September 30, 2024

Election Resource Roundup: Election Workers and Observers (Week 16)

In preparation for the 2024 Presidential Election, The Elections Group is teaming up with experts in the industry to highlight resources for election administrators. This weekly series will showcase resources from The Elections Group, paired with resources from other organizations in the elections space. Every four weeks, we will focus on a different topic, and we’ll take a deeper dive into the resources available each week. Whether you’re a seasoned elections administrator looking for resources in the field, or if you’re new to the role, these maximum 30-minute sessions will be a quick introduction to resources curated for you.

The September 30 Resource Roundup featured The Election Group’s Shared Expectations for Meaningful Observation and The Carter Center’s Guide for Election Observer Policies in the United States.

TEG’s Shared Expectations for Meaningful Observation guides provide information and context that will help observers perform meaningful observation of various election processes. Observation is meaningful when participants make good-faith efforts to understand the election administration process and respect the rights of others, especially voters, who are participating in that process. However, meaningful observation is not just the responsibility of observers. It can only happen when election officials provide a vantage point with a comprehensive view of the election processes and their security provisions, as well as explanations that provide observers an understanding of how these provisions should interact to provide interlocking protections. The guides in this document are designed as hand-outs for election observers.

The Carter Center’s Guide for Election Observer Policies in the United States provides an overview of the policies governing election observers across the United States. The guide outlines the various types of observers and the important roles each of them play. It also includes case studies illustrating how observers are integrated into the election processes to focus on election integrity. This guide and other election observer resources from The Carter Center will be updated and published in the coming months.

Listen to this episode, download the resources and implement them into your office today.