Needs
In Walker, Michigan, Deputy Clerk Jessica Marion faced numerous challenges in managing elections due to complex local and state requirements plus the limitations of their existing tools. The introduction of nine days of early voting in 2023 added another layer of complexity, requiring the creation of new roles and tracking varying pay rates for election workers based on their roles, training, and experience.
Seeking an alternative, Jessica discovered U.S. Digital Response's (USDR) Election Administration Platform. By adopting this user-friendly software, Jessica and her team streamlined election worker management, communication, and the tracking of various election inspector training sessions, improving the experience for staff and election workers in Walker.
Challenges of managing Elections with complex requirements
As the Deputy Clerk for the City of Walker, Michigan, Jessica oversees elections for the city's approximately 20,000 registered voters across nine precincts with just under 100 election workers. With over a decade of experience, Jessica plays a significant part in managing the city’s election process; from training and scheduling election workers to testing equipment and running elections.
Before adopting U.S. Digital Response’s (USDR) Election Administration Platform, Jessica faced numerous challenges in effectively managing election workers due to the city's payroll requirements, the numerous training types needing to be tracked with various pay rates, and the limitations of their office's existing tools.
One of the most significant challenges was scheduling election workers for the new nine days of early voting while ensuring all the required inspector roles needed to run a voting location were filled. "This was the first time we had to schedule several workers, each with their specific skill set, for more than just one day. To run a voting site, you need a chairperson, someone capable of operating the computer, someone to operate the Ballot-on-Demand, and someone to assist at the applications table," Jessica said.
Varying pay rates for election workers based on their roles, training, and experience added another layer of complexity. "We have over 5 types of inspector trainings that are tracked, including whether the training was taken online or in-person because it will affect the compensation pay, " Jessica shared.
Tracking these rates and training requirements using their existing Excel sheets was daunting. Jessica had to create an in-depth Excel sheet to manage the scheduling and payroll for election day and the nine days of early voting.
Communication with election workers about scheduling, training, and logistics was another pain point, often relying on individual emails, blind copied messages, phone calls, and text messages. This approach led to inconsistencies, potential errors, and significant time investment from Jessica and her team.
Other personnel tasks like meal planning for poll workers, clerk staff, and other team members required manual coordination and recordkeeping. "Normally, that involves emails, face-to-face conversations, text messaging, and making phone calls to get it recorded," Jessica explained.
Our approach
Choosing USDR's Election Administration Platform
Recognizing the need for a more efficient and user-friendly election management system, Jessica contacted other jurisdictions to learn about the tools they were using. While some had custom software developed by their IT departments, most relied on Excel spreadsheets tailored to their needs.
When Jessica heard about USDR's Election Administration Platform from the City of Grand Rapids, she was impressed by its user-friendly interface, similarity to Excel, and the responsive support provided by the USDR team. "They understood my concerns about trying to schedule nine days of early voting plus an Election Day while keeping track of all the county trainings, election inspector role trainings, and their different types of pay," she said.
USDR's Election Administration Platform offers many features that resonated with Jessica’s needs:
- Intelligent scheduling: Simplifies scheduling by providing visibility into worker availability, simplifying the assignment of workers to the right roles, and ensuring adequate coverage.
- Automated communication: Automatically sends personalized emails with assignment details to election workers, saving time and reducing errors.
- Configurability: The platform allows election administrators to configure settings to meet their jurisdiction's needs, such as adding meal planning for workers and creating payroll reports aligned with their payroll system.
To secure funding for the platform, Jessica submitted a budget request to the City Manager, highlighting her small election staff's challenges and the complexity of managing the new early voting requirements and election worker training. Recognizing the need for a more efficient system, the request was approved without pushback.
Streamlining election processes and improving efficiency
Since implementing USDR's Election Administration Platform, Jessica and her team have experienced significant improvements in their election management processes. The user-friendly platform has made scheduling for early voting and Election Day much more manageable, providing clear visibility into worker availability, assignments, and training status.
The platform has also streamlined communication with election workers, automatically sending assignment details and meal selection surveys without the risk of errors associated with manual emails. "The scheduler and the communication portion of the platform have been very helpful," Jessica said. “Attaching the meal survey and the precinct assignment in an email sent from our official elections email address eliminates confusion for the workers about who is contacting them. Previously, we had to send out individual emails or blind copies, which could get chaotic and tedious."
The ability to customize the platform to fit Walker's specific needs has been another critical benefit of working with USDR. The team has been responsive to Jessica's requests, helping her create a standardized payroll report and add meal planning for non-election workers, like the clerk office staff. "When we think of ideas like, 'Hey, can the system do this?' the USDR staff are very receptive to that suggestion," she said. "In our next video call, we can either implement it, or they let us know they're still working on it. There's never been any negative communication."
Exceptional training and support
While adopting a new system required some learning and adjustment, Jessica has been impressed by the exceptional training and support provided by the USDR team. "Brian and Truman have been phenomenal with the training. I couldn't ask for better instructors," she said. "They're friendly and easy to talk with. If I'm not getting something, they reassure me and make me feel better about the situation."
The USDR team's willingness to go above and beyond to ensure the platform meets Walker's needs has been another highlight of our partnership. "Even as we're trying to figure out details like icons or emojis for the poll worker ID to indicate the trainings taken, they took the time to work with me on finding the best options instead of just telling me to figure it out on my own," Jessica explained. "They've been phenomenal in helping to work out that process."
Conclusion
USDR's Election Administration Platform has proven to be a valuable tool for the City of Walker, addressing the challenges of managing complex election processes with limited resources and outdated tools. The platform has empowered Jessica and her team to run elections more efficiently and effectively by streamlining election worker management, communication, and tracking election inspector trainings.
Looking ahead to the May 2024 election, Jessica is eager to test new features like the payroll reporting functionality and continue expanding the platform's use to streamline election management processes and improve the experience for voters and election workers.
For jurisdictions facing similar challenges and seeking to modernize their election management processes, USDR's Election Administration Platform offers a proven solution. With its user-friendly interface, customizable features, and exceptional support from the USDR team, the platform can help local election offices navigate the complexities of running elections today.
"When we think of ideas like, 'Hey, can the system do this?' the USDR staff are very receptive to that suggestion. In our next video call, we can either implement it, or they let us know they're still working on it. There's never been any negative communication."
Jessica Marion
Deputy City Clerk
City of Walker, Michigan
