Job Specifications

COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ

Under direction, Elections Coordinator are responsible for supervising, evaluating and performing the activities in the Precincts, Mapping and Computer Operations; Candidate Management and Campaign/Conflict of Interest Filing; or Absentee Voting and Voter Registration File Management sections of the Elections Division and perform other duties as required.

Positions in this class independently perform a variety of complex and difficult technical elections related work in an assigned program while supervising clerical employees engaged in similar activities. This class is distinguished from the next higher class of Elections Manager, which is responsible for planning, organizing and directing the overall operations of the Elections Division including budget preparation and administration. This class is distinguished from the next lower level class of Clerk III in that incumbents in the lower class perform high level, complex clerical duties while the Elections Coordinator perform more technical duties while supervising clerical staff.

Supervise, train, monitor and evaluate the activities of permanent and extra help employees; assist in the hiring process; assess workload and staff requirements to conduct an election; update office procedures to comply with Federal and State laws and County codes; read and interpret election laws and regulations; formulate and implement office procedures; compare billings and expenses from one year to another; estimate costs for special projects; provide political jurisdictions, groups, organizations and citizens with technical assistance regarding complex election related procedures; order supplies and recommend requisition of fixed assets; assist the County Clerk and Elections Manager in establishing automated election criteria and produce Sample Ballot books, official and absentee ballots.

Plan and implement precinct consolidations for elections; determine supply and equipment needs for polling places and supervise assembly and distribution of such supplies; organize and establish routes for distribution and collection of polling place election supplies and equipment; develop and implement election day trouble-shooting procedures for the polling places and precincts; disassemble election supplies upon return to the Elections Division; ensure all ballots and receipts are accounted for and report results to the canvassing boards; maintain, update, develop and revise precinct and district maps to reflect precinct boundary changes; work with the county Planning Department to prepare new maps as needed; perform computer operations such as running daily and weekly file backups, inputting Department of Motor Vehicles registration updates; prepare tapes and computer disks; prepare ballot receipts; and oversee official election records according to applicable record retention procedures.

Execute computer programs to produce tapes and reports for candidates; coordinate candidates' filing for office, determine if candidates meet legal requirements to campaign and serve in office if elected; verify signatures to determine filing fees or nomination document sufficiency; liaison with the Secretary of State's office to establish certified list of candidates; determine acceptability of candidate statements; arguments, rebuttals,and analyses submitted for publication in the Voter's Information Pamphlet; assist in creating and proofing of the pamphlet; develop calendars, establish guidelines and assist political jurisdictions in consolidating the election of candidates or measures with a regularly scheduled election or in conducting a special election; coordinate the creation and termination of all political committees and ensure legal requirements are met; enforce the Fair Political Practices filing requirements and assess penalties for failure to file; and serve as the filing officer for Statements of Economic Interests for County employees and candidates.

Administer the absentee voting function; maintain the database to ensure eligible voters receive ballots when requested; maintain the permanent absentee voter database; ensure absentee voter drives meet state requirements; coordinate the all-mail-ballot precincts; oversee the processing of voter registration affidavits, voter notification cards and voter address confirmation cards mandated by the National Voter Registration Act; develop, compile, and transmit statistical data on absentee voter applications and signature verification; supervise the official canvass of ballots, absentee ballots and provisional ballots after the election; determine the eligibility of voters' absentee or provisional ballots; coordinate the annual voter file update to purge ineligible voters; and prepare documentation to report cases of fraudulent voter registration or voting to the District Attorney and the Secretary of State's Investigation Division.

Thorough knowledge of:

• Office procedures and practices, including preparation of reports and correspondence.

Working knowledge of:  

• Business English, spelling, grammar, and punctuation. 
• Principles and practices of supervision and training. 
• Database, word processing and spreadsheet applications designed for personal or mainframe computers.

Some knowledge of: 

• The functions of an election program.

• Plan, organize, and evaluate the functions and activities of election programs and processes.
• Continually improve services to customers.
• Assign, supervise and evaluate the work of permanent and extra help staff.
• Assist in the development of ballots and sample ballots.
• Prepare correspondence, statistical reports and legal documents.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with a wide variety of individuals, groups and organizations.
• Communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
• Learn, understand, interpret, explain and apply policies, procedures, Federal and State Laws and County ordinances affecting elections.
• Work independently with minimal supervision.
• Perform a variety of duties requiring good judgment and problem solving skills.
• Schedule and prioritize work to meet constant and changing deadlines.
• Learn to use the software required to operate the computer to input, access, manipulate and analyze a variety of data.
• Lift items weighing up to 35 pounds, such as boxes of election supplies or computer paper.
• Perform tasks requiring strength, such as pulling 55 pounds of supplies on a cart to the warehouse.
• Perform keyboard tasks at a moderate rate of speed.

Any combination of education and experience, which would provide the required knowledge and abilities, is qualifying, unless otherwise specified. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Three years of responsible, journey level clerical experience that demonstrates the knowledge and abilities listed above. At least one year must have included experience interpreting and applying procedures and regulations;

OR

Two years of college coursework combined with clerical experience that provides the knowledge and abilities listed above.

License Requirements: Possession and maintenance of a valid California class C driver license.

Special Working Conditions: Exposure to: dust, high level noise, paper cuts and occasionally unpleasant odor of ink from NCR paper.

Other Requirements: Availability to work a flexible schedule, including evenings, weekends, and on an emergency, as needed basis is required.

PREVIOUS CLASS TITLES: None

Bargaining Unit: 41

EEOC Job Category: 03

Occupational Grouping: 01

Workers' Comp Code: 0285