electionline Weekly

electionline Weekly is an original publication covering timely election topics, sent to subscribers on Thursdays. Subscribers get a curated collection of breaking news, resources, and new perspectives from leaders in the field.

Career pathways and origination stories

How America’s local election officials got there

By Paul Gronke, Paul Manson, and Jay Lee

Early Voting Information Center at Reed College

In a new series of blog posts, we will share highlights from our 2019 Survey of Local Election Officials, a joint collaboration between Democracy Fund and the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College. The DF/RC team are appreciative of the LEOs who took time out of their busy schedules to answer the survey. In 2019, 3000 LEOs were randomly selected to take the survey and 876 responded. For more information about how the survey was conducted, visit the study website.

We like to describe local election officials in the US as the “stewards of democracy.” LEOs comprise more than 8,000 local government employees and elected officials in municipalities and counties across the country, with a diverse range of pay, training, and experience.