Paul Manson ’01 and Heather Creek
Election administrators face many headwinds in 2020. The confluence of an international pandemic and a historic presidential election has created numerous challenges for local election officials (LEOs). These administrators have navigated rapidly changing state rules and expectations about early and absentee voting, changes to the availability of traditional polling places and poll workers, and voters eager to participate in the 2020 election but with many questions of how and when to vote safely.
The third annual Local Election Official Survey – a nationally representative survey of 857 chief local election administrators conducted between July and October 2020 – explored these challenges. In the responses from LEOs we heard a pair of themes: election administrators are confident they can tackle these challenges, but key obstacles give them pause. Their confidence and challenges vary based on the size of the jurisdiction and the other demands on the LEO as a local administrator. With this in mind, let’s first meet our 2020 LEOs and understand the unique context of this year’s election and how it has impacted how they conduct their work.
Who are our Stewards of Democracy?
Our reporting on LEOs has referred to these administrators as the “Stewards of Democracy.” These public servants caretake the institutions that make our elections function and undergird our democracy. In the US, over 8,000 local government officials administer our elections (mostly at the county level, but nine states administer elections at the “minor civil division” level, e.g. townships and municipalities). Half of these officials are elected, while the other half are appointed to serve or are civil servants. Whether elected or appointed, LEOs carefully walk a line advocating for the rights of voters, while staying above the political fray.
Most election officials serve in small jurisdictions with less than 25,000 voters. Many of these smaller jurisdiction officials are part-time. Importantly in the COVID-19 environment, offices that serve 100,000 or less voters tend to employ 5 or fewer employees. This means that backup staffing may be a challenge if infections occur or are suspected in employees in these offices.
A LEO from a small jurisdiction in the Mid-Atlantic region said, “Election offices on the local level should have more support. We are expected to give a herculean effort without the proper resources in space, employees, and equipment. We sacrifice our own health in order to make sure everything goes smoothly. Last minute changes such as moving an election, invalidating a law that has been in place too close to the election, and expecting us to be IT experts causes all kinds of chaos and uncertainty.”
For many of these smaller jurisdictions, elections are not the primary source of workload for the official; they are also tasked with a diverse array of responsibilities in addition to elections. They are often local clerks, recorders, or town administrators who may also manage council meetings, record property transactions, or issue a wide range of official licenses.
At the same time, a small subset of election officials serve the majority of voters in the US. While 75 percent of LEOs serve 8 percent of voters, 8 percent of LEOs serve 75 percent of US voters. In these larger jurisdictions, LEOs are generally appointed or civil servants. Only 18 percent of the largest jurisdictions elect their LEOs.
This creates a dynamic where the experience of LEOs is at once very similar in the challenges they face, but very unique between the many small jurisdictions and the few very large jurisdictions. It is also the case that, in this year, thousands of LEOs in the smaller jurisdictions are also in two key battleground states – Michigan and Wisconsin. This raises one note of caution: while a large majority of LEOs are confident in their ability to overcome the challenges of election administration in 2020, problems that impact only a few jurisdictions could cause concerns at a national level if they occur in large jurisdictions with many voters or in states with a close race.
How do LEOs respond to the challenges of 2020?
COVID-19 has resulted in 88 percent of respondents needing to adjust their plans for the 2020 General Election to account for public safety and accommodate changing preferences for voting in-person or by mail. One hundred percent of LEOs from the largest jurisdictions reported adjusting their plans in light of the pandemic. Despite these changes, LEOs report finding helpful support from their state association of local election officials, state election boards or leaders, as well as information from local and state health officials.
Many officials feel quite confident in their ability to manage during this challenging situation. Ninety-four percent of LEOs indicated they were confident or very confident that they will be prepared to administer a safe, secure, and accessible election in November. In response to a question asking what change they wish they could make to improve elections, an official from a small jurisdiction in an Intermountain West state noted that they do not need any changes, saying, “I believe our state has the processes down to a science. Our elections are incredibly fair, secure, and accurate.”
Though officials are generally confident in their abilities to manage the election, the survey captured how election officials are responding to specific challenges of implementing in-person voting and mail voting during the pandemic.
Overall, LEOs report that they will have sufficient access to polling places, although respondents from the larger jurisdictions with over 250,000 registered voters are less confident than officials in smaller jurisdictions. LEOs from the larger jurisdictions are 60 percent confident or very confident that they will have sufficient polling places compared to 90 percent among the smaller jurisdictions (with fewer than 25,000 voters). Most of this concern is due to COVID-19 potentially impacting traditional locations for polling places. LEOs are confident they will have enough access to personal protective equipment (PPE).
The primary obstacle for my county is the lack of secure, ADA accessible, facilities that can be used for early voting and election day. Ideally, we would use schools but they are unavailable. Worse, our civic center is under construction and unavailable. In the Primary, I was so desperate I used the football stadium. Even that is unavailable this fall. I want people to vote by mail so that our limited in-person capability does not get overwhelmed.
– LEO from a large jurisdiction in the Southeast
Poll worker concerns are similarly different between the largest and smallest jurisdictions. Eleven percent of LEOs from the largest jurisdictions are not at all confident they can recruit a sufficient number of poll workers. Notably, for jurisdictions with more than 25,000 but less than 100,000 voters, 21 percent of LEOs reported not being confident at all they can recruit sufficient poll workers. However, this situation has improved nationwide, as organizations mobilized a new workforce of poll workers. Some jurisdictions report that so many people have volunteered to be poll workers that they have a reserve workforce in case replacements are needed.
Still, constraints on polling locations and polling place workers in 2020 mean that voters in some jurisdictions will experiences changes. These findings suggest voters should be prepared to vote in different locations than they have in prior elections, as well as experiencing longer lines and wait times to vote.
All indications are that voting by mail/absentee balloting will increase substantially in this election. Mail voting challenges from COVID-19 stem from concerns about timelines to manage and process a higher volume of mail ballots as well as voter awareness of USPS delivery times.
A Midwestern LEO from a mid-size jurisdiction said, “[My state] needed to adjust the deadline for requesting an absentee ballot by mail from the Saturday before the Election to a week before the Election. The State should not be setting unrealistic goals that the post office cannot comply with.”
A LEO from a mid-size jurisdiction in a Western state focused on the voter education needed this year, saying that one change that would improve the election would be to “develop an effective Voter Education campaign that builds understanding of the Vote-by-Mail timelines and processes in place. To help voters understand that they can help the process to be its best by returning their ballot in a timely fashion by mail and then knowing when it is time to use a ballot drop box rather than the USPS to return their completed ballot.”
In general, LEOs are confident they have the time and staff to manage higher levels of mail ballot application and the resources to print and process mail ballots and envelopes. Where there is less confidence, it centers around voter knowledge of the process and timeline for voting by mail. Overall 16 percent shared they are not at all confident that there is sufficient time for voters to request, receive and return ballots. Related to this, 23 percent are not at all confident that voters are aware of USPS delivery times in their community.
Again, confidence varies by the size of the jurisdiction. Medium and large jurisdictions have less confidence than small jurisdictions that their voters are sufficiently informed about the USPS delivery times. They are also somewhat less confident that their state’s timeline for requesting, sending, and returning mail ballots will not be sufficient to accommodate expanded demand in 2020.
Note that questions about LEO confidence in their ability to handle vote-by-mail were only asked of officials in states that did not already offer mail ballots to all of their voters. Officials in Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington did not receive these questions.
For more information about the 2020 LEO survey methodology and the full survey questionnaire, visit the survey project page at EVIC.
Key Findings:
COVID-19 has required almost all Local Election Officials (LEOs) to adjust their plans for the 2020 General Election. In spite of these challenges, 94 percent of LEOs indicated they were confident or very confident that they will be prepared to administer a safe, secure, and accessible election in November.
Access to polling places is somewhat of a concern, and varies by jurisdiction size. Overall, 87 percent of respondents are confident or very confident they can access sufficient polling places. However, among the largest jurisdictions, confidence drops to 60 percent.
Voters may need to be prepared to locate new polling places. While 63 percent of LEOs report they are very confident that they will be able to use their usual and traditional polling places, 15 percent are only somewhat confident or not at all confident. Late breaking polling place consolidation and closures can be a significant problem if voters are not aware of the new locations.
Over half of local election officials feel confident they can recruit poll workers. Overall, 65 percent of LEOs report being confident or very confident they can recruit sufficient poll workers. This confidence is consistent across all jurisdictions, though the smallest are more likely to be very confident. This situation has improved nationwide as organizations outside of government – including corporations, nonprofits, and faith groups – mobilize a younger workforce of poll workers during a year in which a traditionally older population of poll workers does not feel safe working at the polls.
In states with absentee or mail voting options, there are concerns about the timeline for processing ballots and the level of voter awareness on USPS delivery times for ballots. Sixteen percent of LEOs were not at all confident that the timeline for requesting, sending, and returning mail ballots is sufficient to accommodate expanded demand. 23 percent of LEOs indicated they are not at all confident that voters are sufficiently informed on the USPS standard delivery times.
