What Exactly Does the Supervisor of Elections Do?

One of the questions I get most often, is “What does the Supervisor of Elections do?” Contrary to popular belief, the Supervisor of Elections really is not part of the decision-making process. They do not create policy, they do not make laws, and they have nothing to do with the planning or administration of our county. What they ARE responsible for is Election Integrity.

Election Integrity refers to the fairness of the entire voting process, and how well the process protects against election subversion, voter suppression, and other threats to free and fair elections. We can debate the extent of the threats we see, what is not debatable is that these threats exist.

When we speak of Election Integrity, we are really speaking about three main points: Accuracy, Transparency, and Education.

Accuracy

In my opinion, the most important aspect of Election Integrity is accuracy. Every vote must be counted correctly, and every eligible voter should have the opportunity to cast their ballot. Voting rolls should be updated often, and the greatest care should be taken to ensure their completeness and accuracy. Likewise, the process for mail-in ballot preparation should be reviewed for accuracy from cradle to crave, and the tools used for voter registration should be modern, effective, and accurate. At the end of the day, if you do the little things correctly - all the time, the big things tend to take care of themselves.

Transparency 

Transparency is essential in maintaining the public trust in the voting process. Access to information, processes, and data should not be hidden from the public. Instead, information must be readily available for public inspection. Transparency should be applied at every level of the process, from campaign finance to ballot counting to Logic and Accuracy testing for voting machines. Voters, regardless of party affiliation or background, should have access to information about how their elections are conducted. The decisions that are made should be made openly and with accountability. 

Education 

For years I have listened to people talk about low voter turnout. I’ve sat at pulling locations and watched people walk in, only to find out they weren’t registered to vote; they were in the wrong voting location; or they weren’t eligible to vote at all. Still others WOULD have voted if they simply knew better. The best way to ensure every citizen participates in the voting process is through education. Citizens need to know where to vote, when to vote, and how to register to vote. Rather than being REACTIVE and relying on citizens to seek out information, we should be PROACTIVE, providing the information required to ensure every person eligible to vote knows how and where to do so. 

Election Integrity is more than just a fancy phrase used around election time. It is the epitome of what the Supervisor of Elections is responsible for doing. Aside from our God, nothing is more sacred to American people than their right to vote, and the job of the Supervisor is to ensure accuracy and transparency in the process, while educating the citizenry to foster the greatest amount of participation possible. 

Why? Because ELECTION INTEGRITY MATTERS!