A care package for our unsung friends who run elections

Is this election tougher than any other election you’ve ever administered? Certainly, election administration is more visible to more people than it ever has been before. One good outcome of what many people are calling an unexpected result: lots of civics education happening, some of it pretty good. 

We know that, behind the scenes, you’re busting butt to make elections fair, free, accessible, and secure. We’re pretty sure you do it out of love of country and duty to your neighbors, because it sometimes feels like extremely few people out there appreciate what it takes to put on an election and deliver reliable results. 

Thank you for the work you do.

If we were going to send care packages to every election director in the United States, we would include

• 12-sided dice for audits
• finger cots for counting ballots
• a keyboard app that helps you type faster on social media
• a bottle of your favorite something, you know, for stress
• a universal translator, because
• an invisibility cloak

But you probably couldn’t accept the care package, anyway. So we’ll have to settle for just saying Thank You.  

Know we’re thinking about you as we read the media stories from all over the country. Know that we’re doing everything we can to help everyone else understand just a little bit more about how elections actually work.

Keep up the good work. But in the meantime, we’re wishing you a fun, relaxing, delicious, and Happy Thanksgiving — from everyone at the Center for Civic Design