What Is Clerk Work?
THE STORY
Democracy thrives only when everyone who is eligible to vote can do so freely, fairly, and safely, and the results of those votes are upheld.
Local election officials are essential to defending our democracy and the integrity of our elections. Clerk Work is an initiative of the Run for Something network to recruit innovative, pro-democracy election administration officials who will ensure that future elections are accessible, fair, and equitable.
Between 2022-2024, Run for Something will recruit, support, and train candidates for 5,000 election administrator positions in 30+ states at county, city, and town levels, depending on the state. The project also includes public education about the important role of election officials and their impact.
As of June 2022, Run for Something has helped recruit at least 297 clerk candidates for this cycle (with more data to come). 200 of these folks are in swing states, including Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, Texas, and Wisconsin.
For media inquiries, reach out to press@runforsomething.net.
American democracy is in crisis.
As election deniers, extremists, and insurrectionists attempt to seize control of our elections, it is more essential than ever that our leaders, including local election administrators, defend democracy by ensuring that voters alone determine the outcome of an election, without any infrastructure preference for party or ideology.
Far-right extremists have launched a precinct-by-precinct poll worker strategy backed by a web of lawyers who are pushing back on local election administrators. Conspiracy theorists are lining up to administer our elections. And after the January 6 insurrection failed, Steve Bannon launched a strategy to seize control of elections by encouraging election deniers to become precinct officers and poll workers.
We are recruiting and supporting election administration candidates who align with pro-democracy values and will protect the integrity of our elections from bad actors who – whether maliciously or incompetently – seek to undermine them.
“To make it hard, to make it difficult, almost impossible, for people to cast a vote is not in keeping with the democratic process.”
- JOHN LEWIS
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Run for Something is ready to scale to meet the crisis of our democracy with the urgency it requires. But we can’t get it done without your support.