About Election Officials
The Election Center is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization under the regulations of the Internal Revenue Service. The Election Center’s purpose is to promote, preserve, and improve democracy. The Center is also known as the National Association of Election Officials.
Its members are almost exclusively government employees whose profession it is to serve in voter registration and elections administration, i.e., voter registrars, elections supervisors, elections directors, city clerk/city secretary, county clerk, county recorder, state legislative staff, state election director and Secretary of State for each of the individual states, territories, and the District of Columbia.
The Center provides its members an alert service which informs and updates state, city and other elections and voter registration officials regarding legislation, regulations, court decisions, and Justice Department rulings which affect the conduct of voter registration or elections administration. Additionally, the Center performs research for such governmental units concerning the similarities and differences in state or local laws, regulations, or practices concerning voter registration and elections administration.
As the election profession's premier organization for training and certification of election and voter registration administrators, The Center also conducts annual events such as national conferences and several regional workshops and seminars throughout each year which are designed specifically for government elections units. Each of these programs is designed to improve the methods of operation and efficiency of the affected offices. The result is improved service to voters, the public, the taxpayers and to government. The Center trains between 600 and 1,000 election and voter registration administrators every year.
Continuing professional education is the cornerstone of continuous improvement of democracy through The Election Center's Professional Education Program. A joint effort of The Center and Auburn University's public administration faculty, the Professional Education Program offers college level instruction for professional growth and development of government officials in the elections and voter registration process. These classes are conducted in several locations throughout each year. The Professional Education Program won an award as the most outstanding continuing education program in America from the National College and University Continuing Education Association (1995).
The Center sponsors an annual Professional Practices contest to get government officials to submit a professional paper on the best of their office programs and practices. Such papers are then duplicated and made available to government officials throughout the U.S. for improving their own operations.
Acting as a catalyst for new ideas or working with difficult issues, it was through The Election Center:
* That state directors of elections formed the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) and served as an incubator for NASED until the organization could operate on its own (1989).
* That the nation's elections administrators developed the first Code of Ethics for voter registrars and elections administrators (1997).
* That the United States Postal Service created the only logo for any mailer outside of the USPS itself. The national Elections Mail Logo identifies for voters and for postal employees official mail related to citizens participation in the democratic process.
* That the USPS and the elections community created the National Task Force on Postal Issues and an elections mail program that significantly improves the ability of election offices to reach voters with mail and to lower mail costs to state and local jurisdictions.
* That created the National Task for on Voting Accessibility, a joint effort of the elections community and the disability community, to improve the ability of the nation's disabled and elderly to participate unassisted in voting, and to improve voting technology for such citizens.
* That formed the National Task Force on Election Reform which was a report of the nation’s elections administrators on problems and solutions related to Election 2000.
* The Election Center is the principal focus for the U.S. Congress, federal agencies and state governments related to the elections and voter registration issues.
* That has trained the elections officials of developing nations.
* That serves as the best single source for news and information organizations concerning elections.
Member governments can also utilize many other services such as surveys, peer review programs, consulting services, technology reviews, recruiting services for employees, and other consulting related services. The consulting services are only for voter registration and elections offices. Due to the unique nature of the responsibilities for voter registration and elections administration, nothing else in industry, or government, is comparable to these functions. These services are fee based but are designed to save jurisdictions tax dollars for services at a fraction of corporate costs for such services. Additionally, the services are performed by people who have an understanding and knowledge of the special requirements necessary for the operations of these offices.
A small professional staff is maintained to develop and administer these programs and to provide research services for members, legislators, local, state and federal elections officials. Research projects can involve in-depth surveys of major issues or specific portions of laws affecting voter registration and elections.
The Center’s members also include suppliers of election products and services, including voting systems, voter registration software, voting booths, ballots, election supplies, etc. Members are able to visit with the providers of those goods and services at the national conference where members can learn what is available in the latest technology and election products.
With more than 1,000 members nationwide, The Election Center has the largest number of the state and local election and voter registration administrators as members of any elections related organization in America.
12543 Westella, Suite 100
Houston, TX 77077
Phone:
281-293-0101
National Association of Election Officials
