This month, the EAC is highlighting:
- Celebrate National Poll Worker Recruitment Day!
- Resources for Election Officials on:
- Poll Worker Recruitment
- Communications
- Security
- Voter Education
- Save the Date:
- LLC Virtual Meeting on Tuesday, August 27, 2024
- EAC Accessibility Event on August 28
National Poll Worker Recruitment Day!
The EAC is celebrating National Poll Worker Recruitment Day today, August 1, and we are excited to see how election offices and organizations across the country participate. Whether you call them poll workers, election workers, election judges, or another term... these dedicated individuals help voting run smoothly and help Americans vote. Today we not only highlight the need for people to sign up, but we also recognize the amazing work poll workers do for each election in their community.
The EAC’s NPWRD toolkit with customizable social media graphics, video templates, outreach/communication templates, and other resources, is available today and after this day of action to support election offices’ needs for election workers.
In a new EAC video series on recruiting poll workers, Vice Chair Donald Palmer lead discussions with election leaders from across the country on poll worker mentorship, innovations in recruitment, and the commitment of long serving poll workers to their community. In this series, he spoke with Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales; Sherry Poland, Director of the Hamilton County Board of Elections in Ohio; Katharine Clark, Santa Fe County Clerk in New Mexico; and Marie Esche, a 100-year-old poll worker from Pasco County, Florida. Watch the series here.
2024 Presidential Election Readiness Series for New Election Officials
This new EAC resource is designed to provide timely information as new election officials prepare for the complexities of administering a presidential election. Each installment of this four-part series includes a video with EAC Commissioners interviewing industry leaders and election officials, and a complimentary resource checklist.
The topics include:
- Election Mail
- Communications
- Early Voting and Election Day Preparation
- Trust, Transparency, and Observers
Find the videos and corresponding resources here!
The EAC Releases Communications Training Series for Election Officials
“Communications 101 for Election Officials” is a free, on-demand video training series covering tools and strategies election officials can use to communicate with voters and other stakeholders.
These videos highlight best practices for election officials when communicating critical voting and election information to a variety of audiences - all based around election officials being a trusted source of information regardless of the jurisdiction's size and available resources. Each video, available on the EAC’s YouTube channel, is between three and five minutes long and is designed to fit into an election official’s busy schedule.
The series and other Communications 101 resources are available here.
New Toolkit to Support Voter Education and Communications
The Voter Education Design Toolkit has best practices and templates for designing effective communication materials. This resource was created for any election official or staff member, regardless of design expertise, tasked with content around voter education.
This toolkit is organized into three parts:
- Best practices guide for designing effective voter education materials
- Editable content for four common voter education topics
- Sample and blank design templates in Word, PowerPoint, and InDesign
This toolkit can help guide you in designing materials that are relevant, timely, and accessible.
Communicating Election and Post-Election Processes Toolkit
Use this toolkit to create educational materials about election and post-election processes that observers and the public can understand. Election officials in any size jurisdiction can customize this toolkit to fit their needs and include information specific for their community.
In response to increased questions on allowable expenses for physical security for election offices, election officials, and voting locations under HAVA election security funding, in June 2024, the EAC Grants Department issued guidance. This guidance clarifies that allowable physical security services can include
- Physical security of election offices, to include: seals, locks, badge readers, and other safety measures for state and local election offices;
- Security stickers for physical documents;
- Camera and monitoring devices for election offices and drop boxes;
- Fencing;
- Overtime pay for police presence at polling places on election day consistent with state law;
- Backup power sources; and,
- Training for response to physical security threats, including tabletop exercises. Prior guidance from the EAC was provided on physical security services and social media monitoring in June 2022.
Election Workers and the Threat of Swatting
Swatting describes a false emergency call to draw a heavily armed police force or “SWAT team” (Special Weapons and Tactics) to a specific location. In late 2023 and early 2024, there were multiple swatting incidents specifically targeting election officials. In this video series, EAC Vice Chair Donald Palmer discussed ways to mitigate swatting incidents with Robert Heberle, Deputy Chief of the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft.
CISA Guide to Operational Security for Election Officials
This guide's purpose is to enhance the security of election operations by providing a thorough overview of operational security (OPSEC) within the election context, highlighting potential risks and offering practical mitigation strategies.
By incorporating operational security principles into daily election operations and fostering a culture of security awareness, election workers can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized disclosures while maintaining the necessary transparency for legitimate inquiries and examination of election processes. The guide emphases the importance of viewing data from an adversary’s perspective to assess and mitigate potential threats.
African-Americans with Disabilities Conference
On June 28, 2024, Commissioner Thomas Hicks and a member of the EAC clearinghouse division participated in the 13th Annual African American Conference on Disabilities hosted by Disability Rights Arizona. The conference was attended by more than 425 participants from across the country and U.S. Territories. Commissioner Hicks participated in the Lunch Keynote Panel and was joined by Arizona Secretary of State; Andrian Fontes, and Arizona Citizens Clean Election Commission member Tom Collins. The panel discussion was focused on the importance of voting and the impact of local election officials.
Ben Jackson, an EAC subject matter expert, presented on trust and inclusivity in elections during one of the 19 conference workshops. He shared national data from EAC surveys on election accessibility and resources and best practices to ensure accessibility for individuals with disabilities throughout the election process.
SAVE THE DATE:
LLC Virtual Meeting – Tuesday, August 27, 2024
The EAC’s Local Leadership Council (LLC) will hold a virtual meeting on Tuesday, August 27, 2024. This meeting will be live streamed on the EAC’s YouTube channel. Learn more on the LLC meeting event page LINK.
EAC Public Hearing on Accessibility – Wednesday, August 28, 2024
On Wednesday, August 28, 2024, the EAC will hold an in-person accessibility event in the EAC’s hearing room in Washington, DC, and live streamed on the EAC’s YouTube channel. Topics include the progress made on serving voters with disabilities and new advances in technology, best practices, and funding opportunities to support accessibility efforts. More information on this event, including how to register to attend in person, is available at eac.gov/events.