Announcing the Inaugural VIP Partner Awards
The 2020 election cycle was unprecedented in many ways — including the pressure on election offices to conduct safe, secure elections during a global pandemic. Amidst all of these challenges, state election offices continued to take part in VIP. We are incredibly grateful for these efforts, which increased access to election information for millions of voters.
To recognize this achievement and celebrate the work of election offices, we are happy to inaugurate the VIP Partner Awards. We hope to make this a biannual tradition.
To capture the many ways our state partners amaze us, winners were selected in four categories. Congratulations to these partners, and to everyone in election offices for your work and dedication throughout the 2020 cycle!
For their exceptional work in deploying the most up-to-date technology to participate in VIP
The Louisiana Secretary of State Elections Division
Louisiana’s Elections Division has implemented the gold standard for VIP data: an automated, daily feed that updates for each election — and Louisiana has a lot of elections! This allows us to display the most up-to-date information to voters, without any additional burden to their staff. They have also been amazing implementers of all new data specification upgrades, including pioneering the use of ballot styles with their ballot information. Their thoughtful testing and feedback has helped not only their voters, but all future implementers of VIP data.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission
With more than 1,800 local and county clerks running elections across the state, it’s easy to understand why the NIST Common Data Format would appeal to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. They have configured the NIST 1500-100 “pre-election” file and, following some collaboration with our team, are able to use that dataset to participate in VIP. This is a true “two birds with one stone” opportunity, which VIP hopes to support in other states — and it would not have been possible without their partnership.
For their exceptional utilization and innovative application of VIP data and tools
The California Secretary of State Elections Division
In 2020, many counties in California changed their election models to include vote centers, early vote sites, and drop boxes. The Secretary of State’s Office worked diligently to keep this new data accurate in VIP by providing updates anytime a county changed a location or hours. In addition to including VIP’s embeddable Voting Information Tool on their website, the California Secretary of State’s Office encourages their Voter Hotline operators to use the tool. Because the tool requires only a residential address, it allows operators to assist callers quickly, without needing to ask for any personal information — such as their driver’s license number or the last four digits of their social security number.
"Since 2012, the California Secretary of State's Office has worked in partnership with the Voting Information Project to make participating in elections easier, more accessible, and more transparent — as it should be," California Secretary of State Election Division Chief Jana Lean said. "Out of this partnership, we established the use of the Voting Information Tool on our website (FindMyPollingPlace.sos.ca.gov) providing voters with quick, straightforward information about upcoming elections, ways to vote, and nearby voting locations at the tips of their fingers. In California, we believe voting is a right and as such, we're grateful to organizations like VIP for taking real, measurable steps to remove barriers to voting and help voters have a voice and make it heard."
The Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division
Oregon’s Election Division utilizes VIP’s Voting Information Tool as their online Drop Box Locator, providing their voters with a comprehensive list of all the places they can drop off their ballots. Their team works with us — and with each of their counties — to proof and confirm we are displaying data as accurately as possible for the more than 300 locations across the state. For their May 2020 primary, drop boxes inside buildings like public libraries or town halls were no longer guaranteed to be open, due to closures around COVID-19. Leading up to the election, their team submitted frequent updates as additional drop boxes became available, or others were no longer in use.
“The 2020 elections occurred in an environment of uncertainty and constant change for Oregonians. The Elections Division’s innovative Ballot Drop Box tool provided live geographical information about how to safely cast a ballot,” Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division Director Deborah Scroggin said. “Thanks to the partnership with VIP and counties across the state, finding out how and where to vote in Oregon was even more accessible and accurate in 2020.”
For their exceptional efforts in providing the necessary data components to participate in the VIP
The Colorado Department of State Elections Division
As a Vote By Mail state, the Elections Division in Colorado has to contend with many drop box locations, in addition to in-person voting locations. And when local election offices submit these locations to them, they come in all sorts of formats. Their team diligently gathers the information and enters it into a spreadsheet. Dozens of columns and hundreds of rows later, they submit the data to VIP — and send in regular updates as locations change.
“We are honored to be a recipient of one of the inaugural VIP Partner Awards,” said Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold. “The Voting Information Project is the single most important tool that voters have to find polling places and drop boxes in Colorado and across the country. The Colorado Department of State is proud to provide the data necessary to make this project work for Colorado voters.”
The Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Elections Division
The town clerks of Massachusetts are dedicated to running elections, but don’t always enter data into the state system in the most standardized way. In order to provide data to VIP, the team at the Massachusetts Elections Division spend tens of hours cleaning up the data. They ensure that addresses are complete, that data is appearing in the right fields, and that locations are mapping correctly.
For their exceptional assistance in providing data updates to VIP leading up to election days
The Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
With 254 counties, it’s no surprise that the Texas Elections Division has to monitor numerous polling place updates as an election approaches. And despite the large number of Texas counties, you could count their team on one hand! With everything else their office has to wrangle, they consistently send updated data to VIP before the start of early voting and before election days.
The West Virginia Secretary of State Elections Division
In the weeks leading up to an election, our dedicated partners in West Virginia submit updates to VIP each time a polling location is changed or hours are modified. And on election day, they continue to share updates with our team as they occur. This consistent communication ensures that voters access the most accurate information through VIP.
"Democracy Works is an avenue that the West Virginia Secretary of State's Office uses to help us create transparency in the election process. The greater the transparency, the more confidence voters have in our elections. The higher the voter confidence, the higher the voter participation," said West Virginia Secretary of State Elections Division Director Brittany Westfall.