With Election Day just around the corner, election officials are focused on the work ahead. But there’s an important opportunity to share their experiences and perspectives that I hope they’ll make time for.
The annual Local Election Official Survey from the Elections & Voting Information Center (EVIC) at Portland State University is underway, and it’s worth participating in.
EVIC conducts this survey to better understand what’s happening in election offices across the country, directly from the people doing the work. The findings help inform conversations about election administration at the local, state, and national levels.
This year, the EVIC team is conducting the survey particularly close to Election Day to capture how issues and challenges are unfolding in real time.
Why does this matter?
There are plenty of people talking about election administration. It’s important that the experiences and perspectives of the people actually administering elections are part of those conversations.
Research like this helps tell that story. It can highlight challenges, identify trends, and give policymakers, researchers, and others a better understanding of what election officials are experiencing.
For a good example of how this research is used, take a look at EVIC’s recent analysis of job satisfaction among local election officials.
What should you expect?
The survey takes approximately 25 minutes to complete, but you can pause and return to it later. You won’t need to pull reports or look up statistics about your office. Instead, the questions focus on your experiences, how your office is engaging voters, responding to policy changes, and how you’re doing as an election official.
Your responses will be kept confidential.
How do you participate?
Not every election office will receive an invitation. If yours was selected, look for an email from leosurvey@pdx.edu with “2026 Local Election Official Survey” in the subject line.
It’s also worth checking your office’s general email inbox, since the invitation may have gone there rather than to you directly.
The survey will close just before Election Day, so there’s a relatively short window to participate.
I know this is an incredibly busy time, but if you received an invitation, I hope you’ll set aside a little time to complete it. The more we understand about what’s happening inside election offices, the better equipped we are to support the people who run our elections.
You can learn more about the LEO Survey on EVIC’s website. Questions can also be directed to Paul Manson at mansonp@pdx.edu.