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The High Turnout Wide Margins team recently traveled to Portland, Oregon, for a special workshop on State Associations hosted by the Election Center. While there, we were able to have face-to-face conversations with people working in elections across the country.

In this episode, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon speak with Jackie Beaudry and Melanie Ryska. They’re both local clerks in Michigan and leaders of the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks.

They spoke about the implementation of some new election law in the state, how their association works alongside the Michigan Association of County Clerks, and how their association is trying to balance the needs of very large and very small municipalities.

The High Turnout Wide Margins team recently traveled to Portland, Oregon, for a special workshop on State Associations hosted by the Election Center. While there, we were able to have face-to-face conversations with people working in elections across the country.

In this episode, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon speak with Mark Coakley. He’s the General Registrar of Henrico County, Virginia.

They spoke about Mark’s long history working in elections and the unique way that local election administrators in Virginia are setting their own educational priorities and learning from each other. 

The High Turnout Wide Margins team recently traveled to Portland, Oregon, for a special workshop on State Associations hosted by the Election Center. While there, we were able to have face-to-face conversations with people working in elections across the country.

In this episode, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon speak with Aaron Ockerman, the Executive Director of the Ohio Association of Election Officials.

They spoke about the importance – and power – of state associations, how having a non-election administrator in charge can strengthen an association, as well as the role a state association can play in better preparing election officials, both old and new, for the increasingly complex nature of their jobs.

In this episode, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon speak with Derek Bowens, the Elections Director in Durham County, North Carolina. 

They spoke about crafting narratives to help election administrators share and showcase the need for local investment in elections and about the importance of having election administrators that represent and reflect the voters they serve.

In this episode, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon speak with Matthew Fitch. He’s the owner of Merriman River Group, a private election firm that works with organizations such as labor unions and, recently, the Missouri Democratic Party for the presidential preference primary.
They spoke about how one manages a private election, including preparation for the ballot box, technology trends, and creating trust with voters.

In this episode, hosts Eric Fey and Brianna Lennon speak with Peter Stanyon. He’s the Chief Executive for the Association of Election Administrators, or AEA, in the United Kingdom. 

They spoke about the complexities of the UK's election system with its limited time frame for some elections, changes in voter ID law, and the challenges of adding modernization on top of a system originally designed in the 1800s.