[Image via eac.gov]

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission is sponsoring its second annual awards competition for best practices in election administration. Here’s the blog post from August:

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is seeking entry submissions for its second-annual national competition for best practices in election administration. This year the commission will present three awards in the categories of best practices related to voting accessibility, outstanding innovations in elections, and recruiting, training and retaining election workers. All entries must be received by October 6, 2017.

“These awards celebrate the very best in election practices across the nation,” said EAC Chairman Matthew Masterson. “As we travel throughout the country, our commission sees first-hand the innovation and commitment to excellence that election officials and their partners bring to their work. These awards acknowledge that work and highlight best practices that other election administrations can emulate.”

This year’s awards come in conjunction with the 15th anniversary of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), legislation that established the EAC. This year’s categories, especially the award for best practices in accessibility, celebrate the advancements made since the passage of HAVA. For example, the new accessibility category reflects landmark HAVA provisions guaranteeing private and independent voting for people with disabilities. 

This year’s entries will be judged using the following criteria:

  • Efficacy
  • Innovation
  • Sustainability
  • Outreach efforts
  • Cost-effectiveness
  • Replicability

All submissions should be sent to the EAC via an email to clearinghouse@eac.gov. Nominators should use the following subject lines based on entry category: Election Worker Competition, Accessibility Competition or Outstanding Innovations Competition. All entries must include a brief summary of the election program nominated and relevant supporting documents that can be used to assess the entry. It should also include contact information for the person submitting the program for consideration. Each entry must be submitted in a separate email.

For more information about this year’s competition, please contact Patrick Leahy at pleahy@eac.gov.

These awards, lovingly dubbed the “Clearies” by electiongeek Twitter, really do help identify some of the great work going on out there to advance the field of election administration. Last year’s winners in the 2016 poll worker competition are still going strong, and I can’t wait to see what comes of of this year’s entries.

If you’re interested in entering, get those entries in by Friday, October 6. Who will be the winners? Stay tuned …

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged