MARICOPA COUNTY ELECTIONS RECEIVES 2 NACO ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Tammy Patrick, Federal Compliance Officer for the Elections Department The Maricopa County Elections Department was notified in early July by the National Association of Counties (NACo) that it was the recipient of two (2) awards for the 2006 NACo Achievement Award Program. The Elections Department’s Voter Language Assistance Proficiency Assurance Program was bestowed the Best of Category Award and also recognized as an innovative program which contributes to and enhances county government in the United States . Best of Category is quite a prestigious award – our department is one of two that has received this recognition in the entire county.

NACo’s Achievement Award Program is a non-competitive program that recognizes counties for creative and innovative program development and implementation, efficient administrative management of county agencies and responsible government to local citizens. Since the program’s inception in 1970, NACo has honored hundreds of county government initiatives that have generated professional well trained workforces, maintained cost effective measures, and enhanced services to diverse populations to improve the overall quality of life. In addition, the award winning programs have provided the National Association of Counties and its members with an extensive database of successful model county programs

County Recorder , Helen Purcell, pointed out that the Elections Department needed to develop and provide more in-depth language assistance to voters on Election Day. Because the Federal Registry determines if a given county contains a language population needing assistance in either Spanish, Native American, Native Alaskan or any of the Asian languages, counties are tasked with finding boardworkers possessing the necessary language skill sets to provide adequate assistance – should a voter request it on Election Day. Ensuring the workers possess the proficiency level required, get adequate training on providing assistance, and are dispatched to areas where they are needed is imperative and the primary focus of this program. Prior to the implementation of this plan a method was not in place for validating whether the bilingual boardworkers possessed the Spanish language skill sets necessary to provide sufficient assistance to voters at the polls.

Tammy Patrick, Federal Compliance Officer for the Elections Department, created and authored this program, which now has in place a proficiency tracking process, a precinct targeting and staffing level formula, bilingual boardworker training, and efficacy measurements. According to Purcell, all voters have the right to receive adequate assistance at the polls regardless of their abilities. Therefore, the responsibility of the election official is to ensure that proper assistance is available and cordially executed to the voter’s satisfaction.