Election Center, the National Association of Election Officials, is pleased to announce the 2026 recipients of the annual People’s Choice Award in advance of its upcoming February Special Workshop in Jacksonville, FL, where recipients will be honored and can present their efforts or projects selected by their peers. Each year, members can submit professional practice papers detailing innovations in election administration in June. Submissions are reviewed by the Program Development and Awards Committee and Election Center’s Board of Directors in eight different award categories presented at the annual conference ceremony. This decades-old program was expanded in 2024 to include the People’s Choice Award, allowing members of the National Association for Election Officials to have a direct say in which of their peers receive recognition for outstanding efforts.

“The innovation that is created by local offices all across the country and the sharing within the election administration community is the hallmark of the Election Center and its contribution to improving elections and supporting the work of these public service professionals,” said Tom Wilkey, Chair, Board of Directors of the Election Center.

“At Election Center, our members are at the core of our mission. The sharing of ideas and networking are the heart of election associations,” said Tammy Patrick, Election Center’s Chief Program Officer. “Having a process to recognize and celebrate member successes remains an important activity in the profession and a way to elevate our expertise.”

In alphabetical order, the 2026 People’s Choice Award winners are: 

• A Partnership in Open House Education, Prince William County and Loudoun County, VA
• Ballot Marking Device Azure Cognitive Services Audio Generation Project, Los Angeles County, CA
• Ballot University, Morgan County, CO
• Beyond Conversion: A Technology-Driven Redesign of Poll Worker Training, Duval County, FL
• Calm at the Polls: Engaging Families and Communities to De-Escalate Early Voting, Santa Fe County, NM
• Citizens Election Academy, Guadalupe County, TX
• Developing Election Training Superstars, Los Angeles County, CA
• Durham County ‘DCo Votes’ Mobile Application, Durham County, NC
• Election Best Practices: Recruiting, Training and Retaining Election Workers and Vote Centers, Los Angeles County, CA
• Election Equipment and Asset Performance Monitoring Dashboard, Los Angeles County, CA
• Elections Explained: A Voter Engagement and Trust-Building Initiative, Snohomish County, WA
• Excel-lent Proofing, Johnson County, KS
• Fortifying Election Networks: Smart API Enhancements for Robust Security, Improved Visibility and Management, Los Angeles County, CA
• If You See Something, Say Something: Threat Identification and Prevention System (TIPS), Los Angeles County, CA
• Machine-assisted Hand Tally: Santa Fe County’s Digital Accuracy and Bipartisan Verification, Santa Fe County, NM
• Multilingual Election Worker Recruitment Tool, Los Angeles County, CA
• Popping Up for Voter Support, Los Angeles County, CA
• Preparedness Toolkit, King County, WA
• Recruiting the Election Workforce of the Future: The Arizona Election Administration Student Fellowship Program, Arizona Secretary of State
• Show, Don’t Tell: Building Voter Trust in a Polarized Era, Contra Costa County, CA
• Transparency Tools, King County, WA
• We Speak Your Language, City of Henderson, NV

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 across the United States and its 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. 

For more information about Election Center and its activities, please visit our website at electioncenter.org or contact [email protected].