As another “big” election year unfolds, there will be ever growing attention to federal, state, and local races and on real and proposed changes to federal and state election laws. No one knows yet what the results will be. But one outcome that is critical is that the public trusted the election system itself. And the ground zero of election operations is at the local level.

The U.S. system of elections is highly decentralized, with 10,000 election administration jurisdictions. The administrative structure for these varies greatly by state, and even between counties in 16 states. Laws vary, as well as geographic and population size. At the local level, elections can be run by a single individual (commonly called a county clerk or registrar), a board or commission of elections, or a combination of entities. Some offices have a 60-person election staff and others have only one part-time worker. There are more than 8,000 individual local election officials. Depending on the state, that person may be elected.

But all the election officials have the same basic duties to perform as part of their responsibility to administer free and fair elections. These include voter outreach, voter registration and list maintenance, ballot design, technology acquisition and maintenance, recruitment and training of poll worders, management of both absentee and in-person voting, and transport of ballots with documented chain of custody. And many of these duties occur multiple times throughout the year due to primary and special elections.

Regardless of organizational structure, the nuts and bolts of election work are performed by a dedicated workforce of both professional staff and volunteers. These folks consistently work long hours in an often-changing environment. They are typically problem-solvers who do their best to handle both the predictable challenges—machine breakdowns and long lines—as well as unexpected challenges and crises, both natural and manmade. They often get little recognition or respect.

Election offices are typically a small component of local government, and they may or may not be within the chain of command of a professional local government manager. But now election offices—and the officials who head them—need more help than ever before.

A major reason is the federal government’s retreat from providing financial and information sharing support, particularly in the areas of technology and cyber security. In previous years, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency actively tracked and defended against possible cyber-attacks by both foreign governments and criminal actors and provided information on relevant threats to state and local governments.

Another problem is the growing number of threats to election offices, polling places, and individual election workers. Recent research found that about 30% of election officials have faced some level of abuse.* And, although not widely reported, in 2024, there were 220 bomb threats aimed at election sites.*

Unsurprisingly, the level of election worker turnover is increasing.

What Can Town, City, and County Managers Do to Help?

Support

There is a range of both internal and external actions they can take. First is that town/city/county managers and other local government officials can provide emotional and physical support to their election team. The workforce should know that their leaders have their backs, especially in crisis situations.

Resources

Of course, providing sufficient resources is also key. This can range from increases in funding for staffing, training, updated equipment, and cyber security consultants, to loaning staff from other departments as needed. Managers can also direct local election officials to organizations that can provide advice and assistance. Those include the Election Center, the Center for Election Innovation and Research, and the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections, among others.

A Holistic Approach

Also important is approaching election risk mitigation issues from a “whole” local government perspective. That involves strengthening cooperation between the election office and such other arms of local government as law enforcement, emergency management, general counsel, the schools, and others. All the key players should know what to do in various types of crisis situations.

A Strong Communication Strategy

Keeping the needs of the voters in mind is essential. Ongoing factual communication is critically important, both to provide voters with the information they need to vote and to head off unfounded rumors about malfeasance in election operations. This requires a proactive communications approach, and one that needs to start long before Election Day. It is critically important that there be no surprises on the operations side.

An Identified Spokesperson

Unfortunately, local election offices have traditionally been weak in the communications area. Most offices do not have their own public affairs staff, and their team typically does not have expertise in this area. Town, city, and county managers can play an important role in this regard. One important task should be to make clear who the major spokesperson is about election issues or crises, and to ensure that other key organizational players are kept in the loop.

The Importance of Your Support

Free and fair elections are key to our democracy. Not only is it essential that elections actually operate that way, but that the public believes that they do. The critical role played by local election offices and the community members who staff them has too often been overlooked. I urge town, city, and county managers to take a close look at their local election offices to identify additional ways to support their operations and to provide the workers with the respect, assistance, and protection they deserve.

* Source: “Global Election Day: Election Security,” webinar hosted by National Academy of Public Administration and Brennan Center for Justice, February 5, 2026.
 

NANCY TATE is the former executive director of the League of Women Voters of the United States.