There are over 10,000 election jurisdictions across the United States.
The top 3% – just the 300 largest – represent more than 75% of American voters.
Large jurisdictions face compounded challenges unique to their size. In serving hundreds of thousands or even millions of voters, these election officials face administrative and logistical burdens on a massive scale, as well as a host of other challenges. The Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions (PLEJ) provides a community of practice for local election officials from large jurisdictions across the country.
Join the PLEJ Community!Core Values
PLEJ is open to current election professionals representing jurisdictions of 250,000 people or more, or the four largest jurisdictions in the state, and who share core beliefs that elections administrators should:
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WHAT PLEJ DOES
PLEJ is a national, nonpartisan organization that provides a community of support, access to best practices, and peer-to-peer engagement among large election jurisdictions—the esteemed community leaders that work across the political spectrum to implement safe and secure, free and fair elections around the country.
In keeping with our core values, we:
Facilitate Peer-to-Peer Engagement
PLEJ facilitates virtual webinars and in-person convenings to elevate best practices, uplift innovation and trends, foster collaboration, and promote information-sharing and connectivity among election administrators and subject-matter experts to help address complex operational challenges, foster innovation, and promote best practices in election administration.
Uplift Crowd-Sourced, Nonpartisan, Generic Resources
PLEJ creates and publicly distributes community-sourced, generic, nonpartisan guides, toolkits, and resources based on best practices that can be easily adapted for use by any election jurisdiction to help navigate potential election administration challenges/opportunities. These are available resources for all election administrators across the country, regardless of size, as well as the general public.
Promote Retention and Development
PLEJ facilitates peer-to-peer engagement and provides a vital community of support for bipartisan local election administrators representing large election jurisdictions across the country to share best practices on how elections are being conducted efficiently, transparently, and fairly across the country.
Elevate the Voices of Election Administrators
PLEJ elevates the voices of election administrators by working with fellow nonprofit organizations, government agencies, election experts, academia, and others to bring to light the challenges that large election jurisdictions face and making sure they are considered, discussed among stakeholders, and that solutions that may benefit the broader election administration space (not just the large jurisdictions) are found.
Model Effective Partnerships
Community engagement provides insight into the operational challenges faced by large election jurisdictions on the ground. This, layered with the latest research findings and technological advancements developed by peers, election experts, and academic partners, allows for the creation of crowd-sourced practical solutions accessible to all election administrators, with a focus on addressing the needs of the largest jurisdictions. This collaborative approach fosters a culture of innovation and continuous learning within the elections administration community, ultimately benefiting voters and strengthening democratic processes.
LEADERSHIP
Carolina Lopez is the Executive Director at the Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions (PLEJ) and has over two decades in election administration and building coalitions. She spent a decade administering elections in Miami-Dade County, Florida where she optimized operations, transparency, and good governance. Thereafter as a democracy advocate, she leveraged stakeholder relationships and expertise across broad coalitions to guide legislative advocacy, shape clerk engagement and election protection programs, and strengthen national and in-state relationships. Given her unique insight on how elections are run in large jurisdictions and creating strong relationships among national, state, and local coalitions, Carolina understands the pivotal role that PLEJ plays in connecting a through-line across states with peers from similarly-sized jurisdictions. Carolina holds a BBA and an MBA in Business Administration from Florida International University.
Zach Manifold is the Deputy Executive Director at the Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions (PLEJ) and brings more than 20 years of expertise in community engagement and election administration to his role. His career includes more than a decade of service in Gwinnett County, Georgia, and Franklin County, Ohio, where he was responsible for maintaining fair, accessible, and secure voting processes.
Throughout his career, Zach has earned a reputation for his nonpartisan and forward-thinking methods, prioritizing the modernization of election infrastructure and the enhancement of public trust within high-pressure environments. He joined the PLEJ team to leverage and expand the strong partnerships established by large jurisdictions, facilitating nationwide collaboration to share innovative strategies and professional best practices.
Manifold holds a political science degree from The Ohio State University. In 2013, he achieved the status of Certified Elections Registration Administrator through a joint program between Auburn University and the Election Center.
Steering Committee
Kurt Bahr was elected Director of Elections for St. Charles County in November 2018. Previously, Kurt served as State Representative for District 102 for the past 8 years. He has served on the Veterans, Small Business, Professional Registration, Budget, and Education committees, and was the vice chairman of the Children and Families Committee. He chaired the Education Appropriations Committee as well as the General Administration Appropriations Committee.
Kurt earned a Bachelor of Science degree in History/Political Science from Oklahoma Wesleyan University and a Masters in Public Policy from Regent University. He served for four years in the US Air Force as a Finance Officer. Kurt earned the Election Center’s Certified Election Registration Administrator (CERA) certification. St. Charles Election Authority has 13 full time employees to serve 294,000 voters.
Derek Bowens joined the Durham County Board of Elections in June of 2017 as the Director of Elections. Previously, Mr. Bowens was the Director of Elections in New Hanover County, N.C. and has served in elections since 2012 in various capacities. He has a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and a Certificate in Project Management from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He is also a North Carolina Certified Elections Administrator and is a nationally certified elections administrator through the Election Center. Throughout his career, Mr. Bowens has been nationally recognized by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and the National Association of Counties (NACo) for innovation in election administration. Mr. Bowens has also sat on federal and state panels to provide analysis on critical matters related to election administration. He currently sits on the Committee For Safe and Secure Elections (CSSE), sponsored by the Brennan Center.
Maureen G. Bugdon is the Superintendent of Elections & Commissioner of Registration for Atlantic County, New Jersey, achieving that appointment in 2013, after serving 8 years on the Atlantic County Board of Elections. She also represents her peers as President of the New Jersey Association of Election Officials, a professional non-profit organization comprised of election officials from all 21 counties in the State. Maureen works closely with the NJ Attorney General’s Office as well as the Division of Elections; and has spoken before legislators, committees and various community groups on important election topics and bills. Prior to her work in elections, Bugdon served as the President of Atlantic City Race Course, serving as the first female officer in the history of the seashore oval and the only female lead of a horse track in the country in a non-ownership position. Bugdon’s professional associations included serving as Vice Chair of the Atlantic County Improvement Authority, Commissioner on the Volunteer Center of Atlantic County, the Atlantic Riding Center for the Handicapped, Board Member of Buddy Ball Sports League and Co-Chair of the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey’s Annual Spring Scholarship Benefit, and donates her time as a Patient-to-Patient Cancer Survivor Advocate. In her private life, Maureen is a 20+ year rare cancer survivor, a published writer, caregiver to a parent with dementia and the proud Latino mother of 3 miracle children all born through a selfless gestational carrier. Ms. Bugdon resides in Mays Landing, New Jersey.
Katharine E. Clark is the Santa Fe County Clerk who has served since 2021. Under Clerk Clark, the Santa Fe County Clerk’s office won its first ever EAC award and Clark has created several voter modernization projects including the first SMS ballot tracking program in New Mexico and a high school civics outreach and voting practice program called #Democracy101. Prior to elected office, Clerk Clark was a small business owner who has experience in campaign management, lab management and marketing management in the tech world. She holds a dual BA from University of California, Berkeley in Cognitive Neuroscience and Moral Psychology and a double emphasis MBA in Strategic Management and Public Policy from the University of New Mexico.
Eric Fey is a lifelong St. Louisan and has been serving as the Director of Elections in St. Louis County since 2015. Eric received a BA in Political Science from Webster University and a MPPA (Public Policy Administration) from the University of Missouri St. Louis. Eric’s professional life has been devoted to public service having worked in various roles in the field of election administration since 2004. Eric currently serves on the Executive Board of the Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities and the International Association of Government Officials. In 2021 Eric began co-hosting an election administration focused podcast called “High Turnout Wide Margins”. In his free time Eric enjoys spending time with his wife and two children. Eric also enjoys participating in international election observation missions and has volunteered for missions in twelve countries including Ukraine, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan.
Monica Gordon was sworn in as Cook County Clerk on December 2, 2024, becoming the youngest woman and just the third African American to serve in this role. She leads one of the largest consolidated Clerk’s offices in the nation, overseeing election administration, vital records, and the official recordkeeping functions that serve the nation’s second-largest county.
As Chief Election Authority for suburban Cook County, Clerk Gordon is responsible for administering elections and ensuring their integrity, accessibility, and transparency. Her office also plays a critical role in the county’s property tax system, maintains official land and public records, and provides essential services to residents, including support for veterans through the recording of military discharge
documents. She also serves as Clerk of the Cook County Board, supporting legislative operations and maintaining official records.
Prior to her election as Clerk, Ms. Gordon served as Cook County Commissioner for
the 5th District, and held leadership roles as Director of Government Affairs and Community Relations at Chicago State University and as Executive Director of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation.
Ruie Marie Lavoie serves as the Director of the Baltimore County Board of Elections, where she leads one of Maryland’s largest jurisdictions, focusing on integrity, transparency, accessibility and security in elections.
Beginning her career as a frontline election judge in 2008, she brings a rare, ground-level perspective to the administration of elections—shaping systems that work for every voter. As a recognized leader in the elections community, Ruie held key leadership roles within the Maryland Association of Election Officials (MAEO), including Secretary and Vice President, and helped guide statewide collaboration and professional standards.
Dean C. Logan oversees the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, the largest and most complex county election jurisdiction in the country with more than 500 political districts and 5.6 million registered voters. He has more than 25 years of experience in elections administration, records management, and public service; and has served as president for the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials (CACEO). He serves on the California Secretary of State’s Language Accessibility Advisory Committee, the Board of Directors for the National Election Center, as an advisor to the MIT Election Data Science Lab, and an active participant in the Future of California Elections collaborative. Past work includes serving on the California Statewide Voter Registration System Advisory Committee and on the Pew Center for the States Voter Registration Modernization and Election Performance Index Working Groups. He is also an instructor for the MPA program at California State University, Northridge. He holds a degree in organizational leadership from Azusa Pacific University and an executive MPA from the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington.
Paul D. López is the third elected Clerk and Recorder in the City of Denver and the first Mexican American elected to this position. The Office of the Clerk & Recorder performs several important functions for the City and County of Denver including serving as the City Clerk, the Public Trustee, managing recordings, and administering elections. Prior to his election, Clerk Lopez served three terms on the Denver City Council. He was born and raised in Denver, and prior to public office, he organized communities throughout Denver and the country in service of civic engagement. Paul D. López is a proud graduate of Denver West school and the University of Colorado at Denver, and a proud father to his daughter Nayeli.
Lorena Portillo is the current registrar of voters for Clark County, Nevada (the largest county in Nevada with 2.4M population, overseeing about 75% of the state population), a position she has held since being appointed in 2023 after over 25 years working in the county elections department. Portillo began her career as a part-time worker in the elections department in 1998 and steadily rose through the ranks, becoming known for her commitment to voter education and public service. She is also recognized for her outreach efforts within diverse communities and her dedication to maintaining election integrity.
Portillo is part of a historic moment, joining other Latino leaders in Nevada’s top election posts. A Las Vegas native, she credits her work ethic to her Mexican heritage and immigrant parents. Outside of work, she enjoys time with her family and pets.
Noah Praetz administered elections in Cook County, Illinois for two decades before co-founding The Elections Group in 2020 and launching Ready for Tuesday in 2026. He consults on election administration, operations, and security, and has published widely on election integrity and testified before committees of the U.S. House and Senate.
Praetz brings a systems-level perspective to election administration, focusing on breaking down siloed functions to build more resilient, well-coordinated operations. This same thinking applies to the broader infrastructure supporting state and local administrators — one that benefits from intentional design that accounts for the interdependencies among government agencies, nonprofits, academic institutions, vendors, and other service providers.
He is a guest lecturer at the University of Chicago and an adjunct professor at DePaul University College of Law. In his free time, he enjoys exploring America’s roads and trails.
Wendy Sartory Link is the Supervisor of Elections for Palm Beach County. She assumed the role after being appointed by Florida’s Governor in 2019 and was subsequently elected in 2020 and re-elected in 2024. A native of Palm Beach County, Supervisor Link holds degrees from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill and the Duke University School of Law. With over 30 years of legal experience in private practice, she brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her position.
As the county’s top elections official, Wendy Sartory Link oversees the voting, registration, and elections process in Palm Beach County and its 39 municipalities. Her daily focus is on enhancing the voting experience, ensuring transparency, and fortifying the security of the electoral system. By introducing innovative ideas and empowering her staff and community partners, Supervisor Link and the Palm Beach County Elections Office have successfully implemented initiatives and received accolades for several award-winning programs. These efforts have led to increased voter registration, access, and participation throughout Palm Beach County, bolstering voter confidence in the Elections Office. Supervisor Link is dedicated to the fair, secure, and accurate counting of every vote, continuously striving to enhance the elections experience for all voters.
Kate Sweeney Bell is the elected Clerk of Marion County in Indianapolis, Indiana, a voting district with nearly one million people and over 600,000 registered voters.
Born and raised in the vibrant state of Indiana, her passion for public service was ignited while she earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Indiana University.
Prior to serving as County Clerk, Sweeney Bell served two terms as County Recorder, during which she oversaw crucial aspects of Marion County's administrative functions. She led efforts to modernize the Recorder’s office and completed a digitization project that helped preserve several million historic documents in danger of being destroyed or forgotten. As Recorder, she served on an advisory committee with the Public Records Industry Association, and on the National Association of County Recorders, Elected Officials and Clerks board of directors.
In recognition of her contributions to the most vulnerable in her community, Sweeney Bell was honored with the William A. Crawford Public Service Award. This award recognized her unwavering commitment to helping those in Marion County who are experiencing homelessness by securing funding for additional resources and permanent housing solutions.
Kate Sweeney Bell is a devoted wife and loving mother of two. She is a recipient of the Sagamore of the Wabash, the highest honor awarded by the governor of Indiana.
Derek Bowens joined the Durham County Board of Elections in June of 2017 as the Director of Elections. Previously, Mr. Bowens was the Director of Elections in New Hanover County, N.C. and has served in elections since 2012 in various capacities. He has a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and a Certificate in Project Management from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He is also a North Carolina Certified Elections Administrator and is a nationally certified elections administrator through the Election Center. Throughout his career, Mr. Bowens has been nationally recognized by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and the National Association of Counties (NACo) for innovation in election administration. Mr. Bowens has also sat on federal and state panels to provide analysis on critical matters related to election administration. He currently sits on the Committee For Safe and Secure Elections (CSSE), sponsored by the Brennan Center.
Maureen G. Bugdon is the Superintendent of Elections & Commissioner of Registration for Atlantic County, New Jersey, achieving that appointment in 2013, after serving 8 years on the Atlantic County Board of Elections. She also represents her peers as President of the New Jersey Association of Election Officials, a professional non-profit organization comprised of election officials from all 21 counties in the State. Maureen works closely with the NJ Attorney General’s Office as well as the Division of Elections; and has spoken before legislators, committees and various community groups on important election topics and bills. Prior to her work in elections, Bugdon served as the President of Atlantic City Race Course, serving as the first female officer in the history of the seashore oval and the only female lead of a horse track in the country in a non-ownership position. Bugdon’s professional associations included serving as Vice Chair of the Atlantic County Improvement Authority, Commissioner on the Volunteer Center of Atlantic County, the Atlantic Riding Center for the Handicapped, Board Member of Buddy Ball Sports League and Co-Chair of the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey’s Annual Spring Scholarship Benefit, and donates her time as a Patient-to-Patient Cancer Survivor Advocate. In her private life, Maureen is a 20+ year rare cancer survivor, a published writer, caregiver to a parent with dementia and the proud Latino mother of 3 miracle children all born through a selfless gestational carrier. Ms. Bugdon resides in Mays Landing, New Jersey.
Katharine E. Clark is the Santa Fe County Clerk who has served since 2021. Under Clerk Clark, the Santa Fe County Clerk’s office won its first ever EAC award and Clark has created several voter modernization projects including the first SMS ballot tracking program in New Mexico and a high school civics outreach and voting practice program called #Democracy101. Prior to elected office, Clerk Clark was a small business owner who has experience in campaign management, lab management and marketing management in the tech world. She holds a dual BA from University of California, Berkeley in Cognitive Neuroscience and Moral Psychology and a double emphasis MBA in Strategic Management and Public Policy from the University of New Mexico.
Eric Fey is a lifelong St. Louisan and has been serving as the Director of Elections in St. Louis County since 2015. Eric received a BA in Political Science from Webster University and a MPPA (Public Policy Administration) from the University of Missouri St. Louis. Eric’s professional life has been devoted to public service having worked in various roles in the field of election administration since 2004. Eric currently serves on the Executive Board of the Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities and the International Association of Government Officials. In 2021 Eric began co-hosting an election administration focused podcast called “High Turnout Wide Margins”. In his free time Eric enjoys spending time with his wife and two children. Eric also enjoys participating in international election observation missions and has volunteered for missions in twelve countries including Ukraine, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan.
Dean C. Logan oversees the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, the largest and most complex county election jurisdiction in the country, with more than 500 political districts and 5.6 million registered voters. He has more than 25 years of experience in elections administration, records management, and public service; and has served as president for the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials (CACEO). He serves on the California Secretary of State’s Language Accessibility Advisory Committee, the Board of Directors for the National Election Center, as an advisor to the MIT Election Data Science Lab, and an active participant in the Future of California Elections collaborative. Past work includes serving on the California Statewide Voter Registration System Advisory Committee and on the Pew Center for the States Voter Registration Modernization and Election Performance Index Working Groups. He is also an instructor for the MPA program at California State University, Northridge. He holds a degree in organizational leadership from Azusa Pacific University and an executive MPA from the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington.
Paul D. López is the third elected Clerk and Recorder in the City of Denver and the first Mexican American elected to this position. The Office of the Clerk & Recorder performs several important functions for the City and County of Denver including serving as the City Clerk, the Public Trustee, managing recordings, and administering elections. Prior to his election, Clerk Lopez served three terms on the Denver City Council. He was born and raised in Denver, and prior to public office, he organized communities throughout Denver and the country in service of civic engagement. Paul D. López is a proud graduate of Denver West school and the University of Colorado at Denver, and a proud father to his daughter Nayeli.
Noah Praetz is a founding partner of The Elections Group. Formerly he ran elections in Cook County Illinois where he was responsible for management of one of the largest jurisdictions in the country. He consults on election security and administration with local, state and federal agencies. Noah is also an adjunct law professor at DePaul University College of Law and is on the advisory board of the University of Chicago Cyber Policy Institute. He started in elections as a minimum wage temporary worker hired to do data entry prior to the 2000 presidential election. Bush v. Gore had him hooked. Since then he has dedicated his professional life to institutionalizing the trustworthy administration of democracy. In his free time Noah loves to run for hours on the trails and roads of America.
Kate Sweeney Bell is the elected Clerk of Marion County in Indianapolis, Indiana, a voting district with nearly one million people and over 600,000 registered voters.
Born and raised in the vibrant state of Indiana, her passion for public service was ignited while she earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Indiana University.
Prior to serving as County Clerk, Sweeney Bell served two terms as County Recorder, during which she oversaw crucial aspects of Marion County's administrative functions. She led efforts to modernize the Recorder’s office and completed a digitization project that helped preserve several million historic documents in danger of being destroyed or forgotten. As Recorder, she served on an advisory committee with the Public Records Industry Association, and on the National Association of County Recorders, Elected Officials and Clerks board of directors.
In recognition of her contributions to the most vulnerable in her community, Sweeney Bell was honored with the William A. Crawford Public Service Award. This award recognized her unwavering commitment to helping those in Marion County who are experiencing homelessness by securing funding for additional resources and permanent housing solutions.
Kate Sweeney Bell is a devoted wife and loving mother of two. She is a recipient of the Sagamore of the Wabash, the highest honor awarded by the governor of Indiana.