FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

On Tuesday, September 10, Election Center honored the 2024 award winners at its 39th Annual National Conference in Detroit. Earlier in the day, 121 Election Center members were also designated as newly Certified Elections/Registration Administrators (CERA), the highest professional achievement for election officials and vendors in the country. Election Center members receiving this designation participated in a graduation ceremony at Election Center’s 39th Annual National Conference in Detroit. The awards and graduation ceremonies followed the presentation of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement and Hall of Fame Awards the day prior.

Election Center annually highlights excellence in election professionalism by inviting members to submit and share their best ideas, practices, and partnerships through its Professional Practices Program. While many of those shared each year are outstanding, the most notable ones receive recognition at a special presentation during the national conference.

“Congratulations to the 2024 Election Center Professional Practices Award winners and CERA graduates,” said Susan Gill, Chair of the Election Center Board of Directors. “These awards represent the highest in professional standards recognized across the country. Thank you for sharing your ideas with the election community.”

The complete list of 2024 Election Center award recipients, including the Lifetime Achievement and Hall of Fame awards presented yesterday, is listed below:

Lifetime Achievement

• Cathy Darling Allen, recently retired Shasta County Clerk and Registrar of Voters

Hall of Fame

• Charlotte Sosebee, Athens-Clarke County Director of Elections and Voter Registration
• Veronica Degraffenreid, Senior Manager of Strategic Partnerships, Elections & Government at the Brennan Center for Justice

Beacon Award: Embodies Election Center’s Principles & Standards of Conduct

• City of Henderson, NV: Henderson Kids Vote 2024

Democracy Award: Best Practice of 2024

• Palm Beach Co, FL: Minimizing Lines and Wait Times: Early Voting Appointment System for Elections

Eagle Award: Exemplary Use of Technology

• Ada Co, ID: Ballot Verifier: A New Standard in Transparency
• Johnson Co, KS: Candidate Portal Creation with Microsoft 365

Freedom Award: Innovation in Election Administration

• San Benito Co, CA: The Ride Along Program: Fostering Transparency and Trust in Elections

Guardian Award: Innovation for Election Security

• Santa Fe Co, NM: Project Bruno: Enhancing Election Security

Independence Award: Outstanding Service and Accessibility

• Colorado Department of State: In-Person Voting for All Eligible Confined Coloradans
• Los Angeles Co, CA: In-Person Voting in County Jails Program

Stars and Stripes Award: Recognizing Outstanding Partnerships

• Indian River Co, FL: Mobile Voter Program: A collaboration with the Senior Resource Association
• Dubuque Co, IA: Your Vote Matters Bookmarks A Collaboration with the Dubuque County Library System

Stewardship Award

• King Co, WA: Online Signature Resolution Tool

People’s Choice Award

• Athens-Clarke County, GA: Election Night Return Process
• Boone County, MO: Poll Worker Split Shifts
• Contra Costa County, CA: Certified Election Observer Program
• Denver, CO: Creating a Culture of Engagement
• Douglas County, KS: RFID Technology in Elections: Innovating Chain-of-Custody Processes
• Dubuque County, IA: Improving Accessibility for Voters
• King County, WA: Ballot Alerts
• King County, WA: Expanded Access to Detained Voters
• King County, WA: Making Signatures Less Challenging
• King County, WA: Washington Election Communicators Group
• Lane County, OR: Meaningful Observation Initiative
• Los Angeles County, CA: County Employee Election Worker Program
• Los Angeles County, CA: In-Person Voting in County Jails Program
• Martin County, FL: Election Worker Sensitivity Training
• North Carolina Board of Elections: Partnering with Law Enforcement
• Tammany Parish, LA: Commissioner Training
• Washington Secretary of State: State of Washington Data Visualization Project
• St. Louis County, MO: Adult Learning Principles in Action

The Election Center, also known as the National Association for Election Officials, is the largest national professional association for election officials in the United States. It is a non-profit association of voter registrars, election administrators, and service providers throughout the United States and the U.S. territories. Its membership, which includes township, city, county, and state elections officials and other election-related organizations, is dedicated to promoting and supporting continuous improvement in the administration of elections and voter registration through research, professional education, conferences, networking, and consulting.