electionline Weekly

When Something Happens

When Something Happens
New toolkit from the Center for Civic Design to help with crisis voter communications

Emergency readiness is an essential part of election planning. Election officials prepare for power outages, mail delays, bomb threats, weather-related emergencies, and so on. Voter communication is a critical part of emergency planning.  In the moments after something happens, election officials know how important it is to give voters calm, clear, and accurate information.

The Center for Civic Design recently launched a new toolkit that is designed to help.

When Something Happens is a nonpartisan voter messaging toolkit designed to assist election officials in the moments after something happens. Your goal is to put your response plan into action, but you will want to say something fast to calm voters. That’s when this toolkit will help.

When Something Happens is backed by research and built on the Center for Civic Design’s expertise in design communications.  Our goal is to consider how a human will read and react to a message during a time of crisis and use that understanding to design messaging that is sensitive in both language and graphic design choices.

The toolkit covers scenarios such as:

•     How to help voters find alternative ways to vote
•     How to respond to rumors and disinformation
•     How to assure voters if there are threats to voting access
•     How to respond to disruptions and weather-related emergencies
•     How to respond if election results are delayed

Inside the toolkit, you’ll find nonpartisan, social media templates that you can fully customize to your needs. Each template includes a social media graphic you can customize in Canva, customizable text for social media posts, alt text, and downloadable images you can use across social media platforms. And templates are available in English and Spanish.

The toolkit is designed to help you quickly locate resources that suit your specific needs. For example, if a bomb threat is called into a polling place, you can use any of the following paths to locate a resource to use in response:

•     Search with keywords, such as ‘bomb threat’
•     Use filters on the home page to locate resources specific to ‘Changes in Voting’
•     Visit the Topics page ‘Changes in voting’

Once you locate an applicable resource, you can customize it via the Canva link to add any specific branding colors, logos, or contact information. The goal is to enensure you can respond within minutes with calm, clear, and accurate information.

Get it before you need it
The best time to open this toolkit is before something happens, not the morning after. Explore it now at www.WhenSomethingHappens.org.

Want a walkthrough? Register for our upcoming webinar — we’ll show you how to customize everything in advance, so the hard days are just copy, paste, post. Register here.

Please reach out to us at wsh@civicdesign.org with any questions.

Jocelyn Bucaro is a communications consultant with the Center for Civic Design.  She previously served as an election official in Ohio and Colorado.

electionline Daily News Email

What’s the best part of waking up? electionline Daily News in your inbox of course so be sure to sign up for your daily dose.

Each morning you’ll receive the top headlines of the day, plus a listing of states featured in that day’s news round up.

To sign up, simply visit our site and provide us with your email and you’ll begin receiving the news in your inbox each morning.

We Google so you don’t  have to!

electionline Merch

You’ve asked for it, well now you’ve got it! Just in time for all of your holiday gift-giving. We’ve opened up an electionline merch store using Bonfire. Currently we’re offering a couple of different t-shirts, a long-sleeve t-shirt and a hoodie.

Election News This Week

Federal Update: Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking officer in the U.S. military says there are no plans to send troops to polling places during November’s midterm congressional elections, addressing concerns among Democrats that the Trump administration could use the military to interfere with the vote. Caine made the statement in a letter to Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who recently asked Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to confirm they won’t send troops to the polls. “The Joint Force has no plans to send Federal military personnel or Federalized members of the National Guard to polling places during the 2026 elections,” Caine said in the letter to Slotkin, which was obtained Monday by The Associated Press. “Likewise, the Joint Force has no plans to use such personnel to seize ballots, voting machines, or other election-related material.” The Department of Homeland Security is planning a surge in its efforts to investigate voter fraud in select states starting September 1, according to internal federal guidance reviewed by CNN.  Starting September 1, HSI is launching a “coordinated criminal voter fraud surge initiative to pursue investigative leads, conduct field interviews, and support timely prosecutorial review,” the guidance says. Offices in nine states are expected to take investigative action from early September to mid-October, according to the guidance. Those states include Washington, Wisconsin, Missouri, Georgia, California, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New York and Connecticut. The guidance’s reference to investigative steps is notable given the push comes as midterm elections get underway. Such “overt” investigatory actions while elections were approaching have historically been discouraged, under long-standing Justice Department policy limiting investigative actions could influence elections. In other DHS news, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin provided more details this week about the kinds of operations which would see immigration agents enter polling places, as Democrats have worried the Department of Homeland Security could seek to interfere in November’s midterm elections. Speaking to reporters in New York City, the Homeland Security secretary said that “ICE isn’t there to patrol the polling places. We’re there to enforce specific threats.” In more Homeland Security news, Sen. Alex Padilla (D)California) and Rep. Joseph Morelle (D-New York) authored a letter to Secretary Mullin and the acting head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Nick Anderson, to demand they restore over $39.6 million in funds to a range of specific election security efforts as legislated in the fiscal year 2026 DHS Appropriations bill passed in April. “With the midterm elections occurring in two months, we write with grave concern that time is running out … to assist state and local election officials in protecting our elections from cyber and mis-and disinformation threats,” the lawmakers wrote.

2026 Elections: Massachusetts was the only state to hold a primary this week and by all accounts, things went smoothly in the Bay State. The U.S. Department of Justice did send monitors to Lowell and New Bedord but there were no reports of any issues either by the DOJ monitors or with the monitors. It was a stormy day though and power was temporarily lost at least one Longmeadow polling site. A report from Washington officials about their recent primary found a dramatic increase in uncounted ballots. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs attributed that to the result of changes to U.S. Postal Service postmarking protocols the agency implemented last December. Across the state, the rate of ballots that were rejected for late postmarks increased by 32% in the August primary, as compared to the August 2024 primary, according to data released by Hobbs. Rates of rejection were higher in rural counties, per the report. The Wyoming canvassing board met late last week to review and certify the Cowboy State’s primary and while overall it was a smooth primary, Gov. Mark Gordon (R) expressed his concerns about what he considered “aggressive” behavior of U.S. Department of Justice monitors.  Still on the 2026 primary calendar are New Hampshire (September 8), Rhode Island (September 9) and Delaware (September 15. 

Vote By Mail Updates: This week in vote-by-mail news, a whistleblower at the U.S. Postal Service warned that the agency’s efforts to develop systems to restrict mail ballot delivery for the November election have been rushed through testing, are unreliable, and could prevent millions of Americans from receiving mail ballots this November. The anonymous whistleblower’s concerns were detailed in a 20-page complaint released by Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s (D-Conn.) office Tuesday that describes the Postal Service plans, which have been temporarily frozen by a court order, as “secretive, rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed.” Problems with the system have become so widespread, the letter detailing the whistleblower’s complaint said, that a number of Postal Service officials have described development of a planned election mail ballot IT system as “a shit show.” In a statement, USPS said it is “carefully reviewing” the whistleblower’s concerns. Meanwhile, states that rely on vote-by-mail exclusively or in-part are speaking about the situation. “We’re weeks away from ballots going out and USPS still can’t answer basic questions about how this is going to work. Clearly they don’t even know,” Amanda Gonzalez, the clerk of Jefferson County, Colorado, which will send out 433,000 mail ballots, told CNN. Dena Dawson, elections director for the Oregon secretary of state, estimated it would take 30 seconds to a minute to prepare each ballot to meet new regulations. In Oregon, all voters automatically receive a mail ballot. “For 3 million ballots, that is between 25,000 and 50,000 hours of staff time,” Dawson told NOTUS. “Needless to say, it would not be possible for me to recruit, hire, train, and deploy enough temporary staff to complete that work within the next six weeks, as my existing staff is already overextended with their regular preparations for the November 2026 general election.” Vendors too are expressing their concerns. According to CNN, vendors have told election officials there is not enough time to print the millions of envelopes that would need to be redesigned under the rule. It’s even possible that not enough paper stock exists to do so, according to court filings.

Poll Watchers: According to The Washington Post, a coalition of civil rights and advocacy groups plans to deploy hundreds of poll watchers this fall at heavily minority precincts to counter what organizers say is a threat of voter intimidation from President Donald Trump’s administration. The National Action Network, the American Federation of Teachers and the Save America Movement are launching the Vote Safe project, which they described as a nonpartisan initiative set to begin during early voting and culminate in the Nov. 3 midterm elections. They are focusing on Michigan, Ohio, Georgia and North Carolina, all of which are competitive in the battle for control of the Senate. “There is really an unprecedented threat to our elections this year, and it’s coming from our own government,” Mary Corcoran, executive director of the Save America Movement, said in an interview. Corcoran co-founded the group along with Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt. Those locations were chosen as politically significant areas with large populations of people of color that could be vulnerable to intimidation, she said. The idea is to have trained community members — such as faith leaders, teachers, veterans and firefighters — at polling places, so voters “can go there with confidence,” Corcoran said. “We want to replace that fear with comfort and knowledge.”

News from FVAP: Updates have been made to the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) and the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB). These updates were made to eliminate voter confusion about the information they are required to provide under Federal law and their eligibility to use these forms to register and request an absentee ballot.  If the voter already has a previous version of the FPCA or FWAB on file with their election office, they do not need to submit a new form. States may process previous versions of the FPCA and FWAB forms submitted before their statutory deadlines for receipt.  The new versions of the FPCA and FWAB are available on FVAP.gov and at the GSA site: Standard Form 76, “Federal Post Card Application (FPCA)” and Standard Form 186, “Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB)”. 

Sticker News: Three Tompkins County, New York students will have their artwork handed out at polling places this fall after winning the county’s 2026 voting sticker contests. The Tompkins County Board of Elections said this year’s contests attracted a record 169 submissions, with more than 800 votes cast by the public. One “I Voted” design was selected, while two “Future Voter” entries tied for first place. Leo Walsh, a homeschooled ninth-grade student, created the winning “I Voted” sticker. His design features the words “I Voted” and a lake-and-forest scene framed by red and white stripes and blue, star-filled panels resembling folded-back American flags. Walsh said his original idea evolved during the design process, with the finished artwork reminding him of a window overlooking a lake. Addie Miller and Fiona Beary, both fifth-grade students at Lansing Middle School, tied for first place in the “Future Voter” contest. Both designs commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026. Walsh’s winning “I Voted” sticker will be distributed to voters during the November general election. The two “Future Voter” stickers will be available to young people who accompany their families to polling places. Walsh, Miller and Beary will receive copies of their stickers and are scheduled to be recognized with proclamations from the Tompkins County Legislature.

Personnel News: East Lyme, Connecticut Republican Registrar of Voters Mary Smith has rescinded her resignation. Vicki Hilburn is the new Cumberland County, North Carolina board of elections director. Shasta County, California Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis has ended talks of Tina Peters coming to work at the elections office. Stockton, California City Clerk Katherine Roland has submitted her resignation, effective Sept. 26. Connie Schmidt has been appointed the Johnson County, Kansas elections commissioner.  The Clarendon County, South Carolina Board of Voter Registration and Elections has fired Director Robert Adams following. Jennifer Gajeske is the new Washington County, Texas elections administrator.

New Research & Resources

Accessibility: Over the last two decades, the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) has served as a foundational advancement at the federal level in expanding opportunities for Americans with disabilities to participate fully and independently in elections. Prior to HAVA’s enactment in 2002, many voting locations were physically inaccessible and critical voter information was not available in accessible formats.  HAVA responded to the inaccessibility of elections by establishing two key grant programs. Evaluating Federal Grant Programs to Improve Voting Accessibility,  produced by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission in collaboration with the Bipartisan Policy Center, looks at how both grant programs have improved voting accessibility for Americans with disabilities and what barriers remain. 

Ballot Images: In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, election offices nationwide have been met with public records requests at a level far outpacing prior years. These requests are critical to journalists’, academics’, and voters’ ability to hold government bodies to account, yet election offices are currently unequipped to process the volume of requests being received. Cast vote records (CVRs) and ballot images, defined below, are the two types of records most in demand. Proactively releasing these records to the public bolsters transparency and could reduce the volume of public records requests, saving limited resources. Many election jurisdictions already post CVRs or ballot images without issue: Los Angeles began making CVRs available to the public in the 1980s when members of the public could rent tapes with what we now call CVRs; Dane County, WI, offers CVRs as a Do It Yourself Audit; and several Colorado counties piloted the public release of ballot images in recent elections. Despite the clear benefits to transparency of releasing CVRs and ballot images, making these records public comes with trade-offs: Voters’ privacy might be compromised, and many election offices do not have the resources or technology to undertake this effort. Furthermore, vote buying becomes feasible when ballot secrecy is violated—an extreme, if less likely, potential ramification of making ballot images public. These issues raise the question: How can under-resourced election offices meet heightened demands for transparency and accountability? This explainer provides an overview of ballot images and CVRs and explores how making these files available online would affect privacy, transparency, and efficiency.

Ballot Measures, Legislation & Rulemaking

Federal Legislation: According to published reports, when the House returns from its August recess this week, Republicans once again will demand new voting restrictions, citing New Jersey’s voter registration glitch as a reason for the legislation.  The House is scheduled to vote on legislation calling for passage of the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register and require a specific voter ID to cast a ballot. President Donald Trump repeatedly has demanded that Congress enact the legislation, only to be rebuffed by Senate Republicans who have been unable to garner the 60 votes needed to clear that chamber, or even the 51 votes needed to repeal the filibuster. The GOP-controlled House has voted along party lines four times in support of the measure. The resolution to be brought to the House floor specifically cites the recent glitch in New Jersey, where a software error led to around 6,600 noncitizens being registered to vote. Fewer than 400 residents who were mistakenly registered to vote cast ballots, the state said last month. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis) wrote in a New Jersey Globe op-ed that the state’s registration errors provided another argument for  the SAVE America Act.

California: A number of election security bills progressed this week as the California Legislature approaches the end of its 2026 session.

Assembly Bill 1664, authored by Assemblymember Corey Jackson, D-Moreno Valley, requires election officials to report federal election interference to the California Department of Justice and the secretary of state. That can include the use of warrants, subpoenas or law enforcement investigations where election materials are searched and seized, according to a legislative analysis of the bill.

Assembly Bill 1853, authored by Assemblymembers Gail Pellerin, D-Santa Cruz, and Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, would require uniform rules about the kind of language included in candidate statements that are published in voter information guides. Among other things, reference to a candidate’s opponents in the race, URLS and QR codes, profane or vulgar language, violent language, false statements and misleading claims would be barred in candidate statements.

Two bills sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom would make it a felony to interfere with mail ballots or to seize ballots and other election materials before an election is certified. They come amid concern from Democratic lawmakers that President Trump or his supporters will seek to interfere with the casting and counting of ballots in the Nov. 3 election. Newsom earlier this year signed a bill preventing local and federal law enforcement agencies from taking ballots without a warrant. Legislation by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz) goes even further by making it a felony to take or order the seizure of ballots, election records or voting machines. Such actions would be punishable by up to four years in prison. “The federal administration and those seeking to spread lies about our democracy continue to call for interference in elections in ways we have never seen before in this country,” Pellerin said Sunday. “AB 282 helps ensure that every lawfully cast vote can be counted, and that the will of the voters of every political party will be respected.” Another bill, SB 259, makes it a crime to interfere with a mail ballot on the way to or from a voter or order the seizure of ballots that are in transit to a local elections office. Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto bills.

Lincoln, Nebraska: Lincoln City Attorney Yohance Christie announced that the deadline has passed for any proposed Lincoln City Charter amendments to go to voters this November. The decision sets up an imminent court battle over the fate of three proposed city charter amendments from the petitioning group Good Government Lincoln. A spokesperson for the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office confirmed the office filed a lawsuit against city officials seeking to certify the measures for November. The office declined to comment further. In a news release just after 6 p.m. Auguts 27, Christie said two of the three petitions from Good Government Lincoln have qualified for the ballot. However, because the Lincoln City Council must provide proper public notice, host a public hearing and then vote on including the measures on the ballot, Christie said, it’s too late for them to get on the Nov. 3 ballot. State law requires Lincoln officials to place any measures on the November ballot by August 25. “The City Council is under no obligation to bypass their processes for placing petitions on the ballot because of a missed deadline,” Christie wrote. “The City Council will place the Charter amendments on the next general election ballot (May 2027) pursuant to state law.”

North Carolina Rulemaking: The Rules Review Commission unanimously approved changes for elections and voting on August 27, though at least some of those rules may not be ready in time for the midterm elections. The Commission is usually a final stop for administrative rules changes before they’re activated. That’s unless at least 10 people object to a rule. When 10 or more people write acceptable letters of objection, rules effective dates are delayed for legislative review in the General Assembly’s next regular session. The legislature is on a break but is still in session. The next regular session won’t start until next year. As of August 26, the proposed rules for photo ID and for voting site conduct received more than 10 objection letters, as did one section of a proposed rule on recounts. Brian LiVecchi, state Board of Elections chief of staff, said the board would consider issuing the rules as “numbered memos,” instructions to county elections boards that are less formal than rules. “We probably will discuss that if anything is deemed critical,” he said. Gov. Josh Stein sent the commission a letter Wednesday asking it to delay one of the rules for absentee ballots and the rules for throwing out ballots when members of local boards believe that voters are lying about why they don’t have photo ID.  

The State Board of Elections delayed a decision on updated absentee ballot guidance for counties, pushing the issue to Friday. That’s the same day absentee ballots start going out for the November midterm election. “I think time is of the essence to get this worked out, hopefully by Friday, because the counties need time not only to process but to train their officials,” said Republican SBOE member Angela Hawkins. The SBOE is now considering whether it needs to update what are known as “numbered memos,” which provide guidance to counties regarding tweaks to internal election procedures. They had planned to take up that guidance Wednesday but said members and staff needed more time to review it and consult with attorneys.

Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania lawmakers are proposing legislation to strengthen state voting protections and protect voters from “intimidation.” According to the memo, Pennsylvania already has legislation that prohibits law enforcement from being within 100 feet of a polling place on election day in Pennsylvania. The legislation, proposed by State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-181) and several other Democratic state lawmakers, would reinforce this legislation by explicitly stating that protections apply to all federal, state, and local law enforcement officers and agents. “Pennsylvania voters deserve to cast their ballots free from interference and intimidation,” the memo said. The bill has not yet been submitted for introduction.

Legal Updates

Federal Litigation: U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani halted — at least for now — attempts to implement President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting mail voting. The move stalled the directive for a second time only about a week before the first mail ballots are due to be sent out for the rapidly approaching midterm elections.Talwani blocked the government from implementing the order for two weeks. The case could soon be appealed back to the Supreme Court, days after the justices handed down a procedural decision that allowed the administration to move ahead. The ruling August 27 came after Democrats and voting rights groups refiled their lawsuits to comply with the recent Supreme Court decision. The high court’s conservative majority did not rule on the legality of Trump’s executive order, instead saying Talwani had acted too soon. “Plaintiff states have neither time nor funds to design new mail ballots, seek approval of the new designs, order production of mail ballots, update their own election management systems, train election officials to use the USPS portal and upload citizen data to the portal, all before the midterms,” Talwani wrote. The Administration filed a notice of appeal on August 28. 

Alaska: The Alaska Supreme Court issued a fast-tracked ruling on August 27, affirming a lower court’s decision that the Alaska Division of Elections’ language for an elections overhaul ballot measure is “true and impartial,” but ordered the division to make one additional change.  The Court issued the ruling days after hearing oral arguments from two groups of plaintiffs on opposing sides of the current ranked-choice voting system. The groups appealed a lower court’s ruling issued in June, challenging the language of Ballot Measure 2 as unclear, politically partisan and containing omissions they sought to change. Ballot Measure 2, which will appear on the ballot as 24ESEG, would repeal the state’s current ranked choice voting and open primary systems, as well as repeal campaign disclosure rules enacted by voters in 2020. The Supreme Court ruling affirmed a Superior Court’s finding that the Alaska Division of Elections’ fulfilled its legal duty in preparing the ballot measure title and summary in a “true and impartial” manner.  But the justices identified one omission: the division must add language that explains if the measure is approved, and nonpartisan, open primaries are eliminated, candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor would run for election separately.

Florida: The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging the federal government is illegally targeting non-U.S. born citizens to prevent them from exercising their legal right to vote. Filed against the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Attorney General Todd Blanche, the suit contends they are interfering with the right of individual states to conduct free and fair elections. Filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the CHIRLA complaint centers on a letter the Trump administration sent to California officials alleging that more than 190,000 non-citizens are registered to vote in the state. “Methodology for arriving at this figure has never been provided, and it is almost certainly widely incorrect,” the complaint says. “Naturalized citizens are Americans,” CHIRLA executive director Angelica Salas said at a news conference announcing the lawsuit in downtown Los Angeles. “They took the oath. They earned their citizenship, and they have the same rights as every other American citizen.”

Black Voters Matter Fund and the League of United Latin American Citizens filed a federal lawsuit, challenging Florida’s new law requiring proof of citizenship to vote. The law passed the Legislature this year on a near-party-line vote and was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in April. It goes into effect Jan. 1. The two groups are represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center and Democracy Defenders Fund.  “This is a political ploy to determine who wins our elections by picking who votes,” Tianna Mays, legal director for DDF, said in a news release. “This scheme targets Black and Brown communities by erecting barriers to voting for hundreds of thousands of eligible voters, including naturalized citizens and other Floridians who don’t have a passport.” The groups are asking the court to declare the law in violation of the National Voter Registration Act and the Fourteenth Amendment and permanently enjoin Byrd and the supervisors from implementing or enforcing the provisions the lawsuit challenges. Those include “conditioning federal voter registration on requirements prohibited by federal law, removing registered voters on unauthorized grounds or without constitutionally adequate procedures, conducting nonuniform or discriminatory list maintenance, or conducting systematic voter removal activities during the 90 days preceding a federal primary or general election.”

Hawai’i: The Hawai’i Supreme Court heard arguments this week over how tied elections are resolved. The high court pressed Hawaii’s elections chief over whether a literal drawing of names from a basket can decide who represents a Leeward Oahu district in the state Legislature after a primary election ended in an exact tie. State Representative Kanani Souza and challenger Sheila Medeiros each finished the Aug. 8 Republican primary for House District 43, covering Kapolei and Makakilo, with 842 votes. Because no Democrat ran for the seat, whoever wins the race wins the seat outright. Hawaii law requires the chief election officer to break legislative ties “by lot.” Each candidate’s name was printed on a slip of paper, sealed inside a small plastic capsule, placed in a woven lauhala box and shaken before an elections official pulled one without looking — Medeiros’ name was drawn, handing her the seat. Souza sued, challenging both the vote count and the tiebreaker’s legality. Two District 40 voters were mistakenly given District 43 ballots, an error discovered through the county’s daily reconciliation process. Because the ballots were commingled with the rest of the District 43 ballots, officials cannot determine which ones belonged to the two voters or how they voted. Justice Todd Eddins pressed Chief Election Officer Scott Nago on whether the office could simply remove the two ballots. “No,” Nago said. “Because of security secrecy reasons. We cannot tie a ballot back to a voter.”

Michigan: Americans for Citizen Voting Michigan, the campaign behind a proposed state constitutional amendment, has filed suit over a Michigan elections board decision that keeps it off the ballot. The measure would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID to ensure a vote is counted. The Michigan Board of State Canvassers disagreed about whether to accept late proof that the campaign collected enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. A deadlock prevented the measure from advancing. Now, Americans for Citizen Voting has asked the state Supreme Court to help it out. “More than 700,000 Michiganders signed this petition. We have the signatures required to qualify, and we are asking the Michigan Supreme Court to ensure those voters are not silenced because the Board of State Canvassers failed to do its job,” campaign chair Paul Jacob said in a press release announcing the lawsuit. According to Michigan Public Radio, how the Michigan Supreme Court views the 48-hour rule could be key to deciding the case. The lawsuit argues the board’s duty to certify petitions trumps its authority to set procedural rules for itself. The complaint is also arguing the rejected affidavits should be accepted as well. Petition organizers filed an August 31 application for emergency injunction with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, after the state Supreme Court did not immediately intervene on a lawsuit the group filed August 27. The respondents to the petition, the Board Of State Canvassers, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Director of Elections Jonathan Brater, argue in their response that the process of a referendum like this is a state-created right as opposed to one guaranteed by the First Amendment.  “Federal courts have previously recognized that such processes are not entitled to the same protection as the right to vote,” the state response continues. “To the contrary, many courts have held that private citizens lack a constitutional right to propose referenda or initiatives for any ballot, federal or state.” They also add that the relief requested by the sponsors — an injunction that would force the state to place the referendum on the November general election ballot — would be granting the applicants “all the relief they could ever recover for their claims,” but that the application does “little to justify such an unusual request, other than to repeat the number of signatures they gathered—without acknowledging or contending with the high number of signatures that were found to be invalid.” Ballots must be finalized by Sept. 4, leaving just two days for the nation’s high court to make a decision on whether to formally intervene and, if they do rule on the case, how they will proceed. 

Minnesota: Republican Mike Lindell can’t move ahead with a recount of his loss in the governor’s race primary after Minnesota’s highest court turned back his lawsuit Saturday. In a six-page ruling signed by Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, the Supreme Court denied Lindell’s attempt to broaden the scope of a recount beyond what the secretary of state’s office laid out. Lindell missed a Monday deadline to formally request and pay for a recount of the Aug. 11 primary as he challenged the structure of the ballot review in court. Justices found that his legal claims to seek an expansive recount were without merit. Lindell wanted all 1.1 million ballots examined by hand and tallies for all candidates to be redone instead of just the ballots for him and GOP winner Lisa Demuth. Justices said the state-approved recount plan was within the law. “In other words, after all votes are sorted and counted, Lindell would know whether he is the winner over Demuth,” the justices said in their ruling. “And all ballots, in all piles, would be counted and subject to challenge.” The ruling effectively affirms Lindell’s 45,000-vote loss to Demuth, who will face DFL nominee Amy Klobuchar and the Green Party’s Steven Young in the November general election.

New Hampshire: A New Hampshire law and state directive preventing voters from using a student identification card to cast a ballot will remain in effect for next week’s primary election, a federal judge said. Judge Joseph N. Laplante, said that case law bars him from issuing a preliminary injunction that would affect a voting law so close to an election. However, whether the law should be in effect for the November midterms is an “open question,” he said, noting that he didn’t address the merits of the arguments for such relief. The amount of time between now and Nov. 3, and the fact that no voting for that election has started, “suggests the possibility of an orderly transition back to the previous voter identification laws is at least logistically feasible for that election, even if it would be difficult,” said Laplante, of the US District Court for the District of New Hampshire. The lawsuit was filed Aug 11 by the Coalition for Open Democracy. It said the law prohibiting the use of high school and college IDs to cast a ballot is unconstitutional, as well as Secretary of State David M. Scanlan’s April directive barring the use of the same IDs to register to vote. Laplante rejected Open Democracy’s arguments that blocking the law would “preserve the status quo,” as the law has been the “operative” one for all the primary election cycle. He also noted that the group waited 70 days after the law took effect to sue. “A party may not manufacture an emergency through its own delay and then invoke the resulting time pressure as a reason a court should excuse that delay or discount the disruption an injunction would cause,” Laplante wrote.

Oklahoma: Shonda Barnes, the Mansville city manager was arrested on felony voter registration fraud charges this week. The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office stated that Barnes was arrested at her home on a warrant charging her with 11 counts of false affidavit in voter registration. The arrest stemmed from an investigation that started in May after the Johnston County Election Board told the sheriff’s office about concerns over voter registration applications submitted from the Mannsville area. The registrations were submitted before the May voter registration deadline for the June primary election. The sheriff’s office said investigators found several applications had matching signatures that did not belong to the people who were registering to vote.

South Carolina: A three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that South Carolina’s absentee voting law violates the U.S. Constitution, finding that the state’s different rules for younger and older voters run afoul of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment. The lawsuit was filed in 2023 by a group of South Carolina voters who challenged the state’s absentee voting system. Under current law, voters 65 and older can cast an absentee ballot by mail without providing a reason, while voters under 65 must meet specific eligibility requirements to vote absentee. In a unanimous decision, the three-judge panel sided with the plaintiffs and reversed a lower court ruling that had dismissed the case. The appeals court determined the age-based distinction violates the Twenty-Sixth Amendment’s prohibition against abridging the right to vote on account of age. Chief Judge Roger Gregory wrote that the state’s system gives older voters greater access to absentee voting than younger voters. “That means voting is harder for voters under age sixty-five than those age sixty-five and older, which constitutes an abridgement of the right to vote on the basis of age and contravenes the Twenty-Sixth Amendment.” The case now returns to federal district court, where a judge will decide how to remedy the constitutional violation. The appeals court said possible solutions include extending no-excuse absentee voting to voters under 65 or eliminating the no-excuse absentee voting privilege currently available to voters 65 and older.

Washington: Esperanza “Hope” Contreras, 53, a Pasco landlord is headed to three months in jail for filling out the ballots of former tenants to vote in the 2024 presidential election. Contreras cast the ballots that arrived in the mail and turned them in to the Franklin County Auditor’s Office. Her former tenants didn’t discover it until they tried to vote. Contreras previously pleaded guilty to four counts of voter violation, a felony. She owns an Opal Street building where the victims were renters. The charges carried up to a year in jail. Prosecutors and defense attorneys recommended a sentence of three months of work release from the Benton County jail. The Franklin County jail does not have a work release program. Judge Jackie Stam agreed with the recommendation and gave her until Oct. 8 to report to jail.

Opinions This Week

National Opinions: Federal interference, II, III, IV, V | Vote by mail, II, III | Vote challenge | U.S. Supreme Court | Ghost ballots | SAVE Act | Gerrymandering | U.S. Postal Service |

Alaska: Ranked choice voting |

Arizona: Native American voting rights |

California: Ballot counting |

Connecticut: Absentee ballot fraud |

Florida: Drop boxes |

Georgia: Macon-Bibb County | Poll workers |

Hawai’i: Vote by mail, II | Ties |

Maine: SAVE Act |

Massachusetts: Ranked choice voting |

Michigan: Election administration | Board of canvassers |

Mississippi: Voter registration |

Missouri: Plan to vote |

Nevada: Vote by mail | Voter fraud |

New Hampshire: Confidence in elections |

New York: Democracy |

North Carolina: Election laws |

Pennsylvania: Poll workers |

Washington: Ranked choice voting |

Wisconsin: Election officials |

Wyoming: Poll workers, II | Federal interference |

Upcoming Events

Should we worry about mail voting for 2026?: Join the Center for Election Innovation & Research for a webinar on the Trump administration’s ongoing attempts to disrupt mail voting ahead of the midterm elections. In the webinar, CEIR Executive Director David Becker will discuss the whistleblower report accusing the US Postal Service of ignoring court rulings by continuing its efforts to implement the president’s executive order on mail voting. The whistleblower warned that the proposed changes to mail voting risk disenfranchising wide swaths of voters as USPS rushes to implement the executive order, which remains blocked in federal court. David will explain how the administration’s attempts to change mail voting rules have largely failed and why voters can expect that they will continue to have access to the safe, secure option of mail voting this November. This event is part of CEIR’s “Trust Elections” project, a webinar series exploring the state of US democracy and offering insight on how voters can help protect free and fair elections. When: September 8, 5pm Eastern. Where: Online. 

UAC Annual Convention: The Utah Association of Counties will hold its annual convention from September 8-10. 

States United’s Safety at The Polls: Research Insights & Panel Discussion: This briefing will focus on what safety and confidence at the polls means in 2026. Building off our previous Safety and the Polls project in 2024, we will bring you updated findings on how voters — especially women and historically marginalized groups— perceive the current voting environment and how opinions on safety and violence in the voting process affect how they engage in the electoral process. We’ll be joined by special guest Chapel Hill Police Chief Celisa Lehew and Executive Director of Partnership for Large Elections Jurisdictions Carolina Lopez, along with additional experts from the States United team to discuss election safety preparation as we head into the midterms.  When: September 9, 12pm Eastern. Where: Online. 

Making Top Three Work: Ballots, Technology, Tabulation, and Implementation: Election officials and election technology experts should help shape ballot design, voting-system requirements, reporting, audits, accessibility, training, and voter education before any election system is adopted. Better Choices for Democracy invites you to join us to learn about Top Three elections and to provide input and feedback. When: September 9, 1pm. Where: Online. 

Will the midterms happen? Your election questions, answered, Part 2: Will the 2026 midterms happen? Short answer: Yes. Long answer: Elections happen because thousands of local officials follow state and local laws requiring them to happen — and history shows they’ve done so before, even under immense pressure. The greater danger isn’t no election, but one that’s chaotic, unfairly challenged, or deliberately cast as illegitimate after the fact. Got more questions about the midterms? Submit them to Votebeat reporters with your RSVP, and they’ll give you the long answer live. Votebeat is a nonprofit newsroom specialized in explaining how elections work. Each of our reporters and editors spend every day covering voting rules, election administration, misinformation, election lawsuits, local officials, and the systems that determine how ballots are cast and counted. Ask them anything! When: September 15, 1pm Eastern. Where: Online. 

National Voter Registration Day: First observed in 2012, over 5 million voters have registered to vote on National Voter Registration Day to date. As many as 1 in 5 eligible Americans are not registered to vote. Help us change that by joining the country’s largest single-day voter registration drive and organizing a registration event in your community! When: September 15. 

Election Talk: How are the Media and Social Media Doing in Informing Voters?: The Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA promotes research, collaboration, and advocacy under the leadership of UCLA Law Professor Richard L. Hasen; one of the nation’s leading election scholars. The Safeguarding Democracy Project is built upon the premise that tackling issues of the U.S. election integrity must be collaborative: across ideologies, across scholarly disciplines, and as a bridge between theory and practice. Our events this semester are focused on the 2026 midterm elections. Speakers: David Folkenflik, NPR; Carrie Levine, Votebeat, and Shannon McGregor, University of North Carolina. When: September 22, 3:15pm Eastern. Where: Online. 

2026 WACO Conference: The Wyoming Association of County Officers-County Clerks will hold its annual conference from September 22-24 in Laramie. 

When Something Happens: The Center for Civic Design is excited to introduce When Something Happens, a nonpartisan voter messaging toolkit designed to assist you in critical moments. When Something Happens is built on our expertise in design communications. The toolkit includes customizable, nonpartisan social media messages to help you communicate with your voters in the moments after something happens. We’d love to show you how the toolkit can assist you in those critical moments. Join us for a webinar to see how you can leverage the toolkit to communicate to your voters. When: September 24, 1pm Eastern. Where: Online

2026 MACO Annual Conference: The Montana Association of Counties will hold its annual conference from September 27-30 in Helena. 

National Voter Education Week: Voters should have the information they need to cast their ballots with confidence. That’s where National Voter Education Week comes in. Help voters find their polling location, understand their ballot, and make a plan to vote by joining our week-long campaign. When: October 5-9. 

What Can Go Wrong (and What Can Go Right) with November’s Midterm Elections?: The Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA promotes research, collaboration, and advocacy under the leadership of UCLA Law Professor Richard L. Hasen; one of the nation’s leading election scholars. The Safeguarding Democracy Project is built upon the premise that tackling issues of the U.S. election integrity must be collaborative: across ideologies, across scholarly disciplines, and as a bridge between theory and practice. Our events this semester are focused on the 2026 midterm elections. Speakers: Jonathan Diaz, Campaign Legal Center; Matt Germer, R Street Institute; and Justin Leavitt, Loyola Law School. When: October 13, 3:15pm Eastern. Where: Online. 

Election Hero Day: Election Hero Day is a nonpartisan, national celebration recognizing the tremendous contributions that election officials, their staff, and poll workers make to ensure a safe, secure voting experience for all Americans. Taking place on October 20, 2026, nonprofits, business leaders, brands, public officials, and more will unite to honor the election heroes in our communities.  With your support, Election Hero Day will help boost election official morale ahead of Election Day and send a clear message to the public that we support our friends and neighbors who play such a vital role in preserving our democracy. When: October 20. 

Vote Early Day: When Americans vote early, they ensure last-minute problems, long lines at the polls, confusing election laws, or voter disinformation cannot prevent us from casting our ballot. Vote Early Day is a tentpole moment for partners nationwide to engage with voters and empower them with the tools to cast their ballots early. When: October 27. 

Assessing the Fairness and Integrity of the November Elections: The Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA promotes research, collaboration, and advocacy under the leadership of UCLA Law Professor Richard L. Hasen; one of the nation’s leading election scholars. The Safeguarding Democracy Project is built upon the premise that tackling issues of the U.S. election integrity must be collaborative: across ideologies, across scholarly disciplines, and as a bridge between theory and practice. Our events this semester are focused on the 2026 midterm elections. Speakers: Bill Gates, Arizona State University; Guy-Uriel E. Charles, Harvard Law School; Charles Stewart, MEDSL; Susan Stokes, University of Chicago and Tammy Patrick, Election Center. When: November 16, 3:15pm Eastern. Where: Online. 

2026 Elections Summit: In a time of rapid change and evolving challenges to our electoral processes, collective reflection and forward-looking strategy are more important than ever. Bipartisan Policy Center’s 2026 Elections Summit will convene a diverse group of election practitioners, policymakers, and thought leaders to debrief the November election and chart a course forward for U.S. election administration. Be part of a defining moment for democracy as we gather in Washington, DC, to shape its future together. When: December 7, 9am to 4pm Eastern. Where: 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.

Account Executive, VotingWorks– We are looking for a trusted sales leader who understands that election administrators don’t buy voting machines, they buy trust, both in the equipment and in the vendor. All 83 of Michigan’s counties will soon open at once, and we are in the running for the state RFP enabling us to sell our voting machines. Incumbents will have to re-earn their contracts, and we’ll be competing on equal footing for the first time. This opportunity is time bound. Trust matters deeply in this market. Your job is to build relationships and earn credibility quickly with state and local election officials. You will own the full Michigan territory. You’re responsible for the entire sales process: building pipeline, running demos, navigating procurement, and closing deals. We want sustainable sales contracts that are technically sound, politically supported, and set up for a clean handoff to Customer Success. For your first demos, you’ll be paired with our Executive Director and our Head of Customer Success to learn the messaging and the product. Once you take on demos on your own, you should still know when to bring in executive support and when to handle things yourself. This is a competitive market with a real window of opportunity. If you want to sell something that actually matters to Democracy, and you’re energized by moving fast when the timing is right, we’d like to meet you. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Accounts Payable & Payroll Specialist, King County, Washington– This is an amazing opportunity to be engaged in the election process! The Department of Elections is searching for energetic and resourceful professionals who like to “get stuff done”. The Accounts Payable & Payroll Specialist position in the Elections Department combines an exciting, fast paced environment with the opportunity to cultivate talents and apply a variety of skills. The ideal candidate will thrive in an innovative and fast-paced environment and will not hesitate to roll up both sleeves, work hard, have fun, and get the job done. We are seeking a detail-oriented and collaborative professional to support payroll, finance, and human resources operations. The Accounts Payable & Payroll Specialist supports the department’s mission by processing vendor payments and payroll, maintaining accurate financial and employee records, supporting audits and reporting, and contributing to continuous improvement initiatives. Work is performed under limited supervision and requires independent judgment. This position reports directly to the Administrative Services Manager and works closely with both the Finance Administrator I and the Human Resource Analyst. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced environment, values accuracy and confidentiality, and enjoys delivering exceptional customer service to employees and partners throughout the organization. Salary: $32.44 – $41.25 Hourly. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Administrative Specialist III (Ballot Collection Lead), King County, Washington– The Department of Elections is searching for an energetic and resourceful professional who likes to “get stuff done”. The Ballot Collection Lead position in the Elections Services Division combines an exciting, fast-paced environment with the opportunity to cultivate talents and apply a variety of skills. The ideal candidate will thrive in an innovative, fast-paced environment and will not hesitate to roll up both sleeves, work hard, have fun, and get the job done. Under the direction of the Ballot Collection & Logistics Supervisor, this position will support and lead the critical behind-the-scenes operations that keep King County’s nearly 100 ballot drop box locations running smoothly. From coordinating ballot collection teams and training temporary staff, to supporting fleet and warehouse logistics, you will help ensure every ballot is collected securely, efficiently, and on schedule. This role is ideal for a detail-oriented individual with strong communication skills, experience overseeing diverse workgroups, and a demonstrated ability to manage data, adapt to rapidly changing priorities, and problem-solve in a fast-paced environment. Candidates with experience in logistics, warehouse/receiving, training, data tracking, and customer service will thrive in this position. This position will lead processes, projects, and people which includes leading, coaching, mentoring, and training temporary and regular staff. Leads may also provide assistance and/or participate in long-term cross-training in multiple work areas to meet organizational agile efforts. Salary: $32.44 – $41.25 Hourly. Deadline: September 14. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Administrative Specialist II (Elections Specialist), King County, Washington– This position will be filled as a Term-Limited Temporary position or Special Duty Assignment for current King County employees who have passed their initial probationary period. It is anticipated to last until August 2029. The Department of Elections – is searching for energetic and resourceful professionals who like to “get stuff done”. The Administrative Specialist II positions in the Election Services Division combine 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. King County Elections (KCE) manages voter registrations and elections for more than 1.4 million voters in King County, one of the largest vote-by-mail counties in the United States. KCE’s mission is to conduct accessible, secure, and accurate elections. As a leader in providing inclusive elections, KCE is focused on core values of accuracy, equity, integrity, service, teamwork, and transparency. The team at KCE is committed to ensuring all King County voters can get registered, cast their ballot, and make their voices heard. Salary: $29.46 – $37.47 Hourly. Deadline: September 16. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Assistant Director for Elections Technology, Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office– Serves as the Division of Elections’ technology manager and advisor, who works in coordination with the Tennessee Secretary of State’s IT Division and is responsible for statewide election technology strategy, cybersecurity, state voter registration data, election reporting systems, business continuity planning, technology procurement, and oversight of election technology support provided to Tennessee’s 95 county election commissions. This position coordinates technology projects, monitors system performance, supports election security efforts, and serves as a liaison between the Division of Elections, state IT personnel, county election officials, and technology vendors. The position helps ensure election technology systems remain secure, dependable, and compliant with applicable state and federal requirements. The Assistant Director supervises two employees. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Assistant Executive Director, Chicago Board of Election Commissioners–This full-time exempt position reports directly to the Board’s Executive Director and is responsible for overseeing the Board’s daily administrative operations, including Human Resources, Finance, and Purchasing. Working closely with the Executive Director, the Assistant Executive Director will also oversee general office functions, including but not limited to the mailroom, the copy room, and receptionists. Essential Duties and Responsibilities: Direct supervision of the human resources, finance and procurement functions of the Board. Assess Board policies and develop business strategies to ensure coordination across the various administrative functions in the Board’s downtown and warehouse offices. Monitor performance and provide feedback to senior administrative management, including teaching, supporting and modeling logistics in line with Board policies and procedures. Advise the Executive Director on matters impacting administrative operations. Participate in Board of Election Commissioners meetings, providing updates on current and long-term projects impacting the administration of the Board. Oversee Board financial matters, ensuring best practices for procurement, contracts, grants, and staffing. Direct supervision of ADA and Communication staff. Attend external meetings at the request of the Executive Director, including City/County budget hearings, civic events, intergovernmental matters, conferences, etc. Oversee the operation and selection of staffing of Election Central for Election Day support. Execute other duties as directed by the Executive Director. Salary: $144,000 – 154,000. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Customer Support Center Consultant Level 1, Hart InterCivic– The Customer Support Center Consultant Level 1 (CSC 1) provides Tier 1–2 support for Hart InterCivic products, helping customers troubleshoot issues and keep election operations running smoothly. The CSC I’s primary responsibilities are to: Resolve and route customer issues via phone, email, and remote tools; Document cases in the CRM and communicate status through resolution; and Use product documentation to deliver clear, customer-friendly solutions. This role researches and resolves issues, supports hardware/software configuration and deployment, and provides training or on-site support as needed. It also documents processes and partners with other departments to improve service delivery. This position follows the Proprietary Information and Intellectual Property Agreement and is responsible for protecting company information, including when working off-site or outside normal hours. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Cybersecurity Assessor (Election Security), Apollo Information Systems: The Technical Assessor conducts in-depth technical and program-level cybersecurity assessments of client environments, identifying risk, measuring control maturity, and producing clear, actionable guidance that advances each client’s security posture. This is an experienced assessor role: the individual independently leads assessments end to end, evaluates complex environments against multiple frameworks, and is a trusted voice in front of both technical teams and executives. The assessor also helps mature Apollo’s assessment method. Salary: $80K – $120K. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Deputy Elections Administrator, Tarrant County, Texas – The Deputy Elections Administrator is responsible for assisting with and overseeing the daily operations of the Elections Administration Department, including coordination of Voter Registrar duties and all election management activities for Tarrant County. This position provides executive-level operational and tactical leadership and exercises full authority in the absence of the Elections Administrator. Responsibilities include managing personnel, directing election logistics, ensuring legal compliance, overseeing technology and equipment deployment, coordinating poll worker operations, and maintaining the integrity and security of all election processes. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Election Worker – Office Assistant (Extra Help, Seasonal), San Mateo County, California– The Elections Division is an exciting, fast-paced environment, especially as elections approach. This is an excellent opportunity to work with a group of dynamic, well-organized, and highly efficient individuals committed to the democratic process. The San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division is seeking full-time, seasonal Election Worker – Office Assistants to assist in the upcoming November 3, 2026, Statewide General Election. This is an excellent opportunity to be involved in the election process! We are currently seeking dedicated, enthusiastic and hard-working individuals for temporary, full-time positions to be hired into one of the following areas: Ballot retrieval, vote by mail, voter registration/clerical support, voter helpdesk support, supplies, field techs/warehouse.  This is an extra-help, at-will assignment, paid on an hourly basis. Extra-help hours are dependent on the business needs of the department and therefore work hours may vary from week to week. Extra-help employees shall not exceed 1,040 hours of work per fiscal year. Some extra help positions are eligible for benefits under the Affordable Care Act. Extra-help employees are not guaranteed permanent status at the end of the assignment. Salary: $24.91/hour. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Elections Data and Analytics Manager, Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office – Responsible for statewide election data governance, voter registration data integrity, business intelligence, reporting, analytics, data integration, and performance measurement. This position serves as the Division’s subject matter expert on election data and ensures accuracy, security, compliance, and accessibility of election information. This position assists ballot review and approval, producing and analyzing election-related state and federal reports, maintaining and assisting in updating elections mobile app. Assist in planning and coordinating the computer functions and responsibilities for the Elections Division which includes, but is not limited to: data processing, integrating the statewide voter registration system with county voter registration systems, improve election reporting capabilities; analyzing and resolving technical software issues (25%) for the Division of Elections and 95 county election commission offices, which includes, but is not limited to cybersecurity practices, and performing other duties as assigned. Salary: Commensurate with experience and State of Tennessee benefits package. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Executive Director, Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center– The Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center is a national, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to making ranked choice voting elections successful. We provide research, education, technical tools, and practical support to election administrators, policymakers, advocates, media, and the public. We currently support our partners across the country with a remote, distributed team of seven full-time staff members and a $1M annual budget. The incoming Executive Director will lead the Center’s next phase of growth — expanding our team and revenue base while maintaining the credible, high-caliber service that has earned the trust of partners nationwide. In the process, you’ll help shape the delivery and public perception of election innovation in the United States. Salary: $140,000 – $175,000. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

GIS Specialist, Palm Beach County, Florida– Help power accurate, well-run elections through smart mapping and rock-solid data. As a GIS Specialist II with the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections, you’ll own core geospatial datasets, turn complex information into clear maps and insights, and improve the workflows teams rely on to plan and execute election operations. Your work helps ensure precinct, polling place, and district data is accurate and easy to use—supporting operational readiness, transparency, and timely decision-making. You’ll maintain and enhance GIS databases, produce print and web-ready map products, perform quality control and spatial analysis, and keep GIS synchronized with the Voter Registration System. You’ll collaborate with both technical and non-technical teams, document standards and changes, and provide training and troubleshooting support. Salary: $72,800 to $87,000. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

IT Assistant Manager, Palm Beach County, Florida–The Assistant IT Manager plays a vital and supportive role in ensuring the smooth operation of the IT department, aligning both the technical infrastructure and the team 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 organization’s needs. The Assistant IT Manager helps maintain an efficient and effective IT environment. The Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office is committed to hiring talented individuals with diverse experiences that will enhance the services we provide to the residents of Palm Beach County. We are always looking for dedicated individuals who do all things with Integrity and Accountability, who excel in Customer Service, and believe in Transparent, Secure Democracy. At the Supervisor of Elections Office, we strive to help our employees find passion and purpose. Join us in being the best place to vote. Salary: $85000 to $125000. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here. 

Wisconsin State Lead, Vet the Vote– We the Veterans and Military Families seeks a highly organized, mission-driven State Lead who is passionate about positive patriotism, public service, and our mission to empower the veteran and military family community to strengthen America. The ideal candidate is a strong communicator and relationship-builder who can manage multiple projects, coordinate with state partners and election officials, and support program execution with attention to detail and follow-through. This role is well-suited for someone who thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment and is motivated by nonpartisan, values-driven work. Candidates with experience in election administration and/or organizations supporting the veteran and military family member community are strongly encouraged to apply. Salary: $5,000/month. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.

Marketplace

electionline provides no guarantees as to the quality of the items and the accuracy of the information provided about the items in the Marketplace. Ads are provided directly by sellers and are not verified by electionline. If you have an ad for Marketplace, please email it to: mmoretti@electionline.org