On Thursday, August 21, and Friday, August 22, Election Center honored the new Lifetime Achievement and Hall of Fame inductees and 2025 award winners at its 40th Annual National Conference in Salt Lake City.

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.

“Election Center congratulates the 2025 award recipients at our 40th Annual National Conference,” said Kathleen Hale, Executive Director of Election Center. “These achievements are a testament to their commitment to serving their respective voters and to free and fair elections.”

The complete list of 2025 Election Center award recipients, including the Lifetime Achievement and Hall of Fame inductees, is listed below:

Lifetime Achievement

• Lori Mitchell, Chaffee County Clerk and Recorder
• Shauna Dozier, Director of Clayton County’s Elections and Registration
• Derek Bowens, Durham County Director of Elections

Hall of Fame

• Rey Valenzuela, Maricopa County Director of Elections
• Lisa Marra, Arizona State Director of Elections

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

Local: Civic Education Internship (King County, WA)

State: Recruiting the Election Workforce of the Future: The Arizona Election Administration Student Fellowship Program (Arizona Secretary of State in partnership with Arizona’s County Election officials, the Bipartisan Policy Center, and the University of Southern California Schwarzenegger Institute)

Democracy Award: Best Practice of 2024

2023-2024 Biennial Report of St. Louis County (St. Louis County, MO)

Eagle Award: Exemplary Use of Technology

Introducing the Clerk’s Election Dashboard (Hillsborough County, FL)

Freedom Award: Innovation in Election Administration

Owlbert Learns to Vote (Charleston County, SC)

Guardian Award: Innovation for Election Security

Local: Securing the Vote, Strengthening the City: Denver’s Citywide Continuity & Security Initiative (Denver, Colorado)

State: Michigan Election Security 101: The Secure Election Experience (Michigan Bureau of Elections, MI)

Independence Award: Outstanding Service and Accessibility

Elections Explained: A Voter Engagement and Trust-Building Initiative (Snohomish County, WA)

Multilingual Election Worker Recruitment Tool (Los Angeles County, CA)

Stewardship Don’t Overlook It – Overlay It! The Simple Solution That Ensures Every Provisional Vote Can Count (Fairfax County, VA)

Stars and Stripes Award: Recognizing Outstanding Partnerships

Durham County Supplemental Emergency Response Plan (Durham County, NC)

Today’s Special: Election Ready “Takeout” Stickers (Palm Beach County, FL)

Stewardship Award

Don’t Overlook It —Overlay It! Provisional Vote Solution (Fairfax County, VA)

People’s Choice Award

All in This Together: Training and Collaboration (Michigan Bureau of Elections, MI)

Ballot Verifier: A New Standard in Transparency (Ada County, ID)

Bridging Communities through Accountability, Security, and Civic Engagement (Coconino County, AZ)

Bridging Gaps: Enhancing Community Trust (Palm Beach County, FL)

Early Voting Appointment System for Elections (Palm Beach County, FL)

Election Reporting Application (Virginia Beach, VA)

Fostering Transparency and Trust: Drop Box Observer Program (Pierce County, WA)

Henderson Kids Vote 2024 (City of Henderson, NV)

Improving Mail Safety (King County, WA)

In-Person Voting in County Jails Program (Los Angeles County, CA)

Mobile Voter Program (Indian River County, FL)

Online Signature Resolution Tool (King County, WA)

Online Training: The Next Step in Poll Worker Education (Denver, CO)

Planning for Elections in Changing Landscape (Sarasota County, FL)

Prioritizing Voters over County Lines (Adams, Arapahoe & Denver Counties, CO)

Project Bruno: Enhancing Election Security (Santa Fe County, NM)

Signature Challenge Process Revamp (Pierce County, WA)

Voter Education Series (Floyd County, GA)

Your Vote Matters Bookmarks (Dubuque County, IA)

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.