DeKalb County Voter Registration & Elections Designated a Center for Election Excellence

Nonpartisan program brings together election officials, designers, technologists, and other experts to support and celebrate excellence in U.S. election administration

The U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence has selected DeKalb County Voter Registration & Elections to join the group’s inaugural cohort of Centers for Election Excellence. DeKalb County is the only jurisdiction in the state of Georgia to receive this prestigious recognition.

As a Center for Election Excellence, DeKalb County was awarded $2 million and will join a select bipartisan group of election officials to share best practices and strategies in their ongoing pursuit of excellence.

“The County is pleased to be a recipient of this funding in support of the Elections Department’s ongoing efforts to serve as a model for election integrity not just in Georgia but throughout our nation,” said DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond.

“I am thrilled we have chosen DeKalb County as a Center for Election Excellence,” said Tiana Epps-Johnson, executive director of the Center for Tech and Civic Life. “DeKalb County is a leader in safe, secure, and inclusive elections that put voters first. This program will take their election administration work to the next level.”

“My vision as Chair has been for DeKalb County to become a pacesetter for elections in the Southeast, so earning the Center for Elections Excellence designation is particularly gratifying,” said Dele Lowman Smith, Chair of the DeKalb County Board of Registration & Elections. “What is even more exciting is how the resources and collaboration that come with this will enable us to keep innovating for the benefit of DeKalb voters.”

“It’s an honor for the County to receive this recognition,” said Keisha L. Smith, executive director of DeKalb County Voter Registration & Elections. “We will leverage this opportunity to advance our continued efforts to improve operations and to implement programs that are designed to enable DeKalb residents to be super voters.”

The U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence launched in 2022 and is a five-year, $80 million nonpartisan program that brings together election officials, designers, technologists, and other experts to envision, support, and celebrate excellence in U.S. election administration. Launch partners include:

• Center for Tech and Civic Life:  connects Americans with the information to become and remain civically engaged and ensure that elections are inclusive and secure.
• Center for Civic Design: works with elections offices and advocates across the country, using research, design, accessibility, and plain language to remove barriers and invite participation in democracy.
• The Elections Group: partners with state and local election officials to implement new programs or improve processes for voters and stakeholders by providing guidance, resources, and management support.
• U.S. Digital Response: is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization provides election officials with simple, effective digital tools and rapid response.
• Institute for Responsive Government & Center for Secure and Modern Elections: aligns bipartisan, pro-voter campaigns, making elections more efficient and secure.
• Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (the d.school) at Stanford University: referred to as the d.school, the institute brings students and faculty from radically different backgrounds together to develop innovative, human-centered solutions to real world challenges.
• Prototyping Systems Lab: utilizes elements of design thinking, participatory design, and critical making to create change within complex systems.