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Miles Pulsford is an organizer for the League of Women Voters of Maine.
Election Day went smoothly, the votes are in and counted, and one thing is clear: We still believe in elections. Across the country, candidates running for secretary of state on platforms of election denial lost their races by significant margins. Americans chose democracy this year.
That’s a good thing, but it means we need to stand up for those who administer it. As the League of Women Voters’ election administration organizer, I have made it my job to get to know Maine’s municipal clerks. In my experience, they are a capable, dedicated, and no-nonsense bunch, and they deserve our appreciation and respect.
The league sent nonpartisan election observers to watch the proceedings in every county in Maine, and we received scores of reports highlighting clerks’ competence and swift action in maintaining order and addressing issues as they arose. Polling places stayed peaceful, the spirits of voters and election workers were generally high (sometimes with a little help from Pizza to the Polls), and votes were counted promptly and accurately.
“I was impressed with the efficiency of Bangor’s voting system,” said one of our observers. “I have voted at the Cross Center numerous times, but never realized the number of officials and volunteers who saw to its smooth operation.”
Our observer in Woolwich came away thrilled. “This is what democracy looks like. Packed with all ages, civil even when it was clear people had different positions around the petitions. A community event.”
Administering an election is extremely difficult even in normal times. Processing candidate nominations and voter registrations, hiring election staff, preparing ballots and machines and polling places, handling absentee votes — all with a tight budget and aging equipment, and all while still carrying out their year-round vital municipal duties. Clerks have to prepare for whatever might happen on Election Day, and have everything in place and ready to go at 7 a.m. on that Tuesday.
And of course these are not normal times. Conspiracy theories and baseless fraud allegations target election workers and tarnish their reputations. According to FiveThirtyEight, 60% of Americans had at least one election denier on their ballot this year. Clerks and their staff are experiencing harassment and threats, as well as high volumes of onerous public records requests questioning their integrity and eating up their time.
We owe our clerks gratitude and appreciation for their continued hard work in the face of these challenges. And we also need to begin figuring out how to make their jobs a little easier and more rewarding. When a clerk leaves their post, they often take decades of experience and institutional knowledge with them. We should be doing everything we can to make them feel supported, and to attract strong, qualified candidates to fill vacancies.
All signs point to a contentious and consequential election in 2024. Trust in American elections may again come under attack. In the next two years, let’s make it a priority to give Maine’s clerks the funding, resources, and public support they need to continue their crucial job of administering democracy.
