Fostering Democratic Equity: The Challenges of Local Election Administration
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By Amanda D. Clark, Ashley E. Nickels and Hannah Lebovits
September 24, 2020
When most people think of democracy, the first word that comes to mind is voting. From local school board elections to the Presidential election, we rely on the act of voting to express our societal values and select representatives that carry out the will of the people.
Yet, how this is done is often a black box. Who counts the ballots? How does the process of election administration work on the ground? How can we ensure that it is done in an equitable and accessible way for all voters?
Voter suppression has been a known problem for quite some time. As we prepared for this article, the state of Georgia has been accused of wrongfully purging almost 200,000 voters from its voter registration rolls. The U.S. Postal Service has been the target of service disruptions that are impacting not just mail-in ballots, but critical medications for Americans and shipments made by small businesses. Voter suppression is a very real problem and the need to ferret it out and bring it to light is imperative. However, that work is being done very well by a number of nonprofits and scholars. For this article, we would like to highlight some positive stories of election administration officials around the country who are trying to do the right thing and make voting more accessible and equitable for all registered voters.
Election administration is a crucial piece of local governance, often making or breaking one’s image of how the whole system works. We are focusing on expansion of voting accessibility in an attempt to encourage more of these stories and to save our own sanity a bit as public administration scholars.
We already knew that 2020 would be a huge year for election administration officials across the country. Presidential election years are always busy and 2020 would be especially fraught as an increasingly divided nation would go to the polls. However, as with everything else this year, COVID created new hurdles to the very process by which voters can vote. Voters, concerned with their potential exposure to the virus, turned to other options like requesting vote-by-mail (VBM) ballots. Many states met this challenge and, either temporarily or permanently, relaxed requirements for VBM ballots and/or increased the time period that elections officials could process VBM ballots. Nearly 75% of all American voters now have access to VBM.
COVID created another crucial challenge to election officials. States saw a dramatic decrease in the traditional community of poll workers—older, retired Americans—as they too became worried about their safety working the polls during a pandemic. In the March presidential election primary, counties like Palm Beach County in Florida saw a record number of poll workers call out and not show up on election day. To combat this, the county adjusted its training and backup plans to have more standby teams available to be dispatched, along with stringent cleaning protocols and personal protective equipment for poll workers. Virginia also recently approved a measure to extend early voting to 45 days prior to the election in response to the pandemic.
Other initiatives to increase the pool of poll workers include “adopt-a-precinct” programs that allow community groups to train as poll workers and work on election day in particular precincts. These programs not only allow these groups to fundraise, but enable counties to staff precincts that may not attract as many poll workers. Most states also have youth programs directed to either pre-registered high school students or college students to train them to be poll workers.
Outside of responding to the unique challenges COVID-19 created for elections officials, many supervisors of elections have been working on creating inclusive and equitable voting environments. While there are still challenges to be met in many jurisdictions regarding voters with disabilities, voting officials in California offer voters information in different formats, including audio, American Sign Language and large-print. Some counties in Florida offer voting via an ExpressVote machine that is able to read the ballot to the voter (in either English, Spanish, or Creole) and allows them to use a touchscreen to make their choices.
While many challenges remain to ensure free, fair elections at all levels, focusing on these positive stories of election officials trying to make a difference is one way to spread democracy.
Election administration is local! From local school districts’ decision to open under COVID-19 to major political campaigns, the electoral process is basically the same—it’s just a matter of scale. Most local election administration offices throughout the country are working to ensure equitable access to the ballot. The diffusion of programs to increase voter turnout and diversify the pool of poll workers will only keep paying dividends down the road as more people become less intimidated by the voting process.
NOTE: Dr. Clark has been working since June 2020 at the Supervisor of Elections office in Palm Beach County, Florida. She has been fascinated with seeing how public administration theory and principles are being applied on the ground. #fromacademictopractioner
Authors:
Ashley E. Nickels, Ph.D., is associate professor of political science at Kent State University and co-PI of the Growing Democracy Project. Her work focuses on urban politics, local governance, and community organization using a social equity lens. @AENickelsPhD
Hannah Lebovits is an instructor at University of Texas-Arlington. She studies the relationship between governance, spatial structures, and social equity. @HannahLebovits
Amanda D. Clark, Ph.D., is an adjunct professor of political science at Nova Southeastern University. She is currently working for the Supervisor of Elections office in Palm Beach County, Florida and researching social movements, community development, and the U.S. policy process. @adclark_phd
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Fostering Democratic Equity: The Challenges of Local Election Administration
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By Amanda D. Clark, Ashley E. Nickels and Hannah Lebovits
September 24, 2020
When most people think of democracy, the first word that comes to mind is voting. From local school board elections to the Presidential election, we rely on the act of voting to express our societal values and select representatives that carry out the will of the people.
Yet, how this is done is often a black box. Who counts the ballots? How does the process of election administration work on the ground? How can we ensure that it is done in an equitable and accessible way for all voters?
Voter suppression has been a known problem for quite some time. As we prepared for this article, the state of Georgia has been accused of wrongfully purging almost 200,000 voters from its voter registration rolls. The U.S. Postal Service has been the target of service disruptions that are impacting not just mail-in ballots, but critical medications for Americans and shipments made by small businesses. Voter suppression is a very real problem and the need to ferret it out and bring it to light is imperative. However, that work is being done very well by a number of nonprofits and scholars. For this article, we would like to highlight some positive stories of election administration officials around the country who are trying to do the right thing and make voting more accessible and equitable for all registered voters.
Election administration is a crucial piece of local governance, often making or breaking one’s image of how the whole system works. We are focusing on expansion of voting accessibility in an attempt to encourage more of these stories and to save our own sanity a bit as public administration scholars.
We already knew that 2020 would be a huge year for election administration officials across the country. Presidential election years are always busy and 2020 would be especially fraught as an increasingly divided nation would go to the polls. However, as with everything else this year, COVID created new hurdles to the very process by which voters can vote. Voters, concerned with their potential exposure to the virus, turned to other options like requesting vote-by-mail (VBM) ballots. Many states met this challenge and, either temporarily or permanently, relaxed requirements for VBM ballots and/or increased the time period that elections officials could process VBM ballots. Nearly 75% of all American voters now have access to VBM.
COVID created another crucial challenge to election officials. States saw a dramatic decrease in the traditional community of poll workers—older, retired Americans—as they too became worried about their safety working the polls during a pandemic. In the March presidential election primary, counties like Palm Beach County in Florida saw a record number of poll workers call out and not show up on election day. To combat this, the county adjusted its training and backup plans to have more standby teams available to be dispatched, along with stringent cleaning protocols and personal protective equipment for poll workers. Virginia also recently approved a measure to extend early voting to 45 days prior to the election in response to the pandemic.
Other initiatives to increase the pool of poll workers include “adopt-a-precinct” programs that allow community groups to train as poll workers and work on election day in particular precincts. These programs not only allow these groups to fundraise, but enable counties to staff precincts that may not attract as many poll workers. Most states also have youth programs directed to either pre-registered high school students or college students to train them to be poll workers.
Outside of responding to the unique challenges COVID-19 created for elections officials, many supervisors of elections have been working on creating inclusive and equitable voting environments. While there are still challenges to be met in many jurisdictions regarding voters with disabilities, voting officials in California offer voters information in different formats, including audio, American Sign Language and large-print. Some counties in Florida offer voting via an ExpressVote machine that is able to read the ballot to the voter (in either English, Spanish, or Creole) and allows them to use a touchscreen to make their choices.
While many challenges remain to ensure free, fair elections at all levels, focusing on these positive stories of election officials trying to make a difference is one way to spread democracy.
Election administration is local! From local school districts’ decision to open under COVID-19 to major political campaigns, the electoral process is basically the same—it’s just a matter of scale. Most local election administration offices throughout the country are working to ensure equitable access to the ballot. The diffusion of programs to increase voter turnout and diversify the pool of poll workers will only keep paying dividends down the road as more people become less intimidated by the voting process.
NOTE: Dr. Clark has been working since June 2020 at the Supervisor of Elections office in Palm Beach County, Florida. She has been fascinated with seeing how public administration theory and principles are being applied on the ground. #fromacademictopractioner
Authors:
Ashley E. Nickels, Ph.D., is associate professor of political science at Kent State University and co-PI of the Growing Democracy Project. Her work focuses on urban politics, local governance, and community organization using a social equity lens. @AENickelsPhD
Hannah Lebovits is an instructor at University of Texas-Arlington. She studies the relationship between governance, spatial structures, and social equity. @HannahLebovits
Amanda D. Clark, Ph.D., is an adjunct professor of political science at Nova Southeastern University. She is currently working for the Supervisor of Elections office in Palm Beach County, Florida and researching social movements, community development, and the U.S. policy process. @adclark_phd
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