Election Inspectors: Working With an Inspector of Elections

An independent inspector of elections may assess the eligibility of candidates and determine the voting membership. This involves the following duties:

• Reviewing the qualifications and requirements of the association or governing body conducting the elections
• Checking member nomination forms, verifying the required number of supporting signatures, and confirming that nominations were submitted before the balllot creation deadline
• Looking at association membership records, registration forms, or other relevant documents to determine the voting eligibility of candidates
• Confirming the membership status of candidates to ensure that only eligible members have the right to cast their votes during association meetings

Plus, if member proxies are allowed, inspectors of election will:

• Review the proxy documents submitted (proxy form or written authorization) to ensure they’re properly filled out and signed by the eligible voter
• Validate the authenticity of the proxy member by directly contacting the voter or cross-referencing identification documents
• Verify the voter’s membership status, any specific requirements or restrictions related to proxy voting, and compliance with deadlines for submitting proxy ballots
• Maintain accurate records of the proxy documents received to effectively manage the member proxies

However, once everything is ready for the ballot, inspectors will then organize the election, from preparing materials, such as an ADA-compliant voting platform, to hiring additional staff or seeking out volunteers to work as poll officers, security personnel, etc. Inspectors are essentially the director or manager of the election to ensure everything goes smoothly.

During an election, an independent inspector of elections checks whether an association quorum is present so voting can take place validly. An inspector should be aware that anyone other than a ballot candidate has the right to observe the election. Once that’s settled, the inspectors, with the help of a team, manage the election. An inspector will check voter identities (including those of proxies, if allowed), manage the candidate list, ensure that voting is done confidentially, announce each absentee elector’s name as their proxy votes, and receive and hold the association ballots, all while monitoring that election rules are followed. Once voting is complete, the inspector will close the election polls.

The responsibilities of an inspector of elections don’t end at the polls. After the inspectors manage the election, they must then collect and count all the election ballots and tabulate each decision to determine the results, as well as declare that the polls are closed. Inspectors can also appoint or hire independent third parties like volunteers to verify and tabulate ballots to ensure they meet the election deadline.

In case there are issues, inspectors must hear and rule on any challenges during the elections, in which their say (or the say of the majority, depending on the rules) is final. For instance, if the organization or a member finds an error on the voter list, the election inspector will have to correct these as soon as possible. Similarly, if the election ballot has to be recounted, the inspector has to make the ballots available for inspection by members of the association.

However, after everything is ironed out, the inspector of elections must report the results to the association and certify the decision. To wrap up their election duties, an elections inspector may also debrief their association team and archive the records for legal reference.

An inspector of elections must understand the gravity of their duties. Their election services have been trusted to ensure that a major decision within a community is reached fairly, transparently, and cleanly, which they can do by faithfully accomplishing their duties during association elections.

However, inspectors of elections may run into problems like human error during vote tabulation, technical glitches, ballot miscounting, or improper voting machine set-up. The election inspector can eliminate these issues or errors by:

• Ensuring they have enough support during the election
• Implementing election security protocols
• Providing clear guidelines to volunteers
• Paying attention to election guidelines and code regulations
• Using online voting systems to ensure accuracy and reduce human error
• Enrolling in independent training programs to gain the skills needed to deal with unexpected situations