How Clerks Can Work with Legislators to Create Trustworthy Elections
Tabatha Clemons and her colleagues have worked through state associations to create constructive working relationships in Kentucky's state capitol.
The following piece is by Tabatha Clemons, who was the Grant County (Ky.) Clerk from 2015 to 2025.
The legislative session in my home state of Kentucky is in full swing. This is the first one since 2017, however, that I haven’t been involved as an elected official. Between then and last year, I was the clerk for Grant County, where I also served in leadership roles with the Kentucky County Clerks Association (KCCA) and the Kentucky Association of Counties (KaCO).
Part of my role as an executive board member of KCCA was to provide input and work with state legislators on elections-related bills that affect our constituents and our work as county clerks. I’ve learned from relationships I’ve developed with other local election officials across the country that this process can be messy, to put it nicely — or it can be nonexistent at all.
That’s unfortunate not just for election administrators, but for the voters who rely on the process. Election administration is often technical and complex, especially these days when the security of personnel, physical infrastructure, and information systems are all challenges. Misunderstandings or poor relationships between election officials and legislators can lead to policies that are difficult to implement and leave us all on the losing side.
In my experience, however, the KCCA, State Board of Elections, Secretary of State, and the state legislature always embraced a collaborative spirit, putting Kentucky voters first. Here are three reasons why, parts of which might be useful as learning lessons in other states.
One, laws should be crafted so that voters can understand how elections work, while still maintaining the highest security possible. Kentucky piloted risk-limiting audits one year after the 2020 election cycle. In some states this works very well, but in Kentucky it was not straightforward. The next legislative cycle, we brought a new idea to the legislature to create an election audit. It is straightforward and verifies the ballots inside one machine, for one race with a hand count. The audit is open to the public with clear and defined administrative procedures, including a public draw for each of the 120 counties by the Secretary of State for the machine selected and the race just before the audit begins.
Two, KCCA works all year building relationships with our legislators — not just when they are “in session.” We’ve attended their local town halls and civic events and learned about their motivating factors for legislative change. Understanding someone’s motivations can open a new dialogue between legislators and election administrators. Additionally, the events attended show you care more than just to show up in the Capitol when a bill is active and moving through the legislative process.
Three, we stopped saying “no” and started listening more to learn, instead of being on the defensive. Attention on election processes and the individuals who run them has exploded since 2020. It can be difficult to tell the difference between genuine curiosity or earnest, and politically motivated attacks to gain likes and shares on social media platforms. But no matter what, Kentucky’s clerks have acted upon all this interest by being constructive with the voters and with legislators. We started taking their feedback and using it for opportunities to educate about Kentucky elections; to ensure that everyone has the facts they need to make good laws; and to see how we can improve our own jobs.
Although every state is different, all 50 are full of civic-minded people who want elections that earn the people’s trust and provide voters with a positive experience. Hopefully, these reflections from my time advocating on behalf of my fellow Kentucky clerks can spark some constructive ideas for the remainder of legislative sessions across the country, as well as plans for the future. The world is only getting more complex as technology evolves. We all owe it to voters and to history — the founding fathers who established the self-government we have today — to ensure that elections are straightforward, trustworthy, and reliable.
Tabatha Clemons was the Grant County (Ky.) Clerk from 2015 to 2025.