2024 Clearinghouse Awards: U.S. Election Assistance Commission recognizes county excellence in election administration
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Paige Mellerio
Emma Conover
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On April 16, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) announced the winners of its 2024 Clearinghouse (“Clearie”) awards, recognizing 32 counties for their election administration practices during the 2024 election cycle. In addition, 35 county election offices were recognized as honorable mentions.
What are the "Clearie" Awards?
Established in 2016, the Clearinghouse Awards, also known as the “Clearie” Awards, are presented to election offices and coalitions across the U.S. to promote best practices in elections and celebrate the accomplishments of election officials. Awards are judged on innovation, cost-effectiveness, replicability, sustainability, whether it meets the category requirements and how it improves outcomes for voters and election officials. A new category, “exemplary contingency planning and emergency response efforts,” was added this year.
A list of the county recipients and their programs can be found below, and a full list of awardees is available here.
The nation’s 3,069 counties traditionally administer and fund elections at the local level, including overseeing polling places and registering voters. NACo congratulates all the 2024 Clearie winners.
2024 Clearinghouse Awardees
Distinguished Voter Education and Communications Initiatives – Small/Medium Jurisdictions
Dubuque County, Iowa – Voting Artwork
Huron County, Ohio – Boxed Ballot
Indian River County, Fla. - Mobile Voter Program
Distinguished Voter Education and Communications Initiatives – Large Jurisdictions
Buncombe County, N.C. - The NC Together Video Project
Charleston County, S.C. - "Owlbert Learns to Vote"
Durham County, N.C. - Durham County DCo Votes Mobile App
Ottawa County, Mich. – “Not a Podcast - Ballots and Banter”
Thurston County, Wash. - Your Neighbors, Your Elections
Innovation and New Tools in Election Security and Technology
Los Angeles County, Calif. - Electronic Chain of Custody Solution for Elections
Pierce County, Wash. - Securing Democracy’s Inbox: An Air-Gapped Protocol for Processing Voter Email Attachments
Tazewell County, Ill. - Election Judge Badge
Exemplary Contingency Planning and Emergency Response Efforts – Small/Medium Jurisdictions
Coconino County, Ariz. - Empowering Poll Workers Through Situational Awareness Training: A Model for Collaboration Between Elections and Law Enforcement
Lexington County, S.C. - Election Training
Exemplary Contingency Planning and Emergency Response Efforts – Large Jurisdictions
Buncombe County, N.C. - Buncombe County, NC, Helene Disaster Response
Wake County, N.C. - Wake County Election Day Emergency Action Plan
Innovations or New Practices in Election Administration – Small/Medium Jurisdictions
Monterey County, Calif. - Books and Ballots Program
Innovations or New Practices in Election Administration – Large Jurisdictions
Fairfax County, Va. - Pollbook Unclear? No Need to Fear! A Worksheet Leads the Way for Processing Nonroutine Voters
Jefferson County, Colo. - A Signature Solution: Helping First-Time Voters Make Their Votes Count
Prince William County, Va. - Publishing Results Tapes Online
Outstanding Use of HAVA Grants in Election Modernization
Palm Beach County, Fla. - Enhancing Election Accessibility and Efficiency with HAVA Grants
Sutter County, Calif. - Sutter Translate!
Best Practices for Improving Accessibility for Voters with Disabilities
Charleston County, S.C. - Voter Accessibility Advisory Committee
Floyd County, Ga. - Voter Accessibility Town Hall
Salt Lake County, Utah - Try Before You Vote: Accessible Voter Outreach
Best Practices in Recruiting, Retaining, and Training Poll Workers – Small/Medium Jurisdictions
Porter County, Ind. – Improving Poll Worker Support
Washington County, Md. - Election Judge Recruitment Open House
Best Practices in Recruiting, Retaining, and Training Poll Workers – Large Jurisdictions
Fairfax County, Va. - No More Waits, No Misplaced Tapes: Closing the Polls Faster on Election Night
Los Angeles County, Calif. - Multilingual Election Worker Recruitment Tool
Pima County, Ariz. - Pima County Elections Training Program
Creative and Original “I Voted” Stickers – Small/Medium Jurisdictions
Currituck County, N.C. – “I Voted” Sticker Contest
Mesa County, Colo. – Mesa County Elections 2024 Sticker Contest
Creative and Original “I Voted” Stickers – Large Jurisdictions
Palm Beach County, Fla. – Two Unique Accessible Braille Stickers for Voters
Honorable Mentions
A full list of honorable mentions is available here
- Boone County, Mo. - Elections Information in ASL - Continuing the Outreach
- Doña Ana County, N.M. - 2024 “I Voted” Sticker Contest
- Douglas County, Colo. - Douglas County Elections Student Art Contest
- Dubuque County, Iowa - Election Heroes: Learn how to use NARCAN
- Durham County, N.C. - Election Official Supplemental Security Plan
- Fairfax County, Va. - No Time to Freeze: Empowering Poll Workers with Clear, Accessible Evacuation Guides
- Fairfax County, Va. - Don't Overlook It — Overlay It! The Simple Solution That Ensures Every Provisional Vote Can Count
- Fairfax County, Va. - The Best of Both Worlds: A Digital Helper for Paper Forms
- Georgetown County, S.C. - Streamlining the Tabulation Process
- Gibson County, Ind. - Gibson County Election Learning Lab
- Hall County, Neb. - Clear Marks Campaign
- Hillsborough County, Fla. - 2024 Vote Hillsborough “I Voted” Sticker Contest
- Jefferson County, Colo. - Ballot Box Transformation: Enhancing Security, Clarity, and Accessibility
- King County, Wash. - Building Resiliency with an Alternate Fiber Route
- Los Angeles County, Calif. - Empowering Voters, One Click at a Time: The Make a Plan to Vote Tool
- Los Angeles County, Calif. - “If You See Something, Say Something: Threat Identification and Prevention System (TIPS)”
- Los Angeles County, Calif. - Election Worker Recruitment/Retention Videos
- Los Angeles County, Calif. - “Voting Never Stops” Pop-Up Vote Centers
- Maricopa County, Ariz - Adjudication Training Manual
- Muscogee County, Ga. - Poll Worker Innovation Tank
- Osceola County, Fla. - Early Voting Map and Sample Ballot Highlighting Early Voting
- Palm Beach County, Fla. - Voter Ready Election Day Phone App
- Paulding County, Ga. - Contingency Planning
- Pierce County, Wash. - Signature Solutions: A Direct Voter Education Campaign
- Pima County, Ariz - Pima County Elections Asset Inventory Management Program
- Prince William County, Va. - Four Years, Five Stickers (“I Voted” Stickers)
- Rockingham County, N.C. - Rockingham County Emergency Response Communications Plan
- Salt Lake County, Utah - Prepared to De-Escalate: Safeguarding Election Staff and Voters
- Salt Lake County, Utah - Taking Two Cards and Making One Seamless Ballot Count
- Sarasota County, Fla. - Our Community, Captured in One Sticker
- Sibley County, Minn. - Sibley County Elections Education Campaign
- Tazewell County, Ill. - Pekin Bicentennial “I Voted” Sticker
- Thurston County, Wash. - Expanding Access: Public Transit Partnerships for Accessible Elections
- Union County, N.C. - “I Voted” Sticker
- Vigo County, Ind. - Poll Worker Training and Uniformity
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