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Sebastian County (Ft. Smith) Arkansas is working through how to afford new voting equipment – including reducing the number of polling places and/or reusing early voting machines on Election Day – because existing funds are not seen as enough to cover the cost. The headline (which would make any big city tabloid proud) probably sounds familiar to other election officials nationwide.

Humphrey’s new Certificate in Election Administration will provide relevant and rigorous professional training to existing election officials as well as college graduates who wish to learn more about (and hopefully enter!) the field.

Organizations representing election officials across the nation have always been an alphabet soup due to the wide geographic variety and distribution of authority at different levels of government. But that soup got a little less crowded last week with the announcement that two national organizations representing local officials have voted to merge.

This weekend is a time to celebrate our nation’s democracy – and for electiongeeks to take a step back and appreciate all they do to make that democracy work. I’m taking a short blogging break and the blog will return next Tuesday, July 7. Have fun, be safe and see you next week!

The EAC’s latest Election Administration and Voting Survey report (with data) is out – and with it the first snapshots of what happened (and didn’t) during the 2014 election. Next up: the electiongeeks dive into the data to help us understand what happened in 2014 and what it might mean for 2016 and beyond.

Fairfax County’s general registrar is stepping down after asking not to be reappointed to another term. While her tenure was marked by complaints about management problems, the record suggests that the office itself is a problem to manage – which the county needs to address before another registrar is hired. Partisanship in one of the state and nation’s most Democratic counties may also have played a role.

The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear a case involving Kansas’ proof-of-citizenship law for voter registration means that a case challenging that law and the dual registration system set up to administer it can proceed – and that the larger constitutional dispute between states and the federal government over the nature of the Constitution’s Election Clause persists unresolved.

Two Ridgefield, CT high school students drafted and presented a report to their town government looking at strategies the town can use to improve voter turnout. It’s continued proof of the value of involving young people – who are the future of election administration – in efforts to learn about the nuts and bolts (and also the politics) of managing the nation’s election system.

Rhode Island’s Secretary of State is about to get control over voting technology purchasing, thanks to recently-passed legislation awaiting the Governor’s signature. That legislation seems to have surprised the State Board of Elections – though they had done little to address voting technology for several years.

A dispute over who gets to appoint election officials in one Tennessee county has resulted in resignations, hard feelings – and a huge question about the proper role of politics in the process.