In recent years, local election officials (LEOs) across the United States are engaging with the public in increasingly contentious conditions, even as they face the complex task of transparently conveying ever-shifting election procedures. On top of this, high turnover among LEOs can also result in the loss of institutional knowledge and at times direct experience in election administration.
In order to address these challenges, the Analysis and Response Toolkit for Trust (ARTT), in collaboration with the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCBSE), will pilot ARTT-LEO, a training curriculum intended to help build election officials’ capacity to engage and communicate with the public.
“Voters are entitled to accurate and comprehensive election information, which can be difficult to communicate in what may feel at times as an increasingly intense elections environment,” said Connie Moon Sehat, ARTT Principal Investigator. “As front-line public servants, local election officials require not only technical knowledge and skills, but also the ability to perform their role in the fast-paced, intense environment of an election.”
“In the charged atmosphere of elections, LEOs can also face antagonistic situations that outpace existing professional development opportunities. The ARTT-LEO pilot is intended to address this gap,” said Sehat.
As job expectations for LEOs evolve, there is a growing skills requirement for experience in interpersonal communication and emotional management. If unaddressed, this demand is yet one more obstacle LEOs face as they administer elections and provide accurate, comprehensive information to voters.
In order to explore strategies to assist election officials’ capacity to engage with the public, ARTT-LEO will pilot the delivery of a training curriculum throughout 2024 with members of the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCBSE). Their perspective and experience will provide critical feedback to a curriculum intended to provide LEOs with communication strategies such as de-escalation that improve connections with the public.
“We’re excited about the partnership with ARTT. This pilot provides training and skill development that have become part of the complex responsibilities election officials must deliver in this expanding profession and challenging environment,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections. “The elections profession is facing greater scrutiny and notable turnover at a time when the duties are becoming more complex. This pilot provides training and skill development that have become part of the complex responsibilities election officials must deliver in this expanding profession and challenging environment.”
“The ARTT-LEO pilot targets the need for election officials to have more resources to communicate, express understanding, and build connections with the public,” said Sehat. “Most importantly, this pilot is ultimately intended to help North Carolina voters become better informed about electoral information and procedures.”
The pilot will conclude in December 2024, after which lessons from the project will be shared. ARTT-LEO is funded by the Bipartisan Policy Center under a grant program advised by the Center’s Election Workforce Advisory Council.
Read the Bipartisan Policy Center’s announcement here: https://bipartisanpolicy.org/press-release/election-workforce-grants
