Stephanie M. Clark, MS’ Post

Calling all advocates for democracy! Over 400 election jurisdictions across 43 states are urgently seeking poll workers to support upcoming elections. Poll workers play a vital role in ensuring everyone can exercise their right to vote.    Poll workers support their local election administrators and help to ensure safe, fair, and efficient elections in their communities. Serving as a poll worker is a valuable way to give back to your community and support your neighbors. It’s one of the most effective ways you can help make sure our democracy works as it should.    Athena Strategies encourages you to sign up to be a poll worker today and safeguard the future of our democracy. To learn more information about this crucial role and how you can make a difference, visit the links below.   🔷 Sign up to be a poll worker in your community by selecting your state from the drop-down menu and view other poll worker resources from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission here: https://lnkd.in/eDrM5Jz   🔷 Learn how to help staff your local polling place with Power the Polls: https://lnkd.in/g-PZrfK     🔷 The Pennsylvania primary election is on April 23rd! Learn how to become a poll worker in PA here: https://lnkd.in/ek3TCiDu     #ElectionSecurity #TrustedInfo2024 #HelpAmericaVote  

Data from Pennsylvania counties shows that they have been losing experienced election officials faster than they can hire them since 2019. This could cause trouble for the 2024 election, as past elections have shown less experienced officials are more prone to mistakes. In total, 58 officials who served during the November 2019 election have left. Compared with experience levels during the 2019 election, the state has lost a combined 293 years of experience among the top county election officials as of this publishing date, according to a Votebeat and Spotlight PA analysis of county data. The state currently has 21% fewer years of experience than it did for the November 2019 election.

Three Voting Tips From an Election Worker I loved learning about civics in school. I thought it was so cool that we’re in charge of who’s in charge. As challenging as the narrative has been over the last however-many years, I still fundamentally believe in the democratic process. A few years ago I decided to find a new way to support that process by becoming an election worker. The days are very long, yet I love seeing we the people participate in the process of forming a more perfect union. A few tips for the upcoming election cycle from a poll worker: 1. Check your precinct and polling location before the election. Bonus if you make sure your address is up to date. Know when and where you’re voting. Check your Supervisor of Elections website to find out. 2. Know who you’re voting for, ESPECIALLY in the general election there can be many races from the local to national level and confusing ballot amendments. Use a sample ballot and do your research from trusted sources to help you decide how you’d like to vote. A mail in ballot can be a great way to take lots of time making your selections without the pressure of a busy polling place on a busy Tuesday. 3. This is a rare occurrence but a valuable reminder for the few who forget. Poll workers are also people, treat them as such. Yes, lines can be long. Yes, ballots can be confusing. Election workers are here to help uphold your right to vote. I don’t care how you vote I care THAT you vote. Be patient. Be kind. Ballots speak louder than a raised voice at a polling place. If you have concerns about how the process runs in your municipality, I encourage you to reach out to your elected officials and voice your opinions. It’s your right as a constituent. For information on everything above a great place to start is https://vote.org

This year, more than ever, we need to support candidates who see local government as an opportunity for service to the community, not for power. The Democratic supermajorities in the State Senate and Assembly passed legislation that will cancel local elections. Only the Governor's signature stands in the way of making their plan a reality. In an Op-Ed for the Times-Union, State Senator James Skoufis (D - Orange County) says the quiet part outloud: This plan is a power-grab. The New York State Democrats' plot to cancel local elections is not about an informed electorate making the best collective choices for their local government: It's about consolidating power, transforming our local governments into Democratic Party-controlled branches of State Government. They want "power resting safely in the hands of elected officials," which he says does not exist right now. Instead, according to Skoufis, we have to suffer our local officials "blatantly disregarding the needs of the very people they were elected to represent." First, for every example that Skoufis can give of an "insufferable" local official "blatantly disregarding" the electorage, I'll show you 2 at the state and federal level--you know, those elected in even years. My bag is quite full, and includes the Governor, the past Governor, dozens of Skoufis's colleagues, and probably even Skoufis himself. But most elected officials don't see themselves as having much "power" of any kind, but rather responsibilities in service of their community. That's why we volunteer to run for public offices that, in many instances, come with an extremely low paycheck--especially compared to the part time $140,000 paycheck that our state legislators collect.

What is the DCCC, and why is it the most important election on March's ballot? It has 4 main roles: register voters, issue policy stances, charter other Democratic clubs, and decide the Democratic Party's official endorsements. The last role is the most consequential. Elections in San Francisco can be decided by hundreds of votes. Pro housing ballot measures in years past could have passed if the Democratic Party had endorsed them. But they did not. That's why we need change. https://lnkd.in/gWddzghP

Transparency and familiarity build trust, election edition! Feeling apprehensive about the coming election cycle or seeking inspiration? This is well worth the read. In Trustworthy, I describe how organizations can earn trust by exposing inner processes and educating customers. Maybe you share the product roadmap or get vulnerable—one of the three V’s—about how you’re building back from mistakes. One example came from the Arapahoe County, CO, Elections Division. This article tells another story from Chester County, PA, where an election skeptic gained trust by getting involved with the process, seeing its inner workings, and learning more about the layers of security. #transparency #trustworthybook

Excerpt: "The biggest challenge right now facing new election officials is just not having that experience of having run a presidential election," said Wyman, now a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center. "It sounds really simple, but it takes months of planning to get there. And without that experience of knowing what to expect and really what to be looking for puts them a little bit at a disadvantage." Issue One found that the officials who left took with them more than 1,800 years of experience. Which experts say presents a conundrum: New voting officials make more mistakes than seasoned ones. So the exodus brought on by election conspiracies may beget more conspiracies, as first-time honest mistakes are treated like evidence of malfeasance. In 2022, a printer issue at some voting centers in Maricopa County, Ariz., became the center of false narratives. In 2020, it was user error by a clerk in Antrim County, Mich. (which was quickly corrected). "The 2024 election will be even more scrutinized, which means that these government election officials have to be on their game at every turn and with every detail, and there is no room for error," former Utah clerk Daniels said. "And there will be balls that are going to be dropped in the 2024 election because of this lack of expertise."

SCOOP: Officials in the state's largest county are concerned a provision in a newly passed election law may delay election night results by hours in November. The provision requires poll workers to hand count the total number of early ballots dropped off at voting sites. Hand counting has generally been proven to be slow and error-prone, and officials are worried poll workers and voting locations will be targeted for any discrepancy. But, the provision aims to increase voter confidence. "If you get this right, then it increases transparency. Over time, with training and implementing the process, if we can get this to a place where it's efficient and effective, then that's an improvement to the system." Read more: https://lnkd.in/gX-StPp8

Morning Consult Election watch - ...While Americans hold dismal views of the economy, that was the case in 2022 as well. In that respect, he argues that “voter sentiment suggests the 2024 contests, though likely to feature a Biden-Trump rematch, will be more like the 2022 elections in terms of the defining issues and dynamics at play.”   At this early stage, Biden trails former Trump by 4 percentage points in an aggregate of surveys from Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin conducted on behalf of Bloomberg News. Across the seven key swing states, 49% of voters said Bidenomics is bad for the economy — nearly twice the share who said it has been good.   This all comes as Trump — who’s now facing a gag order in his election interference case — is backed by 59% of potential Republican primary voters, according to the latest update to our 2024 GOP Primary Tracker.   On the Democratic side of the aisle, Biden — whose campaign apparatus raised $71 million in the third quarter — may soon be getting a new primary challenger. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) has begun signaling to House Democrats that he plans to challenge Biden for the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nomination. Phillips has reportedly reached out to New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley and several potential staffers about working in New Hampshire, and other reports say he’s reached out to political consultants.  

As some of you are aware, I plan to run in the Nov 2024 election for IL House Rep - 31st District. The process to become a candidate takes a bit of effort; as of today, 470 voter/residents have signed a petition in support of my candidacy. IL law requires 500 signatures from registered District voters be submitted by June 3, 2024. But I (and a couple wonderful volunteers) plan to continue working (walking, on average, 5 miles per day, 4 days per week) until 700 signatures have been collected. However, IL Governor JB Pritzker recently fast-tracked a law to revoke the constitutional rights of potential candidates like myself (see below). This abuse of legislative power--changing election laws in the MIDDLE of the 2024 candidate process--is so arrogant that I & three other potential candidates have filed suit against the IL legislature (hearing scheduled for this Wed, May 22 in Springfield, IL). The attached article summarizes how a Child Welfare bill became an election interference law in just over 24 hours! "...over the course of just 30 hours on the first days of this month, the Democratic supermajority changed the law to retroactively disallow that procedure, thereby barring challengers from the November ballot as Republican party candidates...One IL legislator described JB's action as an "abuse of power that blocks candidates from giving voters a choice in free, fair and open elections is unprecedented in Illinois’ 205-year history." If you have concerns about current voter suppression & election interference tactics, you may want to follow the progress of this case. https://lnkd.in/gbCStjqr