Election Officials are the Backbone of Democracy.

The Brennan Center Reports: 5 Things You May Not Know About Local Election Officials

At the heart of democracy are election officials who are the driving force behind our elections every year. They're the unsung heroes of our democracy. That's because when they do their jobs right, they typically go unnoticed.

Here are some things you may not have known about election officials:

1. Election officials work in a nonpartisan or bipartisan manner to ensure that every single vote is counted.
2. They don't make their own rules or budgets.
3. They work hard and fill many roles, but are underpaid. The typical local election official makes approximately $50,000 a year.
4. They tend to be white and female, but there are signs that the profession is becoming more equitable. In 2019, Karen A. Yarbrough was sworn in as the first female African American clerk of Cook County, Illinois, the third largest election jurisdiction in the country.
5. Our current election officials will likely be our next leaders to hold public office. Serving as an election official is great preparation for leadership positions.

So let's hear it for our elections officials. Without them, democracy would be hard to attain.