Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas announced today that her office has been recognized for excellence in election administration with a national Clearinghouse Award. The office’s 2024 video PSA: “Election Security in Vermont” won in the category of Distinguished Voter Education and Communications Initiatives.
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) presents the awards program, also known as the “Clearies,” annually to celebrate the hard work of election offices across the country. Now in its ninth year, this year’s Clearie Awards honored programs that took place during the 2024 presidential election year.
The Vermont Secretary of State’s office’s video initiative was one of 53 programs nationwide that were recognized with a Clearie Award. The eight-minute video was created with town/city clerks from every corner of Vermont and explains the process of administering elections from start to finish.
The video, which emphasizes how Vermont’s 247 town/city clerks work in a decentralized system to administer Vermont elections, seeks to promote a greater awareness of the many safeguards in place to protect election integrity.
“I’m thrilled to see our work recognized on the national stage alongside many other inspiring programs from across the country,” said Secretary Copeland Hanzas. “Our message in this video is not just that Vermont’s elections are secure, but that they’re secure because of the dedicated work of clerks and board of civil authority members in your community. Democracy isn’t a spectator sport, and it takes all of us working together to have successes like the 2024 General Election, which saw record turnout in Vermont.”
The Clearies play an essential role in fulfilling the EAC’s mission to serve as a clearinghouse for election administration information under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). The EAC 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.
EAC Chairman Donald Palmer, Vice Chair Thomas Hicks, and Commissioners Christy McCormick and Ben Hovland praised the 2024 Clearie 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.”
More information on the Clearies and each awardee is available at https://www.eac.gov/election-officials/eac-clearinghouse-award-winners-2024
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