro Circuit Court “The Plaintiffs believe that to certify the election under the current legal and administrative regime, therefore, would be a violation of their oaths of office and, absent court intervention, shall refuse to certify the 2024 election,” reads the suit. The suit was brought by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Waynesboro city Board of Elections, Curtis Lilly and Scott Mares respectively, against Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Elections Susan Beals and Chairman of the Board for the State Board of Elections John O’Bannon. According to the Staunton Leader, Lilly and Curtis’s reasoning goes like this. Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution of Virginia reads, “Secrecy in casting votes shall be maintained, except as provision may be made for assistance to handicapped voters, but the ballot box or voting machine shall be kept in public view and shall not be opened, nor the ballots canvassed nor the votes counted, in secret.” The ballots cannot be counted in secret. “Board members are unable to personally review and verify that: the voting machine program being used to count the ballots is keeping a true and accurate count; the voting machine program being used to count the ballots is recording the true and accurate count; and/or that the voting machine record tape accurately represents the ballots cast,” reads the complaint. Because they cannot check the anonymized ballots themselves, the complaint states, “the plaintiffs believe that the voting machine is counting the votes in secret because neither the program counting the votes recorded on the ballots nor the ballots themselves can be examined.”

Opinions This Week

National Opinions: Military & overseas voters, II | Election crises | Voting rights | Noncitizen voting hoax | Election heroes | Election integrity | 2020 | Election fraud | Democracy 

California: Marin County | Ex-felon voting rights 

Colorado: Ranked choice voting 

Connecticut: Absentee voting 

Georgia: State board of elections | Election security

Iowa: Early voting 

Kansas: Poll workers 

Maine: Ranked choice voting 

Maryland: Talbot County 

New York: Onondaga County

Oregon: Ranked choice voting, II  

Pennsylvania: Ballot counting | Faith in elections 

Tennessee: Trusted information | Safe voting | Voter suppression

Utah: Election lies; Political violence 

Washington: Election security 

Upcoming Events

AI, Social Media, the Information Environment, and the 2024 Elections: As we prepare for another fall semester, we’re excited to bring you a robust series of events on the 2024 Elections, Election Law, and the risks facing democracy in the U.S.  Co-sponsored by the Institute for Technology, Law & Policy, UCLA Law, this webinar will feature: Danielle Citron (University of Virginia Law School), Brendan Nyhan (Dartmouth), Nate Persily (Stanford Law School). When: October 21, 3:15 pm Eastern. Where: Online

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.

2024 Elections Summit: In an electoral landscape unlike any other, how can we harness this period of rapid change to support the Americans at the front lines of our democracy and build a more resilient electoral system for generations to come? Register and join BPC at our 2024 Elections Summit on Wednesday, December 4, to reflect on the state of U.S. elections with experts from across the country. Hear from practitioners, policymakers, thought leaders, and journalists, who will share lessons learned from 2024 and advance ideas to further strengthen and secure our democracy. This event is co-hosted by BPC and BPC Action and has been designed to meet Congressional Ethics guidelines for a widely attended event. When: December 4, 8am to 5pm Eastern. Where: Online and Washington, DC.

Job Postings This Week

electionlineWeekly publishes election administration job postings each week as a free service to our readers. To have your job listed in the newsletter, please send a copy of the job description, including a web link to mmoretti@electionline.org.  Job postings must be received by 5pm on Wednesday in order to appear in the Thursday newsletter. Listings will run for three weeks or till the deadline listed in the posting.

Administrative Specialist II (Elections Specialist-Chinese):  The Department of Elections – is searching for energetic and resourceful professionals who like to “get stuff done”. The Administrative Specialist II position in the Voter Services Department combines an exciting, fast-paced environment with the opportunity to cultivate talents and apply a variety of skills.  The ideal candidate will have a desire to help ensure the democratic process through public service.  They will thrive in an innovative environment and will not hesitate to roll up both sleeves, work hard, have fun, and get the job done. Salary: $25.59 – $32.58 Hourly. Deadline: October 31.  Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Campaign Manager/Director, Supreme Court Reform– The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that seeks to improve our systems of democracy and justice. We work to hold our political institutions and laws accountable to the twin American ideals of democracy and equal justice for all. The Brennan Center’s work ranges from voting rights to court reform, from ending mass incarceration to preserving constitutional protections in the fight against terrorism. Part think tank, part advocacy group, part cutting-edge communications hub, we start with rigorous research. We craft innovative policies. And we fight for them — in the courts, in Congress and the states, and in the court of public opinion.The Brennan Center’s Kohlberg Center on the U.S. Supreme Court was established in 2024 to advocate for reform of the Supreme Court to prevent ethical abuses, reduce partisanship and extremism, and ensure that the Court plays a more  balanced and appropriate role in our constitutional democracy. Building on the Brennan Center’s long-standing work, including in support of Supreme Court term limits and ethics reform, the Kohlberg Center promotes research and policy development, pursues policy advocacy, and engages in broad public education. Salary: $90,000-$140,000. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

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.

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. 

Deputy County Clerk, III, Boone County, Missouri– This position provides general supervision in the voter registration department, manages the recruitment, training, payroll, and assignment of election judges for polling places and early voting in Boone County, and provides election information to the public. Join the Boone County team and Make a Difference! Boone County Government offers a competitive benefits package that includes comprehensive health/dental/vision insurance on day one (with options for medical/dental with NO employee premium!), a pension plan, two matching deferred compensation plans, 14 paid holidays, generous sick and vacation leave, and no-cost disability and life insurance options. Boone County is a Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness qualifying employer. Visit our website and apply at: www.showmeboone.com/HR. Columbia, MO is a thriving college town and the cultural hub of mid-Missouri, hosting popular events such as the True/False Film Festival and the Roots N Blues BBQ Festival and a diverse art, music, and restaurant scene. Columbia is the fourth most populous and fastest-growing city in Missouri with an estimated 126,254 residents in 2020. Resting upon the forested hills and rolling prairies of Mid-Missouri near the Missouri River valley, outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy the surrounding Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, Mark Twain National Forest, and Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, in addition to hiking over 278 miles of our local trails! Many popular destinations are a short drive away, including the Capitol of Jefferson City, the Lake of the Ozarks, Saint Louis, and Kansas City all within a two-hour drive or less. Salary: $18.04 – $27.06 per hour. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Deputy Elections Administrator, Yellowstone County, Montana – Specialized and responsible administrative work in the Yellowstone County Election office which provides and maintains election reporting management system, ensures polling places meet ADA requirements, maintains voting and tabulating machines, recruits, trains and certifies Election Judges, and assists in organizing and conducting elections in Yellowstone County to comply with State election laws and statutes, to include absentee, mail-in, and advance voting programs, assists with management and direction of voter registration activities, assists with obtaining private, Federal and State grants for ADA compliance needs, assists the Elections Administrator in ballot preparation; does related duties as required. Examples of Duties: Assist with traditional and social media updates, interviews and provide access to certain areas of the Election Management process; Test and maintain voting machines to insure reliable results on Election Day; Recruit, train & certify Election Judges; Coordinate and conduct in person and online training sessions for Chief and Provisional Judges; and Coordinate and conduct in person and online training sessions for Polling Place Managers. Salary: $49,645.44 – $58,406.40 Annually. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Elections Operation Manager, Boone County, Missouri– This position is responsible for the inventory and maintenance of voting equipment and warehouse operations, including polling place support and supervision of temporary workers. Join the Boone County team and Make a Difference! Boone County Government offers a competitive benefits package that includes comprehensive health/dental/vision insurance on day one (with options for medical/dental with NO employee premium!), a pension plan, two matching deferred compensation plans, 14 paid holidays, generous sick and vacation leave, and no-cost disability and life insurance options. Boone County is a Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness qualifying employer. Visit our website and apply at: www.showmeboone.com/HR. Columbia, MO is a thriving college town and the cultural hub of mid-Missouri, hosting popular events such as the True/False Film Festival and the Roots N Blues BBQ Festival and a diverse art, music, and restaurant scene. Columbia is the fourth most populous and fastest-growing city in Missouri with an estimated 126,254 residents in 2020. Resting upon the forested hills and rolling prairies of Mid-Missouri near the Missouri River valley, outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy the surrounding Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, Mark Twain National Forest, and Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, in addition to hiking over 278 miles of our local trails! Many popular destinations are a short drive away, including the Capitol of Jefferson City, the Lake of the Ozarks, Saint Louis, and Kansas City all within a two-hour drive or less. Salary: $20.92 – $31.38 per hour.  Application: For the complete job 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.

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.

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.

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