Communications & Outreach to Voters A presentation for the Arizona Municipal Clerks Association July 24, 2019

Part 1 Maricopa County Recorder’s Office & Elections Department

How does the Recorder’s Office communicate with voters? Direct Communication Attend events Voter Registration booths Deputy Registrars MCTEC/Downtown Office Roundtable Program Town Halls MCTEC Tours

How does the Recorder’s Office communicate with voters? By Phone: STAR Center (Call Center Service) MCTEC/Downtown Office Through our Website (Maricopa.Vote): Frequently asked questions with answers are available on our website An online form allows people with additional questions to contact the office Surveys: The Recorder’s Office sends surveys out to voters after Primary and General Elections Post Election Report https://bit.ly/2Dat4OP

How does the Recorder’s Office communicate with voters? Social Media: Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Used to increase awareness of: Upcoming deadlines Services provided by the office Updates from the office Job openings Graphic posted during the 2018 Midterm Election

Content on Social Media The following are examples of what was used to help educate voters: Short videos with graphics: https://bit.ly/2UHtyrp Myth Buster videos addressing election myths: https://bit.ly/2KQaWRw Produced videos: https://bit.ly/2PeJNpX Facebook Live: https://bit.ly/2Te3kHv Graphics and Infographics https://bit.ly/2IPeAIA

Raising Awareness through Paid Advertising We use paid advertising to reach out to voters during important periods leading up to the election. We use: Newspapers (AZ Republic, AZ Informant, East Valley Tribune Publications, Independent News Media) Digital (Banner, Pay Per Click, Social Media) Online streaming services (Hulu, YouTube)

Raising Awareness using Television and Radio TV (Cable, ABC, NBC, PBS, Univision, Telemundo) Radio (iHeart Radio, KTAR, NPR, Entravision)

Lessons Learned in 2018 During the Primary Election, the office noticed more outreach was needed to inform early voters about what to do if they did not receive their ballot. The office notified people ballots were being mailed, but not what to do if it failed to arrive.

How lessons learned became best practices For the General Election, the communications department provided more advance information on what to do if a voter did not receive their ballot. We were proactive, letting people know how to replace their ballot if it was damaged by the rain, providing information to voters before ballots arrived.

What did the Recorder’s Office do well? On Election Day, during the General Election, Recorder Fontes gave multiple live reports to both the press and those watching on social media. After Election Day, we posted the number of ballots left to count for both the Primary and General Elections every day, until tabulation was completed. Voters appreciated being informed in real time, and feeling like they were part of the process.

Ways to get involved Take a tour of MCTEC: tinyurl.com/GetInvolvedMaricopa 2. Become a Deputy Registrar: tinyurl.com/DRclass2019 3. Fill out an interest form: Getinvolved.vote

Stay in touch on social media fb.com/AdrianFontesMCR @recorderfontes & @maricopaelex @recorderfontes

Part 2 Maricopa County Recorder’s Office & Elections Department, Recorder Adrian Fontes Pinal County Elections Department, Michele Forney Yuma County Recorder’s Office, Recorder Robyn Stallworth Pouquette

Structure of County Governments The Arizona State Constitution delegates some duties of the Election Department to each County Board of Supervisors Election Day and Emergency Voting falls under the BoS The Recorder, by law, oversees Voter Registration and Early Voting Some counties’ BoS have an agreement with the Recorder to administer all parts of elections

Who Liaises with Cities and Towns? Each county structures their relationship with cities and towns differently. Depending on the project or point in the election, the liaisons may be multiple people in separate divisions: Elections Department Provides the Menu of Services for jurisdictional elections Communications Helps coordinate public notices, social media, voter education Government Relations Intergovernmental agreements, statutory changes

Who does voter education? Voter Education: Notifying the voter of factual election information including, but not limited to: how, when and where to vote, statutory deadlines, upcoming election calendars, what is on the ballot, etc. Information is sent out by both the elections & recorder’s departments (if not merged under one communications structure) Entities providing voter education: City or Town County Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission Secretary of State

What about Voter Outreach? Voter Outreach: Providing voters information through direct in- person contact and community action. Can include but is not limited to voter education. Outreach availability is heavily dependent on staff and financial resources of each department. Organizations performing voter outreach: AZ Secretary of State AZ Citizens Clean Elections Commission Maricopa County Recorder’s Office Recommend talking to your County Recorder and Elections Liaison about capacity for voter education and outreach for your next local election

Future Voter Outreach: School Elections Election Departments conduct voter outreach and help develop good voting habits by working with the next generation of voters Participatory Budgeting Programs and High School Elections provide excellent opportunities for: Students to become more familiar with voting equipment and procedures Recruit for student poll working programs Practice using real ballots to reduce intimidation at the voting booth Preregister students who will be eligible for the next general election. 2,500+ Preregistered in Maricopa County during 2019 Participatory Budgeting

Communications “Voters depend on us, and it is our duty to provide them accurate information” Misinformation Increased use on social media platforms Looks like information from trusted sources, but it is not Humans are more vulnerable to misinformation than we realize Federal authorities are looking at misinformation as a threat for 2020

Communications (should always have an element of voter education) 1 Best Practices for Election Communications: Get information directly from the agency administering the election Election Officers are the experts on accurate language for communications Example of language that can be confusing for the voter, that non-administrators utilize interchangeably: Vote Center Polling Location Polling Place Ballot Replacement Site Voting Location While one of these terms are innocuous, others have statutory and procedural requirements when used on official materials to identify where a citizen may vote

Communications (should always have an element of voter education) 2 More Best Practices for Election Communications: Work with the election administrator for accurate language in communications Use materials, content, graphics provided by the election administrator Amplify information coming from the election authority This directs voters directly to the source of the information, reduces number of contact attempts for the voter to receive election communications Work with election administrator and the Arizona Citizen Clean Elections Commission on content creation and enhancing social media reach

Empowering Voters Through Collaboration Pinal County working with AZCCEC to create a mobile voter & voter registration vehicle Partnering with libraries for adult education Maricopa County November 2018 Ballot Return Communications Roundtable Project All Counties Coordinate legislative proposals and group lobbying efforts through AACo Social Media Amplification of general information and messages Leverage AZCCEC resources for voter outreach and education

Pinal County Elections Director THANK YOU Adrian Fontes Maricopa County Recorder 602-506-1511 afontes@risc.maricopa.gov Robyn Stallworth Pouquette Yuma County Recorder 928-373-1010 Robyn.Pouquette@yumacountyaz.gov Michele Forney Pinal County Elections Director 520-509-3555 Michele.Forney@pinalcountyaz.gov