Coalition of Bay Area Election Officials

About the Program

Category: Civic Education and Public Information

Year: 2023

Democracy took a hit in 2020 when mis-, dis-, and mal-information (MDM) were used to challenge the legitimacy of the Presidential General Election. Despite the 2020 election being called “the most secure election in American history” by federal election infrastructure officials, there were still claims of widespread voter fraud which were rejected by the FBI, the Department of Justice, and various courts across the nation. Unfortunately, due to the persistent nature of the MDM being peddled on many types of media, national polls indicate that a segment of American society continues to believe the 2020 Presidential Election was “stolen.” Ongoing MDM campaigns have misguided the public with unfounded, baseless claims regarding election and voting systems eroding trust, faith, and confidence in elections. Democracy is fragile and public trust in elections is essential to, and the hallmark of, a well-functioning government and society. In November 2021, 11 counties formed the Coalition of Bay Area Election Officials (“the Coalition”) to join forces and work collaboratively through a regional approach to combat MDM with expanded voter outreach and education programs. Those counties include Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, and Sonoma.