EC File – An Automated Candidate Filing Program

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

The San Bernardino County Elections Office takes candidate filings from candidates running for nearly 250 offices. The candidate filing process is complex due to complicated state requirements and is reliant upon on inexperienced temporary staff to run the process. These circumstances create considerable risk for the County because a mistake in the process can result in expensive reprinting of election materials and confusion for voters. As a result, the Elections Office implemented a program to improve the process by 1) designing and developing a computer application called “EC File” to automate the customer facing process, 2) streamlining the back end proofing process of candidate filing documents, 3) continually improving the design of EC File as needed, and 4) looking for ways to share this innovative program with other counties. The “EC File” program has been very successful at assisting Elections Office staff and San Bernardino County candidates with completing candidate filing documents quickly and accurately. Users of the application have provided overwhelmingly positive feedback and the application has proven to be popular not only with staff members and candidates, but also with other California counties who are interested in obtaining and using this application in the future.