Even for state and federal contests, the administration of American elections is a largely local affair. Who gets to the polls and whether their votes are counted largely depends on the skill and capacity of city and county officials, who work to ensure that elections happen smoothly and in compliance with election law.

With slim county budgets and erratic federal funding, election officials must frequently retool local voting systems and protocols to address new realities, such as cyberattacks and pandemics, unprecedented turnouts, and changing laws and technologies. They must also adopt new voter-centric policies — like automatic registration, early voting, and no-reason absentee ballots — and adapt them to suit the unique needs of their communities. Election administration is a challenging discipline requiring continual learning and timely information. While many states and state associations provide training, the field would benefit from streamlined, free and accessible training.

The Voter-Centric Election Administration strategy supports the integration of data and techniques that remove barriers to voting, and we help network and inform the community of election administration officials. We collaborate on projects and innovations that:

• Create tools, technology and best practices to help election officials run elections better, and to make it easier for voters to cast a ballot
• Connect election administrators to training, tools, and a professional learning community
• Provide election officials and reporters with factual, nonpartisan information on voting conditions, election reforms and performance, emerging strategies, and changing state election laws through electionline, a project of Democracy Fund
• Generate usability research on effective design and language of election materials for voters and poll workers
• Improve service to populations with issues of distance, disability, and language
• Help citizens register and remember to vote, and receive voting process information
• Establish common data formats to improve information flow within the election system