1999 NACO Achievement Award
A 1999 Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties
(NACO) was presented to the Johnson County Election Office in recognition
of the creative and effective "Making Voting Popular" program.
"Making Voting Popular" is a bi-state cooperative effort involving
election officials in six jurisdictions in the metropolitan Kansas
City, Missouri area: Jackson, Clay and Platte Counties, Missouri; and
Johnson and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas. The program is designed to
create a public/private partnership between election officials and
the business and volunteer communities throughout the metroplex to
meet election day human resource needs.
Over 914,000 registered voters reside in the Greater Kansas City metropolitan
area. Public elections for the voters are conducted by six election
offices who utilize over 929 voting locations during major elections.
A combined total of approximately 5,900 workers are employed by the
election officials to oversee the voting process. With the current
unemployment rate at less than 4% in the bi-state area, finding personnel
to meet human resource needs became increasingly difficult. By taping
the resources of the working and volunteer communities, election officials
anticipated they would have the opportunity to increase the quality
and skill levels of workers used.
The primary objective of the "Making Voting Popular" program is to
recruit election day workers. A number of secondary objectives include:
to educate the working public about the voting process; to create opportunities
for individuals and organizations to commit to and meet civic responsibilities;
and to create channels that can be used for other election related
outreach programs.
The benefits of the program are much more extensive than the objectives:
1) Creates a pool of election workers who bring unique skills to voting
locations; 2) Results in improved operating efficiencies at polling
places; 3) Increases public awareness of the voting process; 4) Creates
more public trust in the voting process; 5) Provides a medium for organizations
to receive public recognition for meeting civic responsibilities; 6)
Serves as a fundraising mechanism for civic and social organizations.
Site last updated: March 29, 2007 4:24 PM
Please send any comments or questions to the developer at election@jocoelection.org or to the Johnson County Election Office 2101 E. Kansas City Road, Olathe, Kansas 66061. Phone: (913) 782-3441. Fax: (913) 791-1753.
Map to the Election Office
Office Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Relay Center: 1-800-766-3777 Nationwide: 711