Michelle Schafer at Electionline:
Local Election Officials (LEOs) are “stewards of democracy” who are positioned at the frontline of elections in the United States. They ensure fair, free, accessible, and secure elections. LEOs skillfully manage the new obstacles that come with each election while enduring challenges from political forces, local finance and budget changes, and shifting state election policy. As stewards of democracy, our nation’s LEOs continue to serve voters with dedication. However, they continue to face many challenges.
In 2024, EVIC’s research team heard from over 650 LEOs nationwide; we thank each of them for responding to the survey and we thank all LEOs for their dedicated service to democracy.
The annual Elections & Voting Information Center (EVIC) LEO Survey, conducted since 2018 by co-research leads EVIC Founder and Director Paul Gronke, PhD, (Reed College) and EVIC Research Director Paul Manson, PhD, (Center for Public Service at Portland State University), captures the challenges and successes facing election officials each year.
EVIC’s 2024 report begins with the challenges LEOs face themselves, including job satisfaction and experience with threats and harassment. The next section describes the policy and organizational challenges offices confront, including hiring staff and funding operations. Finally, the report concludes with LEOs’ perspectives on the performance of US elections and their role in voter education and engagement.
While we encourage you to read the full report, as well as the associated crosstabs, codebooks, and instrument – we want to share a few noteworthy pieces of information here in electionline Weekly….
