REACH OUT! The Elections Educator Newsletter: 5/28/25
Useful & timely resources for elections administrators & GOTV volunteers to inspire strategic nonpartisan voter outreach and education efforts.
Welcome! As part of my job as a county elections administrator doing voter engagement activities, I collect a lot of resources to both inform my outreach strategies, create educational content, and better myself as a knowledgeable resource for others to rely on. On my day off of work (currently Wednesdays) I want to share what I’ve recently found inspiring with other administrators, civic organizations, and fellow individuals who wish there was a centralized place for all this helpful elections education and outreach info.
I’m currently curating a spreadsheet hub for all the organizations, research papers, articles, inspirational example projects, etc. I’ve collected and it will soon be made public to coincide with this newsletter. Subscribe to get weekly updates of resources and to be informed when the resource hub goes live this summer!
If you have something you’d like for me to spotlight, please reach out and let me know! Let’s advertise it-free of charge- in both this newsletter and in the REACH OUT! Elections Educator Resource Hub (coming soon).
*Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored.*
ANNOUNCEMENT
Next Wednesday, June 4th, I’ll be presenting at the annual Washington State Elections Conference in Spokane, WA. The next newsletter will line up with my presentation theme: How to build a voter outreach program from the ground up!
WEBINARS HAPPENING TODAY (Wednesday 5/28/25):
Hosted by NonprofitVOTE.
Excerpt from their webinar description: “learn about…local elections… and how your nonprofit can lend its community outreach skills to task of voter engagement. You’ll also hear about best practices for connecting the importance of voting to every day topics like parks, schools, public safety, and even those dreaded potholes.”
May 28th 2pm EST. (11am PST)
“What’s Happening in Washington.”
Hosted by the Center for Election Innovation & Research.
Description: “CEIR Executive Director David Becker will discuss recent federal actions impacting election officials, including the latest updates on President Trump’s executive order on elections and proposed cuts to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) budget. David will also discuss some developments at the state level, including the overhaul of the North Carolina State Board of Elections. David will take your questions about what's happening at the federal level and implications for election officials around the country. Please note: This webinar is for election officials only.”
12pm PST
Election Administration Officials only can register to attend this here.
“Certificate in Elections Administration” Info Session
The University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs is hosting an online information session about their CEA program. Have Questions? Direct them to CEAprogram@umn.edu.
May 28th 6PM CST. (4pm PST)
ELECTION NEWS:
IN ELECTION EDUCATION: High School students continue to lead the way in engaging their communities in innovative election education and administration efforts!
Leechburg Area students worked the polls thanks to innovative program by Haley Daugherty 5/26/25
Rhode Island Secretary of State presents Civic Leadership Awards to local high school students. By Ryan Belmore 5/22/25
UPCOMING WEBINARS:
JUNE 12TH, 2025 “Getting Started With Voter Engagement”
Hosted by NonprofitVOTE.
Excerpt from description: “ Expect real-time dialogue, collaborative breakout room activities, and meaningful conversations about how any nonprofit can take its first steps in the voter engagement space. We'll walk through the core principles of nonprofit voter engagement, equipping you with the knowledge and confidence to begin or strengthen your efforts. Please Note: Space is intentionally limited to foster an intimate learning environment. Sessions will not be recorded. We kindly ask that you only register if you are fully committed to attending.” Have questions? Reach out to info@nonprofitvote.org
11am PST
A NEW BOOK TO READ:
A new book, Democracy Vouchers and the Promise of Fairer Elections in Seattle, has been published detailing research done about Seattle’s fascinating and energizing “Democracy Vouchers Program”. It’s co-authored by Dr. Jennifer A. Heerwig, an associate professor of sociology at Stony Brook University, and Dr. Brian J. McCabe, an associate professor of sociology at Georgetown University
A closer look: The city itself (not King County Elections, the election administrator) gives each city citizen four $25 vouchers to use throughout an election cycle to give to a political candidate campaign. This radical experiment has diversified the donor pool to better reflect citywide constituency in local government representation and also decreased the voter engagement gap between white affluent voters and historically disenfranchised not-so-wealthy non-white voters in local elections during these past four years. This program is up for considered renewal this year on the August Primary ballot.
Dr. Jennifer A. Heerwig did an interview with David Moore that you can listen to and read here (It’s how I learned about the book in the first place).
The book is available on Bookshop.org at $19.95 for a paperback and $59.50 for a hardback (I’d go for a paperback).
HONEY, WAKE UP. PEW RESEARCH FORUM JUST DROPPED A REPORT:
Trust, Facts, and Democracy is PEW’s hefty new in depth report exploring how Americans trust one another and what may factor into that component of perceived relationships with other members of the public.
One particular section will resonate with the frustrations we elections educators face. It’s difficult to teach new information or correct mis-dis-mal information when voters are comfortable in trusting something that reinforces their preconceptions. It was found that nationally, there was a decrease in trust of other Americans over the past 5 years which correlated with increased political ideology polarization. (Is anyone truly surprised?)
It was speculated that the decline in trust accelerated during the pandemic due to decreased opportunity to have “meaningful” [I’d like to interject and offer the term “humanizing”] conversations with people of other ideological thought processes. This distrustful state of the nation negatively impacts how people can view our elections system and those serving as administrators, especially if they have incorrect information about our fair and secure processes.
Below, I’ve highlighted an organization, LivingRoomConversations, whose resources can help us help our communities respectfully learn to trust in both each other and our elections systems through intentional facilitation and peer-led cooperation.
ORGANIZATION HIGHLIGHT: LIVING ROOM CONVERSATIONS
LivingRoomConversations is an organization that helps guide structured exploratory conversations in small group settings. They have over 150 pre-structured topics to choose from, and we are lucky enough to have many that are elections-centered. Consider creating an account with LivingRoomConversations, looking at the following conversations, and consider if your elections office, organization, or local friend group could benefit from hosting a conversation (or a series of conversations!) in the format that LivingRoomConversations specializes in supporting.
I’ve gone through their list of Topics and found ones of particular interest:
Trust in Elections (Local)
Trust in Elections (National)
Does My Vote Really Matter?
Anxiety and Elections
Independent Candidates
Civic Renewal
Politics and Elections: Concerns and Aspirations
Post Election: Moving Forward Together
Ranked Choice Voting
The Census, Redistricting, and Gerrymandering
Voting Rights
Voting Rights and Incarceration
And just so you are aware, if you are acting on behalf of an organization, you’ll have to license the topic conversation guides. I signed up with a personal account to read through a few and think using these professionally would be worth it for meaningful community engagement! Contact them at licensing@livingroomconversations.org for ALL inquiries regarding additional use, custom guides (which would be AWESOME! Think of the possibilities!), and licensing permissions.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHT: ELECTION OFFICIAL LEGAL DEFENSE FUND
Elections Workers can request legal help from Pro Bono Attorneys through the Election Official Legal Defense Network project.
The Center for Election Innovation & Research (CEIR, mentioned earlier above in the webinar portion) runs the EOLDN project. If you are a recognized governmental election authority or are acting under the supervision of a recognized governmental election authority and are facing one of the following issues in your capacity as an elections worker
Harassment/Threats (if this is an emergency, please contact 911)
Attempt to Undermine Official Job Duties
Criminal Charges or Investigation
Civil suit pending or threatened
Other/Unsure
Reach out to EOLDN using this request for help form and you’ll be connected with a Pro Bono Attorney suited to aid you with your situation.
As a public facing worker in these uncertain and heightened-emotion times, you deserve the security of knowing you can reach out to a legal team if need arises.
IN CASE YOU MISSED LAST WEEK…
INSPIRATION FOR YOUR OWN OUTREACH AND EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS :
Fellowships and Internships at Election Administration Offices.
The Bipartisan Policy Center just released a new project report “The Arizona Fellowship Model: Developing the Next Generation of the Election Administration Workforce.”
Pursuing Academic Certification in Election Administration.
Oakland University in Michigan has developed an Election Administrator Certification debuting this fall 2025!
As mentioned above, The University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs is hosting an online information session TODAY Wednesday May 28th, at 6pm CST about their Certificate in Elections Administration program.
END NOTE: Thanks for reading REACH OUT! The Elections Educator Newsletter! I hope something above sparked your curiosity or gave you an idea that you can follow for integrating into your own election educations and outreach programming.
Thank you, Emma, for all these great resources. I'm excited to check out the Democracy Vouchers book and the Living Room Conversations site. About 10 years ago, I did a series of Living Room Conversations with several education organizers using the model that Oregon's Rural Organizing Project developed. I'd love to start doing some version of these again– thanks for the inspiration! -Michael Bowman