Ep. 19: Who are the people running American elections?

With the 2024 elections fast approaching, were focusing this episode on the people who are working hard to make sure America continues to have the safest, most secure, and most accurate elections on the planet. To begin, Matt Reisinger (1:40), the Director of Elections & General Registrar for Warren County Virginia joins us to talk about how local elections are run, why early voting is important, and why it’s important for citizens to volunteer to help run elections. Next, the chair and vice chair of the Election Assistance Commission Chairman Ben Hoveland and Commissioner Donald Palmer - a Navy veteran- join Ellen and Joe to discuss the challenges facing state and local election officials this year and what the federal government is doing to help – to include voter education and countering foreign malign influence. Lastly, our own Loren Westerfield, deputy director of Vet the Vote, joins us to update our listeners on the latest numbers (we recruited more than 140,000 poll workers!), the latest partners (NASCAR joined the coalition!), and what’s coming down the pike in terms of local events. For more, check out www.VetThe.Vote.  

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

That we talk about a lot is that election night results are unofficial. Uh, and and you know, a lot of people uh again don't really understand that. But why that is is election officials, you know, election night isn't when the work stops for them. There's a whole bunch of work that goes into something called the canvas and certification program or process. And and I sort of summarize that as like, you know, I mean, it's sort of balancing your checkbook. Uh it is it is dotting all the I's, crossing the T's, double checking the math and making sure that everything adds up. You know, that the right number of uh, you know, people are saying how many ballots they started with, how many they ended with, how many people checked in. Like that math has to add up. If you have provisional ballots, you go and see why did that person vote a provisional ballot. Were they eligible? Should that be counted? Should it not be counted? And so all that work is happening after election night to make sure that those certified results are secure and accurate and that we can have confidence in that process.

SPEAKER_02 1:05

Welcome back to the Vetted Conversations Podcast, where we delve into the foundations, workings, and current challenges to the American way of self-governance.

SPEAKER_03 1:14

In today's confusing world, it's more important than ever to understand how our government works and how we, as citizens, can actively participate in the discussion to safeguard our liberties and continued freedom.

SPEAKER_02 1:24

Our mission is to ensure you, our listeners, have the knowledge and insights needed to become more informed and engaged citizens and active members of your communities. So let's get into it.

SPEAKER_03 1:40

Do you have any questions about how your county's elections are run? Who's behind the scenes making it all happen? Coordinating volunteers, setting up early voting sites, issuing absentee ballots, and running the numerous precincts you see on election day. Well, today is your lucky day, because Ellen and I have arranged for you to hear from Matt Reisinger, the Director of Elections and General Registrar of Warren County, Virginia. I met Matt when I moved to the county and have volunteered several times to support elections, and I can tell you Matt runs a tight chip. So, Matt, how are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 2:09

I'm doing good, Joe. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_03 2:11

Yeah, it's so good to hear your voice again. Um, first off, can you tell us what a county registrar does?

SPEAKER_00 2:17

So in Virginia, they're called uh general registrars or director of elections. Virginia has 133 uh combination of localities, counties, and independent cities around and across the state. Um, we're responsible for helping to ensure that the elections, each and every election, primary and general elections, are administered in our locality or county. Very cool. We're responsible for the daily day-to-day activities of the office outside of elections, including uh voter registration, if people are applying to vote by mail absentee, and always preparing for that next election that's right around the corner.

SPEAKER_03 2:52

Yeah, and Virginia's got a lot of elections and a lot of early voting, correct?

SPEAKER_00 2:57

Yep. So Virginia has a 45-day early voting period. I believe it's one of the longest, if not the longest, in the country. Um, that came about around the time of COVID. Um, I think it's great that they've continued it because it allows people the opportunity that if they can't vote on election day, they can still come in in person, vote early, and then they don't have to worry about that if they think maybe for work or they're gonna be away, out of the country, out of state. They have multiple opportunities to be able to make sure they they can cast their vote for the election.

SPEAKER_03 3:31

Yeah, I love that because it allows people to vote on their schedule, right? And you know, I remember um I've I've used that myself, and a lot of people can't get off work uh to vote in a convenient way. So I think, yeah, I totally agree with you. I think that makes complete sense. Um, how does your office help ensure safe, secure, and accurate elections?

SPEAKER_00 3:51

So that's the thing that's really really nice about Virginia is Virginia has multiple checks and balances. So, yes, I'm administering, helping to conduct the election, but we have a three-member electoral board, and that three-member board is appointed by both of the local parties, political parties, and they are the ones that actually certify the election. So all the results that get called into my office on election night are actually they're unofficial. Then a process that starts immediately after the election, so literally the next day, or if there's a federal holiday the you know next day, then it's the next day after that. That process is called Canvas. And what that is, is that's verifying that all those results that the different polling locations across the county called into my office on that Tuesday night, that they match, that they match the results, the tapes that came out of the machines, that the numbers that were reported to the state on election night.

SPEAKER_03 4:47

Nice. And so, I mean, I'm seeing multiple layers of security here. So not only do you have each precinct has, you know, more than one person administering the site, right? So each voting site's got uh two chief election officials, uh typically one from each party. Um there's a whole bunch of processes and procedures to run a voting site, and those results are uh printed out counted electronically, and then there's also a paper ballot trail for every single vote cast. Do I have that correct?

SPEAKER_00 5:20

Correct. Yep. Yep. Virginia is very good on that, that there is always a paper trail for everything.

SPEAKER_03 5:26

Love it. Yeah, and I think I think it makes people feel a lot better knowing that. Um so why should citizens volunteer to sh serve as election poll workers?

SPEAKER_00 5:36

You know, we get to ask that question from time to time, and one of the things I think about it's it's a great way to be a part of democracy. Um, you know, you hear about it all the time on the news, and but to actually be a part of it, um being in this, you know, I've been in elections now for about eight years. I've served as the registrar now for almost a year. Um September 1st will be a year. Um, and it's just so cool to see, you know, it's your friends, it's your neighbors helping out to be to make sure that everyone's able to exercise the right to vote.

SPEAKER_03 6:12

Love it. And you know, one of the things we're big on is encouraging veterans and their family members to be election poll workers. So, do you have any any um data on how many Warren County election volunteers are veterans or veteran family members?

SPEAKER_00 6:26

So we don't have exact numbers, and the reason being is that's not something that's particularly collected. Um one when they even actually honestly, it's an optional box when you register to vote. You know, it's a mark if you're a veteran. And also, as a you know, when we recruit people, you know, to be uh officers of election, it's not a particular thing that we're looking for. I mean, it's by all means we love it. I mean, the more the merrier. Um, but I I would say we have a pretty big percentage. If I had to guess, I'd say it's probably around half. Yeah. Um, and then when you include either, you know, people, either spouses or people that have been involved, you know, maybe they've got family members or relatives that serve or have served, uh, that percentage I'm sure is a lot higher.

SPEAKER_03 7:14

Yeah, and and that's that's my sense too. I remember uh, you know, I did a a snap poll thanks to you um at the last election I served in and just asked the you know during the training if if there were veterans to raise their hand. And I I would say it was at least 40 to 50 percent of the room. Um so I felt you know really good about that. Um, but I think your point's uh good. It's you know, it's like important that people from all walks of life in the community, you know, support our elections, right? Because we all are part of it, we're all benefit from it. Um and and I I totally vibe with that sentiment. So what do you what do you wish your fellow citizens knew about your office and role or elections in the county?

SPEAKER_00 7:52

Um, that we are here and we're here to help. They're always here. If they have questions, um, you know, there's I've had those conversations with friends on the side, they're like, well, you know, I'm kind of afraid to call and ask this question or that question because and I'm like, there's no judgment here. This is you know, we're judgment free. If you have a question about any of the processes, we are here to help. We're here to educate. That's part of my another part of my responsibility is voter education, voter outreach. We are here to answer those questions.

SPEAKER_03 8:25

Yeah, and and you do a great job of it. So um, how can citizens get involved? Here in the county, maybe in the state, or maybe if they're listening from another state.

SPEAKER_00 8:36

Yeah, in the county, in the state, um, if if they're within Virginia, they can go to elections.virginia.org and there's information on there about becoming in Virginia. They're called officer of election. I know other states have different titles. Some of them I think they call them election judges, um, poll workers. Um, but you can go to your states or your localities um point of contact for elections, and they'd be more than happy to direct you in the right direction.

SPEAKER_03 9:03

That's fantastic. And if you're a veteran or military member, you can go to www.vethe.vote and it will direct you to uh your county's resources. So, Matt, it's a pleasure to hear your voice again from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for everything your staff and you do to support our elections. It's an honor to be part of it, and um I really, really uh wish the whole team well as we go into fall of 2024 in this big presidential election.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

Yeah, thank you, Joe. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_03 9:37

There's a small but mighty federal agency that was founded in 2002 that helps safeguard our elections that you probably haven't heard about, the Election Assistance Commission. Today you're going to hear from the chair of this important federal entity, Commissioner Ben Hovland, and vice chair Don Palmer. Ben's been an election professional for more than 20 years and has served as the acting chief counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. And Don is a U.S. Navy veteran, former intelligence officer, and has been an EAC commissioner since 2019. Ben, Don, how's life in our nation's capital today?

SPEAKER_01 10:09

Good. Thanks for having us.

SPEAKER_03 10:14

Excellent. Ellen, over to you for the first question.

SPEAKER_02 10:18

Yeah, thanks so much for joining us, guys. Well, the first big question is can you tell us what is the Election Assistance Commission and what is your mission?

SPEAKER_01 10:27

Absolutely. Uh thanks again for having us. Uh as Joe mentioned, you know, the Election Assistance Commission. Uh, if you haven't heard of it, that's not a surprise. We are a small federal agency, but but we think a very important one. Uh so we are a uh we are a small bipartisan independent agency uh that was created with really four core missions. Uh the way I look at it first, uh, and this one, this one states and localities appreciate the most. Uh we distribute grant money from Congress uh to help to help state and locals administer elections. Uh we test and certify voting machines. Uh that has become of more interest in recent years, of course. Uh we also do something called the Election Administration and Voting Survey, or Eves. It's the only national survey of its kind that looks across the country at how Americans are engaging in the process, how they're getting registered. Uh you know, is that at is that at the DMV? Is that online? Uh, is that through the mail? Uh, and then also how they're where they're voting, is that early voting? Is that uh mail ballots? Is that in person on election day? Uh and so we do an array of sort of survey questions to really have data to support how elections are being run across the country. Uh and then finally, uh we serve as a clearinghouse for best practices. Uh and that that that one sounds sort of vague. It is sort of the least defined in Java, but what it really is about is of course, state and local election officials uh run elections across the country, and each state runs elections a little differently. Uh and so what we're able to do at the federal level is look across that and look at that uh the variety that we see uh and really highlight some of the the great job that state and local election officials are doing around the country uh so that they're able to learn from each other uh and overall just raise the level of the profession. Uh I'm sure I missed something in there. Uh Don, uh what uh what else did I miss? Yes.

SPEAKER_04 12:32

No, I think you got it, Ben. I think that, you know, I think the EAC, it's particularly when I came on board, a growing sort of mission of the EAC was to help inform voters and to assist voters because it's actually in our preamble. And so I think that over the last couple of years, we've been a growing source of trusted information for um as a federal source of election information for voters. Uh, and you see that growing, particularly when we have initiatives like the National Public Recruitment Day or Help America Vote Day. Congress is very interested in that because it really does sort of support voters. I think, you know, when we first were created, uh, and I was an election official, the security and the national security implications of voting machines just wasn't a thing, right? Um it uh it was uh more of an election backwater on the testing of voting machines. Now the scrutiny is just off the charts, and so there are national security applications for the security of our voting machines, so we are now testing um and doing penetration testing of our nation's voting systems uh and election systems, and so uh this is a big deal because the Congress has been interested in it, and so have the American people. So this has been a growing sort of mission of EAC.

SPEAKER_02 13:52

So, so tell me, you we know that according to the Constitution, running elections is left up to the states. Um, and you guys exist as a federal group, but can you tell us a little bit about the history of the election assistance commission and and uh why we do have one at the federal level?

SPEAKER_01 14:10

Yeah. Uh so it really all started with the Florida 2000 election, uh, which I was not there, but hanging chads. Exactly. Hanging Chads is why we are here uh in some ways. Uh so obviously the uh for some of our younger listeners, uh the Florida 2000 uh election was very contentious. Uh then Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush uh were separated by a few hundred votes in uh in Florida, and that was going to decide the Electoral College. And there were a number of election administration issues. There were hanging chads, there were things around voter intent. Uh and so uh a few years passed uh and Congress decided that something needed to be done, and what was done was something called the Help America Vote Act. Uh and that was what created the EAC. Uh, again, to recognize that our elections are decentralized, to recognize that state and locals run elections, but to recognize as well that there were some federal standards that could be useful, things that could help support election officials. Uh Don mentioned, or we mentioned earlier, the voting system standards that we create. Uh you know, Congress instructed us to do that, but those are voluntary voting system standards. And so states can opt in to use those. And an array of of what we do, um, you know, we are a largely non-regulatory agency. I say what that means is that we're a customer service agency. And so so much of what we were charged with was supporting those state and locals as they run elections to help to help make the process better. And again, that all sort of started back with that Florida 2000 election.

SPEAKER_04 16:02

I would just add, this is Commissioner Palmer, I think that uh our history has not been all cream and peaches. Um I served at the state level, so I worked with uh the EAC in a number of ways uh in the state of Florida and in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Uh, but you know, for probably a decade, uh there really wasn't a lot of, there wasn't grant funding and there wasn't the budgetary support to the Election Assistance Commission. We almost came close to um being eliminated uh because some felt our mission was over. But I think history just goes in cycles. You know, one of the reasons HABA is here today is because the need for more accuracy and uniformity and voting system testing, right? So the Congress developed this entire regime of uh accredited labs and testing and standards development with election officials. Uh, and yet here we are today, 2024, and the scrutiny is still on voting machines, and what can we do to improve that process? So it's it's remarkable sometimes when you've been in the election community for about 20 years.

SPEAKER_02 17:07

Well, so having been uh having been around for 20 years and and being at the helm of this uh of this great enterprise, so tell us like what is the current state of American elections? How do we rank in the world? Obviously, there's a lot of questions about it. So what's your sense as experts of the current state of American elections?

SPEAKER_01 17:28

I'd say, you know, again, uh anyone that watches the news knows there's been a few bumps lately, uh, but I still wouldn't trade it for anything. I still think our democracy is the envy of the world. Uh but when I look across the country, you know, again, the the state and local officials who run our elections uh just do an amazing job, you know, real public servants and and dedicated uh to doing that. But one of the things that I do see is we do, as Don mentioned earlier, you know, we've got some new challenges on the horizon. Uh you know, both we've had them and then ones that are coming with things like with things like AI. And I think for so many of us, we've frankly been privileged to grow up, you know, confident in our democracy. Uh, you know, and I think, you know, frankly, I think some Americans almost take that for granted. And so, and to me, uh what these last few years have been is a reminder of what we need to do to invest into our democracy. You know, I think I think about election administration as the infrastructure of our democracy, the roads and bridges. Uh, and we've got to put in the money, we've got to put in the work uh to make sure that that remains strong. Uh and so again, like I said earlier, I wouldn't trade it, but but we need to do the work to keep it uh the envy of the world.

SPEAKER_04 18:49

I agree with Commissioner Hovlin. I think that um we're really in a state where our localities are under-resourced, um, both in personnel and on uh monies and appropriations. And so what you have is you have an aging uh voting systems and technologies across the country. And one of the things that the Help America vote grants did back after the bill was passed, there was about$3 billion that helped states and localities build those voter registration databases and new vote bring in new voting systems. And frankly, um there's a lot of security on voting systems. Uh, I think that though the money is not following that attention, you look at surveys and you know, having efficient and well-run elections is a top priority of the American public, but it has not translated yet into investments into our local or state officials. And so as I sit here at EAC, um, you know, we're concerned about the next we want to get the next generation of voting systems after this election to the public, to the states. Um, but that's going to take an investment um from the Congress and by state legislatures. And So I'm obviously concerned about the technology. I'm obviously, obviously, concerned of our people, as we are in the military. You know, we all we understand that people in training um are what make this uh program move forward. And so we do have a significant turnover of election officials. Many have resigned or retired. And so you have new election officials. And so there's always there's some always there's a there's good to that, but we all know that you have to train them, get them up to speed for the presidential, and it will be a little bit new and different faces at the polling place this year.

SPEAKER_03 20:38

Thanks for that. We've got a saying around here that democracy runs on volunteers, and I know most people you know don't really understand that when they go to vote, that entire precinct is probably being run by people who are volunteering to serve in that election and probably have done so for multiple elections. Do you have any idea like nationwide how many volunteers are needed to run our elect presidential elections every year or every four years?

SPEAKER_01 21:02

Uh thanks for that plug. For uh I mentioned earlier the election administration and voting survey are eaves that we do. And so in a presidential year, that gets close to a million. It's a little bit under a million. Uh on a midterm, uh, probably closer to 600,000, 700,000. But so this year, 2024, you know, you're looking at close to a million people are needed. Uh, you know, we say volunteer, it is volunteer. You do get usually paid a stipend. Uh, so you know, particularly for for college students or some states allow high schoolers, you know, those the those dollars are nice, but but it is definitely a public service, and you're exactly right. You know, uh we've been doing more and more around poll workers. I've been a poll worker a number of times, uh, and it's just a great way to serve your community. Uh, you know, to me, uh I say that, you know, that is the customer service face of our democracy. Uh, you know, and when you're standing there in the polling place, it doesn't matter who somebody is there to vote for. Uh it's simply that they have a good experience and you're able to help make that happen. And, you know, again, as a poll worker myself, I've I've helped 18-year-olds who are there voting for the first time. You can tell they're a little nervous, and you know, you walk them through the process. Uh, and I've helped people who, senior citizens who I knew had been voting longer than I'd been alive. Uh but at the end of the day, you know, you get them through the process, you thank them, you give them that sticker that said I voted, and you know, you just uh, you know, the reward is knowing uh that they had a good experience and that we can all collectively be proud in our democracy. Definitely.

SPEAKER_04 22:37

Joe, just going back to Ellen's question about where do we rank, it's hard to actually rank, but I would say that the way we do elections is so American. Um, it's sort of like when I was growing up, you had the Chevy Ford and Chrysler, and of course, then it just expanded more. It's always about choice. And so, particularly I'm coming from Florida, you know, but a lot of states across the union are doing early um vote by mail on election day. And these are election officials that are actually they're actually like three distinct elections, and so it takes a lot of logistics and planning and customer service to make this happen. And so we just give options on all types of voting to Americans. They have choices, and voters with disabilities, for example, can vote privately and independently. There are a lot of uh rights and responsibilities to being a voter, but we have lots of options that we help Americans uh partake in those.

SPEAKER_03 23:32

Yeah, and I'm I mean, for everything I've I've experienced as an election poll worker myself and talking to different um election officials to include like our county registrar, it it seems like there's this dynamic tension between making voting as easy as possible so that every American who's qualified to vote can exercise their their fundamental right and making our elections as secure as possible. And I was wondering, like, you know, what thoughts do you have around that? Um how can we because I think we can do both, right? We can walk and chew gum at the same time. We're the greatest country on the planet. So um talk to me about that dynamic.

SPEAKER_01 24:04

We can absolutely do both. Uh, you know, and I think that I think one of the things that that unf you know, I I hope more people are seeing it, but you know, historically most Americans would, you know, maybe turn on the TV on election night, you know, see who won, and then call it. You know, they weren't necessarily interested in the process. Uh, but one of the amazing things when you see the process firsthand, which, you know, again, when when you hear skeptics and they then serve as a poll worker, they're like, oh wow, I didn't know all these things happened. But but throughout the process are checks and balances. Uh, you know, one of the things I say is is, you know, as long as there have been political parties, those parties didn't trust each other. And so all of the rules, uh, you know, that's not a new thing. Like, like that's been around uh but uh so all the rules, you know, are written where there you don't have these single points of failure. You know, you have um you have a process that has checks in it. Uh you have, you know, in the polling place, you see bipartisan teams in a lot of offices, you know, you don't have necessarily uh somebody that has singular access. Uh but then you also have um, you know, one of the things that we talk about a lot is that election night results are unofficial. Uh and and you know, a lot of people uh again don't really understand that. But why that is, is election officials, you know, election night isn't when the work stops for them. There's a whole bunch of work that goes into something called the Canvas and certification program or process. And and I sort of summarize that as like, you know, I mean, it's sort of balancing your checkbook. Uh it is it is dotting all the I's, crossing the T's, double checking the math, and making sure that everything adds up. You know, that the right number of uh, you know, people are saying how many ballots they started with, how many they ended with, how many people checked in. Like that math has to add up. If you have provisional ballots, you go and see why did that person vote a provisional ballot. Were they eligible? Should that be counted? Should it not be counted? And so all that work is happening after election night to make sure that those certified results are secure and accurate, uh, and that we can have confidence in that process.

SPEAKER_04 26:27

And I would just add, Joe, that you know, if you're going to have um vote by mail, then you're gonna transition perhaps to early voting and then election day. Those are different processes where you will need standard operating procedures, a chain of custody. And so that requires investment in personnel and training for those individuals, and that's common sense. And so if you're going to provide more options for your voters or to your customers, that might be an investment you need to make. And it's not a free ride. Um, there is some cost involved in providing services to Americans, and I think generally they understand that it's just sometimes um we get ahead of our skis and we want to provide everything, uh, and then the bill comes due and we haven't invested.

SPEAKER_03 27:12

Yeah, and that's that's a great point. I mean, it it's it's a great system as designed, you know, with redundancies, the transparency involved, but it still requires good people, patriotic Americans who are willing to come and work in good faith to make it work, right? Um but even even with that said, uh I was so impressed going through training both in the state of Maryland and now that I live out in the great Commonwealth of Virginia, um, how excellent the training was and how redundant and how granular the thinking was around running a polling station. We we joke around and Don you'll appreciate this, you know, uh that the process is pretty much marine proof, right? Like if you can read, you can run a polling station. Um so um what are you hearing? And and another thing I'll say is I really love that you're thinking about this in terms of of like national security infrastructure, because there's nothing more fundamental to being American than the right to choose who leads us, right? Because before we had that, we're all subject to the king of England, and uh we got tired of that pretty quick. And uh our ancestors did, and um you know, it is like people who volunteer to support elections are national security assets, full stop. Um what are you hearing as you're looking towards uh the 2024 elections and a lot of the primaries are still underway? What's on the minds of election officials around the country? What challenges are they facing right now?

SPEAKER_01 28:35

You know, when I when I look at it across the country, you know, in some ways what you don't maybe you've seen in the past or or you have one singular concern, and and I think right now what we're seeing uh is an array of those. Uh as Don mentioned earlier, you know, within our election uh official professionals, uh, we've seen a decent amount of turnover. Uh you know, that means you have a lot of new people who are running uh their first presidential election uh ever, or at least at least in the job they're in. Now they may have been deputies or they may have been in the office before uh and moved up, but uh, you know, still a presidential election is like no other. You know, the volume, uh you know, the n the amount of people that are going to turn out, it makes it a different uh election. Uh of course, uh we've seen uh a lot of a lot of disinformation out there. Uh you know, some of that has led to confusion and and threats and harassment of officials. Uh you see uh more uh certainly more records requests than I've seen in my career. And on one hand, that's a good thing that it's transparency, but if it's if it's being spurred on by like a conspiracy theory from the internet, then that's just taking up those election officials' time. And that can have real consequences. You know, uh if you would have triple check something and now you can only double check it, uh, you know, that could be a problem. Uh, and you know, we occasionally see that there are people in the process, people make errors, and so you know, you will hear stories about a printing issue or or a mail issue, this or that. Uh, and and of course, you know, we want perfection, you want to avoid that, but but there's only so many hours in the day, and there's only you know so many resources as we mentioned. And so sort of all these things add up to a very challenging environment for for our election professions.

SPEAKER_02 30:28

But then then really quick, but then similar, you know, one thing we we notice is that similar to the military undertaking really difficult things, you know, humans can make sorry, humans can make mistakes, but having checks and balances in the system is what makes the systems actually work. And it seems like that's the way our elections run in each state. Is that sure? Humans can make errors, but there should always be enough checks and balances to overcome those, no matter what they are. Is that is that right to say?

SPEAKER_01 31:00

Yeah, and you know, again, I think, you know, I mean, we've been talking about some of the different options for voting. Um, and so broadly speaking, I agree. And then and then, you know, some of the reasons that those are nice is that they give more options to fix something. You know, if I've shown up at early voting and uh I don't have maybe, you know, uh the right information isn't down, or I don't have the right kind of identification for that state, like I still have a window to fix that. Um versus if I've waited till election day, you know, now again, that's why we created provisional ballots. Uh or actually the Help America Vote Act uh that created us required all states to have a provisional ballot. And those are sometimes taken as a negative, but but they are a fail-safe. They give you the opportunity to vote your ballot and then figure it out, you know, whether or not you were actually registered, if that should count after the fact. So it is a fail-safe device. Uh, and again, another example of one of those checks that's in place.

SPEAKER_04 32:05

Well, we like to say in the military that everybody has a boss, and I think you have that in the election community. Um, for example, you be an election administrator. There's going to be accountability um during the canvas process and the certification process. If mistakes were made, there's got to be a reconciliation as to why. Um, and usually there's audits that take place that help identify or provide those best practices. So if a mistake is made, there's going to be some sort of investigation or query into what happened and why. Um, so they do occur, as you said, and so um there is accountability um all the way up to the chief election official in each state um and the legislature. Because sometimes there are investigations that are called by the legislature. What happened in County A, and how can we avoid that in the future? Awesome.

SPEAKER_03 32:53

No, I I think yeah, and that's why my experience as a lowly power too is you know, looking at the redundant systems that are in place. I mean, you know, I I've I've said this before, I'll say it again. Uh, when we were going through the training in Maryland, I looked over at my wife in this inch thick manual of rules and regulations for running a polling station. I was like, God, are we like opening a skiff here? You know, are we you know launching nuclear warheads or something? Because it was just like two-party integrity, tamper-proof tape. I mean, on and on. I was super, super impressed. And um, and the level of transparency and the commitment of people. And I think you know, one of the one of the awesome things about it was you know, show me another place where in contemporary society you have Republicans and Democrats and independents all coming together to work for a common goal to do something good for the country, right? You see it in the military, you see it in polling places, and I just love that kind of civic spirit. Um, we do know that uh there are bad actors around the world who are trying to influence our elections. You know, you can read um uh unclass and open source reports about China trying to influence our elections, Russia for sure, uh operating troll farms trying to influence the American electorate. Um what does your commission do, or who do you work with if if you that doesn't fall under your mandate to to make sure that these the hostile foreign uh efforts are being thwarted?

SPEAKER_01 34:12

Yeah, so we work with uh, you know, of course, a number of federal partners, and and there are folks who who that's you know their full-time day job, but but we do see, you know, there actually there was some recent guidance from from CISA or the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency, uh, along with the FBI and and ODNI talking about foreign malign influence, you know, sort of raising the flag that that that hasn't gone away. And and particularly uh, you know, with with sort of the dispersed channels of the internet, that's becoming uh you know uh something really for to amplify the divisions uh amongst Americans. And and so one of the things where we really focus on, you know, there's to me there's two sides of that coin. There's sort of the whack-a-mole of debunking conspiracy theories or or or you know, going to the source, but then there's also the voter education side where you make sure that people are getting trusted source information. Uh you know, and for that, we always say that is your state or local election official. You know, that's going to the person who runs your election. Um and you know, I think uh when you look at the information space, it ranges from from you know nation-state adversary actors spreading disinformation to just the decentralized nature of our elections uh makes misinformation very, very easy. You know, uh if you live in the in the greater Washington, D.C. area, you know, this TV market hits Virginia, Maryland, uh, D.C., and West Virginia. So, you know, the the nightly news anchor might say, hey, early voting starts tomorrow, and it does in Virginia, but it doesn't in those three other places. And so, you know, that's not malicious, but but it's just that we run elections differently in each state. And so that's why it's important to make sure you're getting uh, you know, your election information from your state or local election official uh and getting that from that source, from that trusted source. Love it.

SPEAKER_04 36:14

Yeah, I just to add, I think we try to amplify what states and localities are trying to do and communicating. And sometimes that voice is not very loud because like us, we don't have a special special appropriation just for voter education or communication. So we do it with but what we have, primarily social media, um, and we try to be unique in our approach. But really, we're trying to amplify um and point people to their trusted source in their own county or jurisdiction. So they're getting uh the information that's closest to them to the people. Um, and so I think from a a macro level, um, you know, this goes back to the Cold War days of Russia and US, where well, Soviet Union at the time, and it was it was capitalism versus communism and anything to point out the flaws in our society. Well, that battle has not really ended, it's continues to this day. And so they're the Russians and the Chinese are the communists, or I hate to be so simplistic about it, but it's the truth, are trying to exploit our differences and sort of our shortcomings, which we have some apparently. But um, you know, they're trying to exploit that and turn us against each other, and so we have to be discerning as Americans uh of what is what what our enemies are trying to do, uh, and just keep that in context when we have our political debates. Awesome.

SPEAKER_03 37:38

Yeah, well, so Don and Um Yeah, something I'm always very concerned about. And I think when I run into veterans who are like, hey, well, I heard about this, or you know, you can buy mail and ballots for 10 bucks. I'm like, wait a minute, pal, like you know, in the military, we would never base our our combat operations or even tactical operations on like one reporting. You know, we would you know cross-reference it with other, we'd check it out a little bit, um, run some satellites over the the target, right? You know, to put some human on it and collect from multiple sources to ascertain what's the best estimate of the truth, right? So I think you know, I also urge fellow veterans, hey, treat your media consumption like open source intel collection, right? Like check it out. If your mom said she loves you, get a second source, right? You know, so um you know, let's be really careful about it. But um when we think about um our elections and our system being a very human-run uh operation, like what can Americans do and especially veterans do to help strengthen this whole system?

SPEAKER_01 38:40

Thanks for that question. You know, uh one, uh for folks out there looking for a job, I'd flag, you know, we mentioned the turnover, and for a lot of people, you know, no one in election uh I don't know if I've ever met somebody in election administration that that was where they thought they were their career was going. Uh, you know, everybody sort of comes into it in some way, often as poll workers actually, and uh and you know, they find something there and they find a passion for it. Uh you know, and it really is it is a great profession. So so just top line, I'd throw that out there. But but for those people who aren't looking for a career change, you know, there are some real basic things you can do. Uh, you know, you mentioned poll workers. I know uh I know We The Veterans has has been a huge proponent of being a poll worker and and appreciate that so much. Uh the AC has a dedicated site, helpamericavote.gov. It's got information on being a poll worker. It can help get you to your to your state or local sign-up. Uh a great way to find out more. And again, that makes you sort of the front lines of our democracy, the customer service faces our democracy that I mentioned. Um, but again, even if that isn't if if you're not even, you know, if that's not a commitment you're ready to make, uh, you know, simply voting and making sure that your information is up to date. Uh, you know, Americans move a lot. You know, and they move across county lines a lot. And it matters to have that registration information be current. It matters to you, it matters to your election official. You know, you may be still able to vote and have that vote counted depending on your rules and how long it's been in your state, but it creates work and it creates work for those poll workers. And so if you've gone to your, you know, most states at this point have online registration. If you've checked your info and all of that's up to date, uh your experience is going to be smoother in the polling place, uh, and that's gonna make it easier on that poll worker. Uh so you're helping them out. It's gonna make sure the line behind you is shorter. Uh, and so just simply making sure your information that is up to date has the big ripple effect and makes a difference. So, so no matter how invested you are, there's options there. You know, update your info, be a poll worker, think about it as a career change. Uh, that's the spectrum for you.

SPEAKER_04 41:01

Awesome. Done. Thoughts. Oh, I would I agree with everything the chair said. I I think that I think most veterans would understand, and most citizens would understand, that it's a noble profession, particularly being an election administrator. Uh, you really are facilitating democracy for your fellow citizens. And, you know, I think a lot of military see that um as a noble goal. And when you get involved in a polling place or an election office, there's a camaraderie around that mission. And so it really aligns really directly with what how veterans um see the world because of their service to their country. Um, and so it's one way of being on the tip of the spear and being involved and running to the fire because you're not um just watching the show as it happens, you're actually involved and making sure um that democracy works.

SPEAKER_03 41:51

Awesome. Awesome. Could have said it better. Well, we'd like to wrap up with one final question. What do you wish your fellow Americans knew about our system of elections?

SPEAKER_01 42:02

That's a good one. Uh, you know, there's when you're this far down in the weeds, sometimes there's too many things. But I think, you know, if I were to pick one, it would just simply be that their participation matters. Uh, you know, a lot of times we get caught up in in winners or losers, or, you know, oh, this vote may, you know, what's one vote matter? Well, one, you'd be surprised how many elections, particularly local elections, come down to one vote. Uh, you know, I've seen several in my career. Uh, but also I think about it to those election officials. You know, we just we just had a conference um with a number of state uh with our advisory boards, which is officials across the country, you know, and so many people just had low turnout primaries. Well, those election officials, those workers show up if it's you know, 4% turnout or 94% turnout. Uh and so showing up, you know, to me tells them we appreciate you're here, we care about this thing. Uh, you know, and so to me, uh, you know, uh our democracy is bigger than just who's on the ballot. And so uh knowing that, valuing that, and showing up um just uh, you know, say thanks to those poll workers uh, you know, uh is a big deal. And so I encourage people to participate uh, you know, in every election if they can. Thanks so much, Don.

SPEAKER_04 43:27

I would just say that your vote does matter. That investment of time that it takes for you to go to a polling place or to vote your ballot is necessary for this democracy. Uh, some people get so busy in their work and their life that voting becomes actually difficult because they just don't feel it's worth the time and effort, but it absolutely is. Um, and it's part of being um a citizen in a democratic country. Um because you have to fulfill that responsibility. You got to work the muscle or it will atrophy. And so it does matter. We so we do everything we can um as election officials to make sure that the doors are open, ready for you to vote, uh, and that you can do so and have your voice heard. Otherwise, it won't be heard. And our democracy needs the voice of its citizens, it really does.

SPEAKER_03 44:16

Absolutely. Couldn't have said a bit of myself. Gentlemen, you just heard from Commissioner Ben Hovland and Vice Chair Don Palmer of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Thanks so much for joining us today and uh helping us better understand our system of elections. Welcome back, everyone. Joining us in studio today is Loren Westerfeld. She's an Army vet and the deputy director of Vet the Vote. So um, Lauren, welcome.

SPEAKER_05 44:45

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 44:46

Hey, so um catch us up. Like a lot's been going on with Vet the Vote. I think we just broke a significant milestone. Could you tell us like where are we at in total number of people recruited and what else do you know about what's happening today?

SPEAKER_05 44:58

Yeah, absolutely. So we're very proud to share that VetTheVote has recruited over 140,000 volunteers from veterans and military family members to serve as poll workers for this election, which is huge.

SPEAKER_03 45:14

So 140,000 um is a big number. And I know when we originally started this in 2022, the goal was um 100k, and we ended up um recruiting 63,500 that year. So uh still a success. But how how soon will we hit 150k? Do you have any projections on that?

SPEAKER_05 45:33

You know, it it really depends on um and our coalition partners and and a number of different organizations that share the message. Obviously, we're still recruiting volunteers through our channels. Uh, we were at Newscar last weekend. Uh, so that was a really cool um opportunity for the vet the vote brand and name to be out in the public. So seeing the vet the vote brand on an actual NASCAR uh racing car this weekend, hopefully that will kind of bring a curiosity to a number of veterans who are like, well, I've never heard of this. What's this? Even the sign up. So I really think we'll hit that 150,000 definitely before the election, but of course you never know.

SPEAKER_03 46:18

Yeah, and that that's a huge number because I think you know this year we were hoping to get over 100,000. Um, but yeah, that's great. We're already at 140. Um, but NASCAR's big news because uh they are uh our newest sports league to join Vet Vote. So can you tell me like what do you know about their motivations for coming along?

SPEAKER_05 46:35

You know, NASCAR is a very veteran-friendly organization. Um they reach so many people across the country. And, you know, a lot of the different sports leagues are really focused on getting the word out to vote. Um, but I think the the message of vet the vote and bringing poll workers on board and getting people involved with volunteering, I think has been a new message for those different sports leagues and has really been kind of an important piece of, you know, going beyond just getting everybody out to vote. Yes, we want everybody to get out and vote, but we also need poll workers to work those elections. Otherwise, the lines will be too long or you know, they won't have um the ability to open some of the locations. And of course, we want every location that is available to be open and staffed adequately and securely and not have those huge lines on all each day.

SPEAKER_03 47:27

Yeah, and I think that's something that a lot of people don't really take into account is how many volunteers it takes to run our elections every year. I know the last time I checked the election assistance commission's data in 2020, the last presidential election, it was 774,000 poll workers in 44 states, right? That reported data back to them. So you we can kind of extrapolate that. And I think that number is somewhere between like 875, maybe even up to a million volunteers, is what you know, different projections I've heard for this year. So as you're talking to different state and county officials, what are you hearing from them as far as their thoughts about the upcoming election?

SPEAKER_05 48:08

The really fool part has been kind of learning how the states actually do these elections. Every state is different. Um, so what I see even in the last few months since I started was there was a shortage, it seemed like in a lot of counties. Not every county, but a lot of counties had a shortage, even here in the Houston area where I am, um, and talking to local election officials. And um some of them, like Galveston County, said they saw over 40 come in per day just after the VA sent out their um email talking about vet the vote. And they they're completely staffed now. I talked to her last week and they're completely staffed for the actual election. Of course, there's a lot of positions available. And some of the counties still need a good number of volunteers to get trained to be poll workers, so it's still a great time to sign up to be a poll worker through vet the vote.

SPEAKER_03 49:04

Yeah, yeah, definitely. And I know like some states, like where I live here in Virginia, that we have 45 days of early voting. So I mean, you know, polls are opening fairly quickly. Yeah. Um, and I'll be working in uh early voting and also on election day uh with my wife here in Warren County. But um let me back up for a minute. So I know you were in the army. What did what did you do for the army?

SPEAKER_05 49:28

Um I was a signal officer, so I spent most of my time with the 101st Air War Division out of Fort Campbell, uh deployed to Baghdad in 2008, right after I had a baby. Spent seven years in the army, and I'm still a military spouse. You know, I I never really considered um going into anything civically related until I saw the opportunity that Bet the Boat had for this deputy director position. I actually served as a full worker for the first time while I was in college. So I was an RHEC cadet at the university, and I um honestly been interested in understanding government. I had taken a few government classes, but um, but I really wanted to get involved with the process and obviously wanted to volunteer. And um the pay for a college student for a day was not terrible considering we didn't have classes. So all of that kind of led to me um first being a poll worker and getting involved with the election, and then it's always just kind of been part of what who I am and and what I want to know about what's going on with the country.

SPEAKER_03 50:43

Yeah. Um, that's awesome. What what's coming down the pike for vet the vote? I mean, I I I lost track. I mean, there's so much going on.

SPEAKER_05 50:55

Man, Joe, there's so many things coming down, and depending on when people are listening to this, could kind of depend on on what they're gonna hear. But I'll let you know that we've got um we've got a panel in Arizona coming up talking about um vet the vote. We've got um a state of the city event going on in Nevada. I've got three events coming up in two two weeks in Houston, um particularly with the different counties and um our veterans were doing some different veteran stand downs talking about resources for veterans. And of course, volunteering is a resource that gives you purpose. It's it's a really important part of our veteran community, is actually volunteering. Getting paid while you're volunteer is not terrible either. Uh, we've got our executive director speaking in Michigan this week. We've got that event going on in Jacksonville in October that you were talking about. So that's Florida. Um, we've got a Secretary of State event in Vermont and Idaho for sure coming up as well. So we're all over the country and super busy for the next few months before this election actually happens. Still sharing about vet the vote, getting veterans involved, and also, you know, just sharing what we're doing. Everybody that I talk to that I share what I do, they're like, that's incredible. I love that you're doing that. Doesn't matter if they're a veteran or not, they really love the mission and what we're doing. They love hearing that veterans are going to be poll workers in our election, and they love hearing that we're not gonna have a shortage and they're not gonna have a huge line in November.

SPEAKER_03 52:32

Yeah, and I think that's one of the best things about being a poll worker is that it really runs below the level of politics. I mean, what you're doing is putting to put the architecture in place to allow our fellow Americans to exercise their right to vote. So it doesn't matter if you're Republican, Democrat, independent, you know, everyone uh from all political parties or no political party, you know, are volunteering to help check people in, hand out ballots, making sure everything's safe and secure. And um, you know, despite what we're hearing in the press uh, you know, from some quarters uh questioning uh the integrity of our election system, you know, I would say, uh, and I know many uh many of my fellow folks uh on about the vote uh would agree that uh we have arguably the best elections in the world and the most safe and secure elections in the world. So um, you know, if anyone has questions about that, I think you know, one thing I would advise them is to uh to volunteer and you know see the election architecture from the inside of the process and own a piece of it and be responsible for the safety and security of it uh and the accuracy of it. So um, what do you wish your fellow Americans knew about about elections?

SPEAKER_05 53:36

Man, I I think everybody should get involved in an election in some way, shape, or form. You know, I think just going through the training, I've talked to some people who had a healthy skepticism just because of all the news that has come out. You know, they they were like, well, I've heard this. I don't know if I believe it. You know what exactly what you said, Joe. Get involved and then you'll know. You'll know personally. You won't have to guess whether or not a press on one side or another is is trying to sway what you think. You can actually find out for yourself. Even if you don't end up being a poll worker during this election, you still can go through the training and understand how it works, which is huge. Or you can volunteer at an upcoming event. They have more elections going on every single year than I ever had the idea between primaries and Senate races and state Senate races and county commissioners and you know, people who have passed away and suddenly there's a special election. So there are so many opportunities to our fellow Americans get involved, you know, know your neighbors, like just being involved with the process and understanding that those people that are working in election day, one, they're volunteers, two, they are your neighbors, and three, they, you know, they need support as well. They need our support and you know, maybe they keep working the next election and and you can fill in. So get involved with the process. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 54:59

Yeah. I think you know, everyone should serve on a jury at one point in their adult life and it definitely be part of of the an election, you know, at least once in their life. And I think, you know, having done both, I can tell you that um working the polls for the elections is a lot more fun than jury duty. So um what what what what haven't I asked you that I should that you want everyone to know?

SPEAKER_05 55:23

I would say I I do want to mention that there are locations that still need volunteers that still can get trained to to work this election. Um, so don't hesitate to sign up, go to vet the dot vote and um say sign up for an application to be a poll worker and um you know help out where you can. I think I think also the fact that we are all over the place. Um, if you'd like to get more involved with vet the vote, you know, by signing up through our website, you still can get information. Um, even if your county does not need poll workers at this time for this particular election, you'll continue to get updates on places that do, or like the state of Michigan. They you can actually serve as a poll worker in any county in that state as long as you're registered to vote in the state. As we're in Texas, you have to be registered to vote in the county that you live, and then you can only work the election in that county. So um every jurisdiction is different. It's super interesting. Um join us and get involved in the process.

SPEAKER_03 56:34

And I I love that because you're you're absolutely right. I mean, everyone who served on active duty, you, me, and uh and the other millions of folks who have, uh, especially since 9-11, have put our paw on the air to support and define the constitution. And um, what a great way to continue service not only to our country, but to our communities um by helping our fellow Americans exercise a right to vote. I can't think of anything more fundamentally American or any greater service that we could do than than that. So, Lauren, it's been great having you come by today to update us on vet the vote. For folks um who are interested, what website do they need to go to again?

SPEAKER_05 57:11

It's vet the dot vote.

SPEAKER_03 57:13

Vetha.vote. Excellent. Thanks so much.

SPEAKER_02 57:17

Thanks. Thank you so much for listening. If you found this podcast episode interesting or useful, please share it with the people you know. This episode was co-hosted by Joe Plensler and Ellen Gustafson. The audio and video were edited by King's Collab Studios. This podcast is a production of We the Veterans and Military Families, 501c3 not-for-profit, nonpartisan, veteran and military spouse-led organization, focused on promoting positive and patriotic civic engagement to strengthen American freedom and liberty. Find out more about us at we the veterans.us and follow us on social media.