Our Work

The Elections Group has created an array of resources to meet the needs and requests of election officials across the country.

Below is a list of sample documents created by our Election Superheroes. These materials are free to download and use (contact us for a Microsoft Word version).

Please contact us if we can customize any of these materials, or provide guidance and coaching to meet the needs of your elections office. Learn how we help.

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Running Elections Without Fear: Ensuring Physical Safety for Election Personnel

Online aggression in 2020 sometimes culminated in real-world confrontations. This guide lays out a broad security plan, with steps that individuals, election offices and law enforcement can take to ensure that all election personnel remain safe from physical harm.
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Defending Democracy: Protecting Election Officials from Digital Threats

A guide to help protect election officials from digital threats and online harassment.
Mapping Voting Locations with Google Maps

Mapping Voting Locations with Google Maps

A guide walking election officials through the sometimes confusing steps necessary to create a complete map of vote centers and early voting and drop box sites, explaining appropriate file formats, how to create a google account, and other technical details.
Protest

Election Security in a Time of Disturbance

Could an individual or group mount an open challenge to the safety or procedural integrity of the election? This paper helps election officials prepare against this potential threat in 2020.
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Knowing It’s Right, Parts 1-4

The Democracy Fund Knowing It’s Right series will help you make the case for risk-limiting audits, understand how they work, put a pilot audit into practice, and design a ballot accounting program as the foundation of an audit.
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Guide to Ballot Drop Boxes

A guide to assist election officials in the planning, execution, and communication around three types of ballot drop boxes.
Ballot Box Retrieval Process

Ballot Box Retrieval Process

d.School Healthy Elections

Jennifer Morrell walks us through the detailed step-by-step process of how a team retrieves ballots from a drop box during an election.

Will voters use a Ballot Drop Box?

Will voters use a Ballot Drop Box?

d.School Healthy Elections

In this installment of Ask an Elections Expert, we ask Jennifer Morrell what advice she gives to elections administrators when they ask her if people will use the ballot drop boxes that they install.

Healthy Polling Places Guidebook

Healthy Polling Places Guidebook

d.School Healthy Elections

The Healthy Polling Place Guidebook is for the incredibly busy election officials who need practical examples for running healthy elections during a global pandemic.

Pollworker Training: Working Elections During COVID-19

Pollworker Training: Working Elections During COVID-19

d.School Healthy Elections

“Working Elections During COVID-19” is a ready-to-use training module for poll workers on how to keep themselves and voters safe from COVID-19. It is meant to augment existing poll worker training. It comes with an editable slide deck (in multiple formats) and a script.

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Running a Safe Election in a Pandemic—Start to Finish

A comprehensive guide for administering elections in a COVID-19 environment.
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Managing Expectations for Slower Election Results in 2020

A guide to help you communicate early, repeatedly and clearly about the significant shift to mail ballots in 2020, expectations for Election Day turnout, and a realistic timeline for when ballots are expected to be counted.
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Using Video to Tell a Story

A guide for creating short videos for your election website or social media to help demonstrate an election process, highlight voting options, or report your progress counting ballots.
Ballot Drop Box Security

Ballot Drop Box Security

d.School Healthy Elections

In this installation of Ask An Elections Expert, we talk to Jennifer Morrell about the physical security of ballot drop boxes.

Inbound Ballot Processing

Inbound Mail Ballot Processing Guide

This guide takes a comprehensive look at ballot processing, tracing ballots from intake to tally and archiving, providing election officials with process descriptions, tracking forms, supply lists and work roles. The guide is editable to match unique local/state needs and suitable for training staff or helping observers understand what they're watching.
Signature Comparison Quick Reference

Signature Comparison Quick Reference

A handy visual showing 15 aspects of signature comparison, from general characteristics like proportions and slant to more detailed aspects like letter spacing and initial and finial strokes, formatted as a training tool or a poster for easy reference by staff and observers.
Signature Verification Guide

Signature Verification Guide

A detailed look at Signature Verification, with process descriptions and forms that will help election officials batch ballots and track them through verification and either voter credit or rejection and cure of deficient ballots, with a meticulous approach to signature comparison.