The Gatekeepers of US Elections: Exploring Street Level Bureaucrats in Montana

Errors and Calibration in Mail Ballot Signature Rejections

“…Election workers who hold strong personal beliefs that the right to vote should not be infringed, for instance, may be motivated to leniency in checking mail ballot return signatures, especially if they have learned that initial rejections are often mistaken. Indeed, some scholars have found that election workers do hold “voter-centric” values and that they are seen as voter advocates by much of the public (Adona et al, 2019; Clark & James, 2021; Rinfret & Barsky, 2020). As Manion and colleagues put it, “local election officials are frontline workers who tend to hold a customer service orientation; they see it as their primary job to help voters successfully register to vote and cast their ballot” (Manion et al, 2021, p. 5).…”

“…These scholars contend that bureaucrats do often work hard, even without close monitoring or monetary incentives, due to norms of public service or professionalism, or because they respond to public pressure (Brehm & Gates, 1999;Maynard-Moody & Musheno, 2022). Accordingly, in the elections context, there is evidence that election workers hold norms of accountability, are responsive to local voters, and are motivated to problem-solve so that elections run smoothly (Clark & James, 2021;Rinfret & Barsky, 2020), albeit, they may be more responsive to some voters than others (White et al, 2015). This means that, as election workers gain experience with mail ballots, they may learn that the signature verification process is error-proneand respond by reducing signature rejection rates.…”

Heavy Lifting: Emotional Labor and Election Administration

“…Kimball and Kropf (2006) were the first to classify election workers as street-level bureaucrats. Scholarship since has deeply examined this linkage (e.g., Barsky, 2020; Burden et al, 2012; Hale & Slaton, 2008; Hall et al, 2009; Rinfret & Barsky, 2020). By firmly planting election workers in the role of street-level bureaucrats and public servants, we seek to uncover the “personal demands of public jobs” as it pertains to elections (Guy et al, 2019, p. 10).…”