Board of elections recognized

The Huron County Board of Elections was recognized with a national award on Wednesday. The board received a national Clearinghouse Award from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, according to a press release by the board. The board was selected for its efforts to spread information on the November 2024 election to county voters. The federal commission presents the awards program, known as "the Clearies," annually to celebrate the hard work of election offices across the country. In its ninth year, this year's Clearie Awards honored programs that took place during the 2024 presidential election year. The board's "Boxed Ballot" program was one of 53 programs nationally that were recognized with a Clearie Award. The program is an attempt to inform voters about important election dates and information in which fliers were placed on pizza boxes and inside grocery store bags throughout the county. "We are a smaller county that works within our budget to educate our voters," said Ben Kline, deputy director of the Huron County Board of Elections. "This was something simple yet reached a large number of people. To be nationally recognized is an honor that belongs to our entire staff." The Clearies play an essential role in fulfilling the U.S. Election Assistance Commission's mission to serve as a clearinghouse for election administration information under the Help America Vote Act, the release states. The commission is an independent, bipartisan federal agency solely focused on election administration. Submissions were judged on innovation, sustainability, outreach, cost-effectiveness, replicability and the generation of positive results, according to the release. Commission chairman Donald Palmer, vice-chair Thomas Hicks and commissioners Christy McCormick and Ben Hovland praised the 2024 winners in a joint statement: "This year's Clearinghouse Award-winning programs truly shined amid the high voter turnout in 2024. They are examples of the outstanding work election officials did to support tens of millions of voters during the presidential election. After nearly a decade, the Clearinghouse Awards continue to grow with a record number of entries received this year. These programs show how state and local election offices are the incubators of innovation. We are pleased to lift their ideas up and celebrate them on a national stage."