Replay: Books and Ballots Conversation on Preparing for the Storm (and Other Natural Disasters)

Research and practitioner perspectives on natural disaster preparedness, emergency management coordination, and election resilience

Election officials have to be prepared for anything. But a recent survey of local election officials found that less than half had coordinated with emergency response agencies before the last general election. Natural disasters are a matter of “when,” not “if,” and the conversation focused on what election officials could do to prepare themselves, their offices, and their jurisdictions.

This Books & Ballots discussion brought together election experts for a practical conversation about emergency preparedness, resilient elections, and how officials could get ready before disaster strikes.

Karen Brinson Bell of Advance Elections and MEDSL discussed the Partnership for Elections and Emergency Response, a national initiative designed to bridge the gap between election administration and emergency management. Drs. Paul Manson of Portland State University and Mara Suttmann-Lea of Connecticut College shared practical takeaways and findings from their research into election officials’ disaster response.

With the election cycle already underway, the conversation explored what election officials could do to shore up readiness for natural disasters and what they should be thinking about over the long term to build the groundwork for more resilient elections.

Books & Ballots is a webinar series, Substack, and podcast on Spotify hosted in partnership with Ready for Tuesday, the Center for Election Innovation & Research, and MIT Election Data + Science Lab.