2026 Intergovernmental Roundtable: Effective Election Administration

Effective election administration is a shared undertaking across county, state and federal governments. Counties are the primary operational engine, states set the legal and policy framework, and the federal government provides standards and security support.

County governments in particular play a crucial role in upholding our nation’s democracy by administering and overseeing most local, state and federal elections. In 36 states, counties hold primary responsibility for implementing elections, overseeing more than 100,000 polling places and managing over 630,000 poll workers each election cycle, which serves more than 200 million eligible voters.

In recent years, election administration has become increasingly complex and contentious. In addition to increased technology and cybersecurity requirements, implementation of voter registration and ballot-casting reforms have strained the capacity of county election departments of all sizes.

On Feb. 20, 2026, the National Association of Counties (NACo) convened election leaders in Washington, D.C. for the Intergovernmental Roundtable for Effective Election Administration (IREEA). County election officials, secretaries of state, congressional staff, federal agency leaders and election experts from across the country met to discuss persistent challenges, share resources and develop collaborative solutions. This report summarizes the roundtable discussions and identifies actions that county, state and federal partners can take to strengthen election administration at every level.

Key Takeaways

• Early and continuous intergovernmental coordination can help avoid disruption of elections.
• Ongoing cybersecurity protection practices and intelligence sharing can defend against attacks and improve public confidence in election processes and results.
• Advanced disaster preparation that maps authority, tests plans and pre-positions resources ensures resilient election systems before and during crises.
• Election administration is increasingly complex, high-stakes and public-facing, deserving of appropriate workforce compensation and supportive human resources.
• Sustainable funding ensures counties can continue to improve election administration through investments in staffing, equipment and cybersecurity resources that strengthen vulnerable and low-capacity areas

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