IN THE NEWS

11/19/2024 – Nationwide

Multiple election offices report receiving mailed ballots misdirected from other states

While a stray ballot ending up in the wrong place can happen during election season, the number of ballots destined for other states and counties that ended up at Thompson’s office is unusual. The Associated Press found it wasn’t an anomaly. Election offices in California, Louisiana, New Mexico and elsewhere also reported receiving completed ballots in the mail that should have gone to other states.

11/4/2024 – Washington, DC

Amid burning ballot boxes and other threats, vigilant elections officials say they’re better prepared than in 2020

At their summer meeting in July, the Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions — an association established for election officials after 2020 — conducted 16 training exercises for members to sharpen their readiness ahead of November. One of those scenarios: a dynamite stick dropped into a ballot box…

11/3/2024 – Bernalillo, NM

How a New Mexico county pulled back from the brink of election chaos

With the election days away, state and local officials are watching and waiting to see whether the relatively peaceful atmosphere can last. And in Sandoval County, where a record-breaking 62,000 voters had cast early and absentee ballots by Saturday evening, Brady-Romero will learn whether her own experiment in radical transparency has truly defanged the years-long campaign to sow misinformation among her constituents…

11/3/2024 – Nationwide

Why it might take Pennsylvania and Wisconsin longer to count ballots than other states

The Pennsylvania State Secretary’s office describes it this way on its website: “Hundreds of thousands – sometimes millions – of mail ballots are cast in every election, and current state law does not permit counties to begin opening these ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day. That means county election officials cannot even remove the ballots from the envelopes and prepare them to be scanned until that time – on a day when those same officials are also running more than 9,000 polling places across the state…”

11/1/2024 – Nationwide

‘What Worries Me? Everything’: Officials Brace for US Election Day

Yet, from reliably blue Maryland to swing-state Georgia, from city suburbs and to rural towns, the most basic American civic rite has been transformed. Officials are working to provide more physical security for election workers and the ballots themselves, not only on Nov. 5, but until the results can be tabulated and certified, which could stretch out over days and even weeks…

11/1/2024 – Nationwide

Salute our frontline heroes of democracy

As the nation votes, it’s easy to focus on candidates, policies and outcomes of the elections. Yet, behind every successful election are millions of dedicated elections professionals and poll workers who make democracy possible. They are often volunteers who rise to the occasion to serve their communities, ensuring that every eligible voter has the opportunity to make their voice heard…

10/31/2024 – Washington, DC

Election officials ramp up security measures after increased threats of violence & harassment

As a heated presidential race sprints to the finish line, the risk to election workers feels greater than ever. “We’re implementing emergency badges for our election officials. We have regular patrols of law enforcement around polling places,” said Derek Bowens, director of elections in Durham County, NC. Bowens said the county has a new high-tech facility after a rise in threats against election workers nationwide…

10/31/2024 – Nationwide

Noncitizen voting is already rare in local elections, but 8 states want to ban it

As noncitizen voting has taken center stage in the 2024 presidential election, voters in eight states will decide whether to ban noncitizens from voting in any elections, including local ones — a practice that’s already rare. U.S. citizenship is required to vote in federal, state and the vast majority of local elections. Only the District of Columbia and 18 cities in California, Maryland and Vermont allow noncitizens to vote in city council or school board elections…

10/30/2024 – Nationwide

Voting officials face an ‘uphill battle’ to fight election lies

With less than a week left of voting, the election cycle has entered a fraught stage in which rumors, misleading claims and conspiracy theories are surging. And election administrators, intelligence officials and researchers don’t expect that to end when polls close. They are bracing for what is expected to be a contentious period of counting and certifying votes, in which discord fueled by foreign and domestic sources could be corrosive to democracy…

10/29/2024 – Detroit, MI

CNN goes behind the scenes to see Detroit’s plans for 2024

After the 2020 election, chaos erupted at a Detroit counting center as Joe Biden overtook Donald Trump. This year, election officials give CNN exclusive access to see how they’re trying to avoid the mayhem and get faster results. CNN’s Marshall Cohen talks to officials about expedited signature verification for mail ballots, new million-dollar machinery, and regrets over how protests in 2020 were handled…

10/29/2024 – Nationwide

This year’s vote count will be faster, but it still might take time to know who won

Ballots will be counted faster this year than in 2020 — but everyone should still be prepared for a long night, if not a couple days of waiting. Fewer votes will be cast by mail compared with during the pandemic, and some states have tweaked their laws to speed up the count. The single biggest factor that will determine when Americans know the winner is, however, out of the control of election workers: the margin of victory in key states…

10/28/2024 – Nationwide

Bulletproof Glass and Stockpiling Narcan—How Election Officials Are Preparing for Mayhem

But if elections are becoming increasingly unhinged, election officials are also making significant efforts to improve their institutions and the public’s trust in them. Clerks and supervisors are fortifying their physical structures with bulletproof glass and GPS-tracked ballot bags and dedicated power supplies and motion detectors. They’re collaborating with law enforcement, and with one another, about how to prepare for and respond to threats…

10/27/2024 – Nationwide

The transparent election: GPS ballot-tracking and counting on livestream

From GPS tracking devices on boxes carrying ballots to counting centers with 24-hour livestreams and big windows for public viewing, officials nationwide are working to boost transparency — and confidence — in the Nov. 5 election. The moves — along with pre-election tours and open houses of the counting centers — are among the latest tactics officials are using to try to convince voters that elections are fair and secure…

10/26/2024 – Nationwide

‘Fully staffed’: Election offices relieved after feared poll-worker shortages don’t materialize

Threats and smears against election officials and the voting process haven’t killed Americans’ confidence in the system and willingness to work the polls this year. Election administrators across the country, including the top seven battleground states and big cities like Los Angeles and Minneapolis, are breathing a sigh of relief after the feared shortages of poll workers haven’t materialized, according to interviews with more than 25 election officials…

10/24/2024 – Raleigh, NC

Swing state election officials stress preparedness and transparency

Officials overseeing major cities in key swing states like Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and Wisconsin discussed the election administration process and growing efforts to enhance election transparency during a meeting held by the Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions on Wednesday…

10/23/2024 – Virtual

National Election Administration Media Roundtable – Virtual

On October 23, 2024, PLEJ members from across the country joined a virtual roundtable on how election administrators are working to prepare for the 2024 Election. Panelists Wendy Link, Eric Olsen, Dana Lewis, Nadine Williams, Michael Dickerson, Paulina Gutierrez, Ginny Gelms, Celestine Jeffreys, and Catherine McMullen all shared their perspectives on how they are adapting to and managing election challenges, as well as the ways in which they are building transparency and trust in the process among the public.

10/20/2024 – New York, NY

US polling places struggle to find workers after surge in threats

Despite the challenges, Carolina Lopez of the Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions, said administrators had worked to improve security and transparency to ease any concerns about election integrity. “I have never seen a more prepared elections administration community than I have this year,” said Lopez, a former election administrator in Florida…

10/09/2024 – Washington, DC

‘Constant communication’: Key election officials swap tips and offer support in case of a 2020 repeat

These organizations and programs were built to cross partisan divides: on hand at the Michigan conference were Democrats like Benson as well as Republicans including Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state. At the PLEJ event in Washington, the Republican election official for Grand Rapids, Mich., answered questions and shared similar concerns alongside the Democratic official for Santa Fe…

10/04/2024 – Washington, DC

Election offices are preparing for a smooth voting process — and angry voters

Roughly a month out from Election Day, officials from across the country said they remain focused on carrying out a smooth voting process while bracing for the possibility that their offices could be overwhelmed by angry voters and false claims of election fraud…

10/03/2024 – Washington, DC

Out and About

A bipartisan group of election administrators from across the country convened at the National Press Club for a Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions panel on 2024 election safety and security yesterday, which was moderated by Carolina Lopez. SPOTTED: Dean Logan, Derek Bowens, Zach Manifold, Joel Hondrop, Ruie Lavoie, Katharine Clark, Kurt Bahr and Amanda Gonzalez… [Picture]

10/02/2024 – Washington, DC

Election officials briefed reporters today on 2024 preparations

A bipartisan group of election officials briefed reporters Wednesday about the voting already underway in their states, and what they’re doing to make sure the election goes smoothly over the next few weeks. Here are some key takeaways…

10/02/2024 – Washington, DC

National Election Administration Media Roundtable – DC

On October 2, 2024, PLEJ members gathered from across the country in Washington, D.C. for a roundtable on how election administrators are working to prepare for the 2024 Election. Panelists Zach Manifold, Dean C. Logan, Ruie Lavoie, Derek Bowens, Kurt Bahr, Katharine Clark, Amanda Gonzalez, and Joel Hondorp all shared their perspectives on how their teams are increasing physical safety at poll sites, improving election security measures, ensuring ballot transparency, and more.

10/01/2024 – Omaha, NE

Poll workers can be hard to find. In Nebraska, election officials can draft them

Finding poll workers is a regular challenge for election officials. But Nebraska has a unique solution: It allows counties to draft workers to fill needs, like it’s jury duty….

09/20/2024 – Nationwide

America’s new election shields: panic buttons, bulletproof glass

From bulletproof glass to panic buttons, jurisdictions across the U.S. are taking unprecedented steps to protect election workers and ballots amid concerns about voter intimidation, fraud and even violence at the polls….