This month, the EAC is highlighting:
- Nominations for the 2024 Clearinghouse Awards Open on January 7
- 2024 Post-Election Hearing Recap
- Camden Kelliher Appointed as General Counsel
- EAC TGDC Meeting to be held January 14, 2025
- Lifetime Achievement Award for Commissioner Hicks
- Poll Worker Appreciation on the USS Orleck
Nominations for the 2024 Clearinghouse Awards Open on January 7
Tomorrow, January 7, the EAC will open the submission period for the 2024 National Clearinghouse Awards competition, also known as the Clearies. By putting a spotlight and recognizing these election best practices, the Clearies celebrate the leadership and hard work of election officials across the United States.
Throughout 2024, officials diligently addressed the challenges of an evolving election landscape while managing the high turnout expected in presidential election years. The 2024 Clearies will offer the opportunity to acknowledge and honor the exceptional dedication of these committed public servants.
Jurisdictions of all sizes are invited to submit their work. Entries will be evaluated based on creativity and innovation, cost-effectiveness, replicability, and the improvements the program made to outcomes for voters and their office. Information on the 2023 Clearies winners can be found here.
Please send any questions to [email protected], and stay tuned to the EAC’s website and social media for details on how to submit your jurisdiction’s innovative programs.
2024 Post-Election Hearing Recap
A little over a month after the polls closed on the 2024 general election, the EAC gathered state and local election officials to hear about their experiences at the 2024 Post-Election Hearing. Held at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Ballot Processing Center in City of Industry, CA, panelists highlighted the preparedness of their offices and their colleagues in their states, overcoming challenges such as hurricanes, physical threats, and fires at dropboxes, and the voter education efforts their offices carried out. Feedback like this records the story of the 2024 elections and informs the work of the EAC in the coming months and years.
The event also featured a presentation on research from Thad Kousser of the University of California, San Diego, on strategies and communication tools that were shown to effectively increase voter confidence in the integrity of elections. The results included specific research on the effectiveness of the EAC’s election security video and state-specific versions. The study found a significant increase in confidence among those who watched, especially when the video was customized for a state.
You can watch the full event here on the EAC’s YouTube channel.
The EAC Commissioners issued the following joint statement after the hearing:
“The administration of the 2024 elections went smoothly thanks to the dedication and preparation of thousands of election officials across the country. Each election has speed bumps and challenges, but the years of planning at the federal, state, and local levels paid off. This conversation highlighted lessons learned and offered best practices for future elections. The EAC looks forward to continuing to highlight the exemplary work of election officials from 2024 and supporting these public servants in coming elections.”
The EAC would like to thank The Honorable Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., California Secretary of State; Dean Logan, the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk; The Honorable Phil McGrane, Idaho Secretary of State; Karen Brinson Bell, Executive Director, North Carolina State Board of Elections; Mandy Vigil, State Election Director, New Mexico; Joel Watson, Jr., Louisiana Deputy Secretary of State, Communications; Thad Hall, Director, Mercer County Voter Registration and Election Bureau, Pennsylvania; Ricky Hatch, County Clerk/Auditor, Weber County, Utah; Carly Koppes, County Clerk and Recorder, Weld County, Colorado; and Tim Scott, Director of Elections, Multnomah County, Oregon.
Camden Kelliher Appointed as EAC General Counsel
On December 10, 2024, the EAC Commissioners unanimously voted to appoint Camden Kelliher as the agency’s General Counsel. Mr. Kelliher joined the EAC in March 2020 and has served as Acting General Counsel since December 2023.
(EAC Commissioners with Camden Kelliher and Rebecca Green)
The Commissioners issued the following statement regarding his appointment:
“We are pleased to have Camden Kelliher serve as the EAC’s General Counsel. His legal expertise became especially evident while serving as Acting General Counsel in the 2024 election year. He has provided critical legal guidance to the agency, such as recommending HAVA grant funding decision policies on authorizing communications to respond to AI-generated disinformation. He also gave advice on the operation of EAC Advisory Boards and assisted in the internal restructuring of the Commission. Mr. Kelliher continues to stay ahead of the evolving election landscape, and the EAC is grateful to have him in this new role.”
Mr. Kelliher has a B.A. from Temple University, and a J.D. and Master of Public Policy from the College of William & Mary. He previously served as an Election Law Fellow and was a Thomas Jefferson Scholar with the National Center for State Courts.
Event:
EAC TGDC Meeting to be held January 14, 2025
The EAC’s Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) will hold its annual meeting on January 14, 2025, at the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence in Rockville, Maryland.
During the meeting, the committee will hear updates on the implementation of the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) 2.0 and the EAC’s Election Supporting Technology and Evaluation Program, including the Voluntary Electronic Poll Book Program and upcoming pilot programs for other election technology. Members will also get an update from the EAC’s Field Services team on what they learned from work with state and local election officials during the 2024 election cycle. Additionally, TGDC members will receive information about the ongoing research and work of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Voting Program and discuss topics pertaining to the development of improved voting systems.
The TGDC is made up of 14 members appointed jointly by EAC and the director of NIST.
This meeting is public, but registration is required by January 6, 2025. The meeting will not be livestreamed, but a transcript will be available after the event upon request.
Lifetime Achievement Award for Commissioner Hicks
(Commissioner Hicks giving a keynote presentation on the role of the EAC. December 17, 2024)
In December, Commissioner Thomas Hicks participated in the 20th International Electoral Awards & Symposium co-hosted by the International Centre for Parliamentary Studies (ICPS) and the Central Election Board of the Dominican Republic (JCE). This conference was a valuable opportunity to introduce the EAC to an international audience of electoral management bodies, and he gave a keynote presentation about the role of the EAC in U.S. federal elections. He was also part of a panel exploring the uses of artificial intelligence for election administrators, highlighting important accountability and oversight considerations.
Commissioner Hicks also received a Lifetime Achievement Award. This award was given to people for their remarkable achievements, outstanding work, deep commitment or great sacrifice in the fields of elections and democracy. He received this recognition alongside Dean Logan, Los Angeles County’s Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Mr. Logan recently worked with the EAC to host a post-election hearing debriefing highlights and lessons learned from the 2024 cycle, which he had noted was his 10th presidential election cycle. The past year was Commissioner Hicks’ 10th presidential election as well, and he was deeply honored and touched by this unexpected recognition.
Poll Worker Appreciation on the USS Orleck
(EAC Public Affairs Specialist Greg Clark, EAC Chairman Hovland, Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd, EAC Vice Chair Palmer, Vet the Vote Operations Director Julie Hendricks, and Vet the Vote Co-Founder/Executive Director Ellen Gustafson on the USS Orleck)
On December 5, 2024, in Jacksonville, Florida, the EAC, in collaboration with Vet the Vote, organized a poll worker appreciation and education event. Held on the USS Orleck Pier, this event expressed gratitude to poll workers for their dedication to community service and their role in ensuring the integrity of the voting process. It also served as an educational platform to inform current service members, veterans, and their families about opportunities to participate as poll workers in future elections.
Attendance included many poll workers from Florida and Georgia, five Florida Supervisors of Elections, three Georgia Election Directors, a Georgia Registrar, and Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd. To add more fun to the day, mascots from local sports teams also attended.