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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 31, 2023
County Clerk’s office to withdraw from U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence
West Olive – Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck announced that he has chosen to remove the Elections Division of the County Clerk’s office from consideration in the newly formed U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence.
The U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence is a nonpartisan national collaboration of election officials and non-profit organizations, formed to “bring together election officials, designers, technologists, and other experts to envision, support, and celebrate excellence in U.S. election administration.” A press release from the Ottawa County Clerk’s Office in November announced that they had been named a finalist for the program.
Following the announcement of Ottawa County Elections as a finalist organization, the Alliance began releasing grant information indicating that it intends to award significant private grant dollars directly to participating election offices. Upon learning this, Roebuck requested that his office be withdrawn from consideration for the program.
“While I value the overall stated goals of the Alliance, I firmly believe that funding for election administration must come from federal, state and local governments,” said Roebuck. “Election administration is critical government infrastructure and when private individuals seek to fund election operations, it casts a shadow over public trust in the process, particularly when the resources can be tied to individuals or groups who may have also contributed to political parties or candidates.”
Roebuck indicated that while his office will not be participating with the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence, his emphasis will continue to be on providing excellence in election administration. “Public trust is at the heart of our mission, and we will maintain our focus on providing excellent customer service and access for all our voters, while also delivering robust measures to ensure the integrity of our elections.”
Keep up to date and receive election information by email or text Ottawa Votes to GOV-311 (468-311) to receive text messages.
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