U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COM MISSION

Voter Hotline Study
2VOTER HOTLINE STUDY
1VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Report to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission: 

Study of Government-Sponsored Voter Hotlines

E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y 

The telephone remains a primary communication tool between election offices 

and the customers they serve—America’s voters. Election officials nationwide use 

a variety of tools to provide information to stakeholders. From answering routine 

questions on Election Day to providing poll worker training and assignment 

information and responding to inquiries on the status of provisional ballots and 

general voter complaints and concerns, the outcome of this study reiterates the 

importance of providing fast, efficient, and accurate election information.

Prevalence of dedicated phone banks 

Election officials are investing in a variety of methods to manage the influx 

of calls and requests for information on peak election days, including 24-hour 

automated telephone banks and personalized, live telephone operators. However, 

only about 1 in 20 (5 percent) election offices in the United States that administer or oversee Federal elections have a dedicated phone hotline expressly for 

the purpose of communicating with voters and/or poll workers. State-level election offices were the most likely to have used dedicated phone hotlines in the 

2006 election season. Thirteen of the 27 (48 percent) State election offices that 

responded to the 2007 survey of election officials conducted for this study said 

they operated a voter and/or poll worker hotline. 

Dedicated phone hotlines were much less common among county-level offices. 

Just short of one in 10 county-level offices said they used hotlines. And only a 

handful of election offices in cities or townships (1 percent) utilized a dedicated 

phone hotline to provide information to voters and/or poll workers in 2006.

The survey, in which 1,466 election officials participated, revealed that larger 

election offices are more likely to have used a dedicated phone hotline in the 

2006 election season than are smaller offices. Offices that report having a dedicated hotline employ between 3 and 22 full-time staff and from 1 to 10 part-time 

staff. By contrast, offices that did not have a dedicated hotline are much smaller 

and are typically staffed by 1 to 3 full-time and 1 to 3 part-time staff. Similarly, 

election jurisdictions that serve large numbers of voters are more likely than 

smaller jurisdictions to report using a dedicated phone hotline. The median 

voter population of offices that used hotlines in the 2006 election season is 

roughly 185,500, with the number of voters typically varying between 29,000 

and 575,000. By comparison, jurisdictions that did not operate hotlines are much 

smaller—typically serving between 1,300 and 20,000 voters with a median voter 

population of approximately 6,100.
2VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Diversifying the response tools

Conversations with and survey responses from more than 1,466 election 

offices across the country reveal that communication tools and techniques are 

changing. Many State and local jurisdictions are supplementing the traditional 

telephone banks and toll-free access lines with Web sites, text messaging, and 

pod casting. Recognizing the diversity of the voting population, many offices are 

using a combination of one or more of the above tools. 

Services provided via phone 

The survey revealed that most election offices with hotlines are providing information on the most frequent voter queries: “Am I registered?” and “Where do I go 

to vote?” Three-quarters or more of hotlines directly offered information to voters 

on whether or not the voter is currently registered (79 percent) or information on 

the voter’s voting location and the polling hours in the voter’s polling place 

(77 percent). 

Jurisdictions with dedicated hotlines report that the bulk of the calls they receive 

have to do with issues with where to go to vote (42 percent) or checking on 

registration status (33 percent). Jurisdictions report that fewer than 2 in 10 calls 

are about receipt of absentee ballots (8 percent), general nonfraud complaints 

(6 percent) or fraud-related concerns (1 percent).

Development and costs of hotlines 

More than 8 in 10 jurisdictions with dedicated hotlines report that the process 

of developing the hotline was easy, and two-thirds reported that they had developed them in house, usually with support from the county or State technology 

department.

Sampling of successful practices 

Election officials who participated in the survey provided some tips for developing and enhancing automated phone systems. Researchers also followed up 

with a number of election officials to gather some successful practices, including 

ideas for tracking the types and number of incoming calls, as well as for supplementing the services provided by phone systems. 
3VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

C o n te n ts

Section One: About the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Section Two About the Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Section Three: Prevalence of Hotlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Section Four: Features of Hotlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Section Five: Information Available to Callers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Section Six: Development of Hotlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Section Seven: Maintenance and Operation of Hotlines . . . . . . 33

Section Eight: Sampling of Tips and Successful Practices . . . . . 40

Appendix A: LOB Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Appendix B: Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

S ecti o n O n e : A b o ut t h e S tu d y

The focus of the 2007 U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC)-commissioned 

survey of election officials and report on government-sponsored voter hotlines 

was to gather information and provide assistance to election officials who 

are seeking to start up or improve their phone services. The bulk of the questions asked in an extensive survey of election officials originated from the EAC 

in its Statement of Work. The EAC contractors, The Pollworker Institute and 

the International Foundation for Election Systems (FES) worked with the EAC 

research director to modify the questions to make them user friendly for jurisdictions taking the survey.

Originally, the EAC limited the definition of voter hotline to toll-free numbers. 

However, the EAC later agreed that the definition be broadened so that data 

could be collected from government agencies that employ non-toll-free phone 

systems to provide services to voters and pollworkers and to receive information 

from callers. The resulting survey reflected this updated definition. 

About the Study
5VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

S ecti o n T w o : A b o ut t h e D ata

This report contains the results of a Web-based survey sent to Federal, State, and 

local-level offices that administer and/or oversee Federal elections. Invitations to 

complete the survey were sent to a total of 5,920 election offices, including 

3 Federal agencies, 50 State election directors and their counterparts in Puerto Rico 

and the District of Columbia, and 5,868 local-level (countys, citys, and township) 

jurisdictions.

Jurisdictions were sent invitations to complete the survey by e-mail or fax, 

depending on the information available. About two-thirds of the offices were sent 

a link by e-mail; the remaining one-third were sent a fax with the information 

needed to log on to the survey. An invitation to take the survey was not sent to 316 

offices for which we were not able to obtain an e-mail address or fax number; in 

most cases we were able to confirm that the election office in question had neither 

e-mail nor a fax machine. 

Out of the roughly 6,184 local-level election jurisdictions in the 50 U.S. States, 

invitations to complete the survey were sent to a total of 5,868 local-level election 

offices. In States in which election duties are divided among more than one office 

(such as a county clerk and a registrar of voters), the invitation was sent to the office 

that handles the bulk of voters’ questions and voter communication. The survey 

invitation was sent to the head of this office with directions that the survey should 

be completed by the person in the office most knowledgeable about voter communication, especially phone hotlines or phone-based voter information efforts. In 

this way, this survey contains only one response per election jurisdiction. (Note 

that in the State of New York the Board of Elections has two commissioners—one 

Democratic and one Republican. In order to maintain the principle of one response 

per jurisdiction, we used a random selection method so that in half of the counties/

boroughs the survey was sent to the Republican commissioner and in half to the 

Democratic commissioner.)

Jurisdictions had between August 28 and September 17, 2007, to complete the online 

survey, and election offices were contacted up to five times, including with an introductory letter, an invitation to join the survey, and three reminders encouraging 

their participation. 

Readers are reminded that this was an online survey, and thus the lack of Internet 

access in some smaller jurisdictions may have depressed participation, although 

we know that election officials in some of these jurisdictions took the survey from 

their home computers and a small handful called in to take the survey by phone 

with one of the project researchers.

In total, 1,466 election offices took the survey—1 Federal agency, 27 State election 

offices, 1,438 local-level offices—resulting in a 25 percent response rate. Broken 

down by region, the survey was completed by 29 percent of election jurisdictions in 

the West, 25 percent in the South, 23 percent in the Northeast, and 23 percent in 

the Midwest.

About the Data
6VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

S ecti o n T h ree : 

P reva l e n ce o f H o t l i n es

Minority of election offices use phone hotlines to communicate with voters 

and/or poll workers

The majority (63 percent) of election offices did not operate phone hotlines to 

communicate with voters and/or poll workers in their communities during the 

2006 election season. A little more than one-third of election offices report that 

they used phone-based information lines to communicate with voters and/or 

poll workers in their area, but for most offices, this phone hotline was the same 

as their office’s main number. Only about 1 in 20 (5 percent) election offices in 

the United States that administer or oversee Federal elections have a dedicated 

phone hotline expressly for the purpose of communicating with voters and/or 

poll workers. 

Did your office operate a phone-based information line, phone bank, or “hotline” 

to provide services or information to voters or poll workers in your area?

Yes, had hotline same as office 

main number 32%

Yes, had hotline as a dedicated 

phone number 5%

No, no hotline 63%

State election offices most likely to have dedicated hotlines

When considering the different types of election offices surveyed, State-level 

election offices are the most likely to have used dedicated phone hotlines in the 

2006 election season. Thirteen of the 27 (48 percent) State election offices that 

responded to the survey said they operated a voter and/or poll worker hotline. 

Dedicated phone hotlines were much less common among county-level offices. 

Just short of 1 in 10 county-level offices said they used hotlines, and only a 

handful of election offices in cities or townships (1 percent) utilized a dedicated 

phone hotline to provide information to voters and/or poll workers in 2006.

Prevalence of Hotlines
7VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Hotlines by Level of Government

Federal State County City / Township

No, no hotline 0 (–%) 5 (19%) 352 (46%) 563 (83%)

Yes, had hotline 

same as office main 

number

1 (–%) 9 (33%) 351 (46%) 108 (16%)

Yes, had hotline as 

a dedicated phone 

number 

0 (–%) 13 (48%) 57 (8%) 7 (1%)

Total jurisdictions 

reporting

1 (100%) 27 100%) 760 (100%) 678 (100%)

Offices with more staff and large voter populations are more likely to 

utilize hotlines

In a similar vein, the survey revealed that larger election offices are more likely to 

have used a dedicated phone hotline in the 2006 election season than are smaller 

offices. Offices that report having a dedicated hotline employ between 3 and 22 

full-time staff and from 1 to 10 part-time staff. By contrast, offices that did not 

have a dedicated hotline are much smaller and are typically staffed by 1 to 3 fulltime and 1 to 3 part-time staff. 

How many full-time and part-time staff work in your election office? Approximately how 

many voters are in your jurisdiction? 

1st Quartile Median 3rd Quartile

Offices with 

dedicated hotlines

Number of 

full-time staff

3 8 22

Number of 

part-time staff

1 2 10

Number of voters

in jurisdiction

29,000 185,000 575,000

Offices without 

dedicated hotlines

Number of 

full-time staff

1 2 3

Number of 

part-time staff

1 1 3

Number of voters 

in jurisdiction

1,300 6,000 20,000

PREVALENCE OF HOTLINES
8VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Likewise, election jurisdictions that serve large numbers of voters are more likely than 

smaller jurisdictions to report using a dedicated phone hotline. Election jurisdictions 

will require a certain number of telephones and phone lines to maintain a useful tollfree telephone service and avoid the busy signal or dump-to-voice-mail problem. 

“In a major election our call centers field more than 10,000 calls per hour. 

The volume outmatches our capacity of operators, phones, and computers. 

Our 1-800 numbers are critically important in that the automated functions allow us to immediately respond to the bulk of the calls on issues such 

as where to vote and registration confirmation. This leaves our skilled operators available for those calls that require a live interaction.”

Dean Logan, Los Angeles County Acting Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk 

The survey revealed that the median voter population of offices that used hotlines 

in the 2006 election season is roughly 185,500, with the number of voters typically varying between 29,000 and 575,000. By comparison, jurisdictions that 

did not operate hotlines are much smaller—typically serving between 1,300 and 

20,000 voters with a median voter population of approximately 6,100.

Was the information line or “hotline” the same as your office’s main number or did 

you have a phone number dedicated specifically to providing information to voters 

and/or pollworkers?

Northeast Midwest South West

Offices with 

dedicated hotlines

10 (3%) 13 (2%) 36 (10%) 18 (15%)

Total jurisdictions reporting 393 (100%) 602 (100%) 349 (100% 121 (100%)

Hotlines most prevalent in the West and South

Phone-based hotlines are most prevalent in election jurisdictions located in the 

western and southern States of the country. More than 1 in 10 election jurisdictions 

in the West (15 percent) and South (10 percent) report having used a phone-based 

hotline during the 2006 election season. By contrast, fewer than 1 in 20 jurisdictions 

in the Northeast (3 percent) or Midwest (2 percent) say they have a hotline. 

The relatively high reliance of hotlines in the West and the South is almost 

certainly a function of the size of election jurisdictions in those regions—phonebased hotlines dedicated solely to providing information to voters are simply not 

needed in smaller jurisdictions where the call volumes can easily be handled by 

the main, all-purpose office number. According to the 2004 EAC Election Day 

Survey, jurisdictions in the West and South are many times larger than those in 

PREVALENCE OF HOTLINES
9VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

the Midwest and Northeast. The median number of voting-aged citizens in western 

election jurisdictions is approximately 16,006 and is 19,157 in the South. By 

comparison, the median number of voting-aged citizens in the Northeast is roughly 

2,644 and is 1,397 in the Midwest. Furthermore, a large percentage of jurisdictions 

in the Northeast (15 percent) and Midwest (21 percent) are “micro” districts that 

serve populations of fewer than 500 voting-aged citizens. Very few election jurisdictions in the West (1 percent) and South (.2 percent) serve fewer than 500 citizens. 

Paraphrasing the words of one election official in a microsized jurisdiction in 

Wisconsin: 

We don’t need a hotline. If someone has a question, 

they just walk into the office and ask me.

Increasing reliance on Web Sites to Serve Voters

Election offices nationwide are turning to the Internet to provide Web-based 

customer service. Through discussions with election officials, it is apparent that 

offices across the country have realized that the initial cost to develop and launch a 

Web site pays off in the long run because voters are able to get answers to a variety 

of questions at any time of the day, on any day of the week.

“We don’t have a hotline per se....rather we use our website 

to interface with the majority of our voters and that has 

worked extremely well.”

Gary Smith, Forsyth County, Georgia

Web sites are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Voters have the freedom of 

“visiting the election office” from the comfort of their own homes. More and more 

election offices are providing resource tools on their Web Sites, enabling voters to 

confirm their voter registration status, find their polling place and print a map, 

and review and print their sample ballot. These services, along with the ability to 

learn how to use voting equipment, access online poll worker training tools, and 

e-mail questions to the election official, are all examples of how the Internet-based 

services in election offices are improving communication and expanding the level 

of customer service provided to voters nationwide.

Text-messaging and pod-casting services provide election officials instant communication techniques and links to voters. Fortunately, these services are often those 

utilized by the 18 to 35-year-old population—a segment of the voting population 

that continues to be targeted in voter outreach efforts. Imagine a voting population with cell phones receiving text messages that say, “The polls are now open for 

voting. Click on this link to find your polling place location.” This puts customer 

service at the fingertips of all voters and at the same time alleviates the backlog of 

phone calls at Election Central on Election Day.

PREVALENCE OF HOTLINES
10VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

S ecti o n F o ur : 

F eatures o f H o t l i n es

Majority of hotlines are operated on normal toll phone lines

The majority of dedicated phone hotlines in operation during the 2006 election season operated on normal, toll-call phone lines. Seven in 10 (71 percent) 

responding jurisdictions say that their hotlines operated on a normal toll-call 

basis. Nearly one-half of jurisdictions (47 percent) said they operated a toll-free 

hotline with 19 percent of jurisdictions saying their office offered both a toll-free 

and a normal toll-call hotline.

All of the 13 State-level election offices responding operated a toll-free hotline, 

with a couple of States also offering a normal toll-call hotline. In contrast, among 

county-level and city and township election offices, there is an almost equal split 

in the utilization of toll-free versus toll-call hotlines, with a small tendency to opt 

to use toll-call rather than toll-free hotline numbers.

Was this information hotlne toll-free or a normal toll-call hotline?

Toll Free Toll Call

% %

All jurisdictions 47 71

States 100 8

Local jurisdictions 36 46

Features of Hotlines
11VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

FEATURES OF HOTLINES

Most hotlines open all day or during polling hours on Election Day

The plurality of jurisdictions (47 percent) operate their hotlines 24 hours on 

Election Day and most of the rest have their hotlines in operation roughly the 

same hours that the polls are open in their area (41 percent). Only a little more 

than 1 in 10 offices keep their hotlines open during normal office hours 

(11 percent) or extended office hours (1 percent).

Please indicate when, if at all, your information line(s) or “hotline(s) are in operation”.

Election Day Election Season

(Excluding 

Election Day

 Remainder 

 of the Year

% % %

24 hours 47 24 21

When polls are open 

(approx.)

41 — —

Extended office Hours 1 4 0

Normal office Hours 11 53 53

Not in operation 0 20 26

During the rest of the election season, however, only about one-fourth of 

hotlines (24 percent) operate 24-hours. Instead, a little more than one-half 

(53 percent) operate within normal office hours or extended office hours (4 

percent). And 20 percent of the hotlines in operation during the 2006 election 

season were in operation only on Election Day.

The remainder of the year outside of election season, only about one in five 

hotlines (21 percent) are in operation 24 hours, while roughly one-half are in 

operation during normal office hours (53 percent) and one-fourth (26 percent) 

are not in operation at all. 

FEATURES OF HOTLINES
12VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

S ecti o n F ive : I n f o rmati o n A vai l a b l e

t o C a l l ers

Calls from voters 

Telephones remain a valuable tool in communicating with voters, especially those 

voters who do not use or do not have ready access to a computer. Telephones can 

be a useful two-way dialog, as opposed to a one-sided message emanating from 

an election jurisdiction. 

Telephone lines can be a first-line form of communication with election jurisdictions that do not have Web sites or the capacity to “snail-mail” voting information. Even for jurisdictions that have advanced Web sites, Web portals and extensive voter mailings (e.g., sample ballot booklets), hotlines can be an invaluable 

way for election officials to get real-time feedback from voters, such as to report 

the status of a polling place (e.g., “the polling place I am assigned to is not open”) 

or to report a problem with an incorrectly drawn precinct boundary line.

We asked jurisdictions whether different types of information were directly available to voters through their jurisdiction’s hotline or, if not directly available, 

whether the hotline had provisions for transferring that person to the appropriate 

person or office. For each type of information asked about, nearly all hotlines 

either provided the information directly through the hotline or referred the 

caller to the appropriate person or office.

More specifically, three-fourths or more of hotlines directly offered information 

to voters on legal deadlines to request and return absentee ballots (81 percent), 

whether the voter is currently registered (79 percent), or the voter’s voting location and the polling hours in the voter’s polling place (77 percent). 

Further, roughly 6 in 10 or more of jurisdictions report that their hotlines 

directly provided information on the voting system used in the voter’s polling 

place (65 percent), general complaints and concerns (63 percent), clarification of 

laws and/or procedures (61 percent), request or check status of absentee ballot 

(60 percent), information on accessibility provisions in polling locations for 

voters with disabilities (60 percent), or how to become a poll worker (59 percent). 

Most of the rest of the jurisdictions that did not provide this information directly 

through their hotline said that their hotline had a provision for referring callers 

with these information needs to the appropriate person or office.

Slim majorities of jurisdictions provide information via hotlines on provisional 

ballot status (55 percent), voter information specific to Uniformed and Overseas 

Citizen Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) ballot sent/received status (55 percent), 

or reporting fraud and/or filing a Help America Vote Act (HAVA) complaint 

(51 percent). Again, almost all of those jurisdictions that did not offer the 

Information Available to Callers
13VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO CALLERS

information directly through their hotline were able to transfer the call to the 

appropriate person or office to assist the caller. In particular, in at least one State, 

calls to the election office regarding the status of a provisional ballot are referred 

to the State election office. 

Please indicate if the service is available to voters through your office’s hotline(s).

Available 

Through 

Hotline

Not Available 

but Hotline 

Refers Caller 

to Appropriate 

Person/Office

Not Available and 

Hotline Does Not 

Refer Caller

% % %

Information on legal 

deadlines to request/return 

absentee ballot

81 15 4

Voter registration— 

am I registered?

79 16 4

Information on voting 

location and hours

77 18 4

Information on voting 

system used in voter’s 

polling place

65 25 8

Other general voter 

complaints/concerns

63 33 4

Clarification of laws and/or 

procedures

61 32 5

Request or check status of 

absentee ballot

60 34 5

Information on accessibility provisions in polling 

locations for voters with 

disabilities

60 33 5

How to be a poll worker 58 36 5

Provisional ballot status 55 40 5

Voter information specific 

to overseas and military 

voters—UOCAVA ballot 

sent, received (status)

55 38 7

Report fraud—file HAVA 

complaint

51 42 5
14VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO CALLERS

Communicating with poll workers 

In addition to providing services to voters, many hotlines are used for communicating with poll workers. Nearly three-fourths (71 percent) of jurisdictions use 

hotlines as a way of communicating with their poll workers to clarify laws and/

or procedures or troubleshoot problems at the polls on Election Day. Almost as 

many jurisdictions also use hotlines to communicate with poll workers on these 

issues prior to Election Day, and more than one-half (57 percent) of jurisdictions 

provide information on poll worker recruiting and deployment via their hotlines.

One-fourth (25 percent) of jurisdictions report that they use their hotline for poll 

workers to signal the opening and closing of individual polling places, while 30 

percent refer calls of this nature to the appropriate person or office. However, a 

large number of jurisdictions (44 percent) neither use hotlines directly to signal 

the opening and closing of polling stations nor refer hotline callers on this issue to 

another office. 

Please indicate if the service is available to pollworkers through your office’s hotline(s).

Available 

Through Hotline

Not Available 

but Hotline 

Refers Caller to 

Appropriate Person/

Office

Not Available and 

Hotline Does Not 

Refer Caller

% % %

Election Day hotlines for 

poll workers (clarification 

on laws and procedures, 

troubleshooting with 

voting system problems, 

“no-show” poll workers, 

missing supplies, etc.)

71 27 3

Pre-Election Day hotlines 

for poll workers (clarification on laws and procedures, troubleshooting 

with voting system 

problems, etc.)

64 29 8

Poll worker recruiting 

and poll worker information (assignment, training 

schedule, etc.)

57 37 5

Automated system for poll 

workers to signal the open/

closed station of that polling 

location

25 30 44
15VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO CALLERS

Majority of hotlines operate solely in English, but many offer support in an

alternative language

Hotlines can be a very important tool for voters with limited English proficiency. 

Election offices are increasingly identifying staff who possess the language 

capacity to assist such voters and/or off site resources to provide such services. 

An example of such a system is the Los Angeles County 1–800–481–8683 

Multilingual Assistance Hotline. Voters can call this toll-free number to request 

translated voter registration forms, translated sample ballot booklets, translated 

voting instructions, etc., and to locate their polling place. To obtain assistance in 

his or her language, the voter asks to speak with an interpreter who serves as a 

liaison between the voter and the election information staff. 

Three in 10 jurisdictions (30 percent) offer some sort of alternative language 

support with Spanish being the most often offered language. Roughly one-fourth 

(26 percent) of responding jurisdictions report that they offer Spanish language 

services through their hotline. A few jurisdictions also offer Chinese (7 percent), 

Tagalog (4 percent), Vietnamese (4 percent), Japanese (1 percent), or some other 

language (3 percent). 

When only jurisdictions that are required to publish election materials in a 

language other than English are considered, the prevalence of hotlines with 

foreign language assistance increases. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of jurisdictions that are required to publish materials in a language other than English 

report that their hotline offers support in a language other than English while 

35 percent of these jurisdictions say their hotlines operate solely in English. By 

contrast, 15 percent of those jurisdictions that are not required to publish 

materials in a foreign language offer foreign language support through their 

hotline, but that a vast majority (85 percent) of them operate their hotline solely 

in English.

Does your office’s hotline(s) operate solely in English or do you offer support in a 

language other than English?

English only 70%

Language other than English 30%
16VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO CALLERS

Nearly one-half of hotlines have some form of TTY or TDD technology 

support for the hearing impaired

Roughly one-fourth (27 percent) of jurisdictions report that their hotline is 

directly equipped with telephone typewriter (TTY) or telecommunications device 

for the deaf (TTD) technology for the hearing impaired. An additional 19 percent 

of jurisdictions say they do not directly provide support in TTY or TDD technology but have a relay program with a State-level service. 

Just over one-half of jurisdictions report that they do not offer any TTY or TDD 

support—either directly or through a relay program. Breaking these results down 

by the level of government of election office shows that 39 percent of States 

responding to the survey and 58 percent of county/city/township election 

offices do not offer TTY or TDD nor do they coordinate this support with 

another agency.

Is your hotline number(s) equipped with TTY or TDD technology for the 

hearing impaired?

Yes, hotline directly TTY / TDD 27%

Yes, have relay program with a State-level service 19%

No, not offered and callers not relayed/transferred 55%

Most calls to hotlines are about registration and voting location issues

Jurisdictions with dedicated hotlines report that the bulk of the calls they receive 

have to do with issues with where to go to vote (42 percent) or about checking on 

registration status (33 percent). Jurisdictions report that fewer than 2 in 10 calls 

are about receipt of absentee ballots (8 percent), general nonfraud complaints 

(6 percent), or fraud-related concerns (1 percent). 
17VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

*

Thinking only about the calls made to your hotline(s) on Election Day, approximately 

what percentage of calls are made to the following categories?

Where do I vote? 42%

Am I registered? 33%

Did you get my absentee ballot? 8%

I have a complaint (nonfraud related) 6%

I suspect fraud 1%

Other 14%

These are self-reported percentages reported directly from jurisdictions and do not 

sum to 100 percent. 

Few jurisdictions have hotlines answered exclusively by automated system

Fewer than one in five jurisdictions have hotlines that are answered exclusively 

by an automated system (17 percent). Instead, most jurisdictions report that a live 

operator answers their office’s hotline (66 percent) or they have both a hotline 

answered by a live operator and one answered by an automated system 

(17 percent).

Are your information lines or hotlines answered by a live operator or are they 

answered by an automated system or do you have both kinds of hotlines?

Answered by a live operator 66%

Answered by an automated 

system 17%

Have both a hotline answered 

by live operator and one answered 

by an automated system 17%

INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO CALLERS
18VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Most automated systems have the ability to speak to a live operator

Although few jurisdictions have hotlines answered exclusively by automated 

systems, the majority (76 percent) of those that do allow callers to opt out of the 

automated portion and speak to a live operator. Only one-fourth (24 percent) are 

completely automated systems. 

Are callers able to exit the automated portion of the phone information hotline 

and speak to an operator or is your hotline 100 percent automated?

100% automated 24%

Able to speak to an operator 76%

Asked only of those who have a hotline answered by an automated system. 

INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO CALLERS
19VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Operators use a variety of sources to handle voters’ information needs

Local-level jurisdictions that operate hotlines that are answered by a live 

operator use a variety of tools to answer voters’ information needs. Nearly all 

local-level jurisdictions that have operator-answered hotlines give their operators access to voter registration (91 percent) or polling-place lookup databases 

(86 percent). A large majority also give their operators access to absentee ballot 

databases. Roughly one-half (49 percent) employ a poll worker management 

database to help operators handle questions that come into the hotline and 4 in 

10 utilize a provisional ballot database (40 percent). 

What is more, three-fourths (74 percent) of these jurisdictions say their operators 

have access to three or more of these databases and almost one-third (30 percent) 

give their operators access to all five data sources.

What databases, if any, do your hotline operators have access to?

Voter registration database 91%

Polling-place lookup database 86%

Absentee ballot database 70%

Poll worker management database 49%

Provisional ballot database 40%

Asked only of local-level jurisdictions with hotlines answered by a live operator (n=43).

INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO CALLERS
20VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Among automated hotlines, integration with voter registration and pollingplace lookup databases are most common

What databases, if any, are integrated with your hotline(s) system(s)?

Voter registration database 45%

Polling-place lookup database 33%

Absentee ballot database 10%

Poll worker management database 10%

Provisional ballot database 10%

Asked only of local-level jurisdictions with hotlines answered by a live operator (n=21).

Voter registration and polling-place lookup databases are the most popular databases for local-level jurisdictions with automated systems to integrate into their 

hotlines. Forty-five percent of local-level jurisdictions with automated hotline 

systems integrate voter registration databases and 33 percent integrate a pollingplace lookup database. A small number report integrating an absentee ballot database (10 percent), poll worker management database (10 percent) or provisional 

ballot database (10 percent).

At the same time, database integration for those jurisdictions that have their 

hotlines answered by automated systems is not completely widespread. Roughly 

4 in 10 jurisdictions with automated hotlines do not report any database integration and only 14 percent say they have three or more databases integrated 

directly into their automated hotline. Further conversations with these jurisdictions show that many jurisdictions in this category use the automated system to 

route calls to particular offices or operators, but the bulk of the voter information 

services are handled by live persons and not through database integration and, in 

this way, are similar to operator-answered hotlines in their information management and dissemination strategies. 

INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO CALLERS
21VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

State-run hotlines use information gathered at the local level to 

inform voters

State-level election offices use a variety of tools to give information to citizens 

calling into their hotlines. The majority of States that responded to the survey say 

that their hotline has access to statewide voter registration lists (69 percent). 

Does your hotline have access to statewide voter registration lists?

Yes 69%

No 31%

 Asked only of State-level jurisdictions.

In addition, most State-level hotlines have the ability to give voters the phone 

number of their local-level elections office. One-half (50 percent) of States have 

a database of phone numbers for local-level jurisdictions directly on the hotline 

operators’ computer and an additional 25 percent have a hard-copy list of phone 

numbers available to reference. Only one-fourth of State-run hotlines do not have 

the ability to give voters the direct phone number of the appropriate local-level 

elections office.

Is your office’s hotline able to give callers the general contact information for their 

specific county/township election office?

Asked only of State-level jurisdictions.

Yes, operators have a hard-copy list 

of phone numbers of county/city 

offices 25%

Yes, operators have access to a database 

of phone numbers for counties/cities 

on the computer at their 

workstation 50%

No, operators are provided access 

to local jurisdiction’s databases 

so they can provide immediate 

assistance 25%

INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO CALLERS
22VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Does your office have a list of voter information hotlines operated by subordinate 

jurisdictions in your State? 

Asked only of State-level jurisdictions.

Yes 50% No 50%

States are equally split in their ability to give voters the phone number of voter 

information hotlines operated by local-level jurisdictions in their State. One-half 

(50 percent) report that they have a list of voter information hotlines operated by 

subordinate jurisdictions and one-half (50 percent) say they do not.

Most operator-answered hotlines lack a systematic approach to dealing with 

voters’ inquiries 

A large majority (73 percent) of State and local-level jurisdictions with operatoranswered hotlines say that they use a nonstructured and nonautomated approach 

to respond to callers’ questions. 

Of those who use a more systematic approach, protocol cards, forms, and checklist scripts are the most popularly used systems. Roughly one-fourth (23 percent) of 

responding jurisdictions report that they use protocol cards, forms, and/or checklist 

scripts. Two percent used an automated script or protocol software system and an additional 2 percent say they use both protocol cards and an automated software system.

Do your call-takers have a protocol card, form, checklist, and script or software system 

to guide their interaction with callers OR does your office use a nonstructured and 

nonautomated approach to respond to callers’ questions?

Use a nonstructured and nonautomated approach 73%

Use protocol cards/form/checklist script 24%

Use automated script/protocol software system 2%

Use BOTH protocol cards/form/checklist script and an 

automated software system

2%

Asked only of those with operator-answered only systems. 

INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO CALLERS
23VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Few hotlines formally track information on hotline calls

Just fewer than one-half (45 percent) of automated hotline systems have the ability 

to track the wait time of calls and one-third (33 percent) can track call volume. Only 

1 in 10 jurisdictions with an automated hotline system report that they have the 

ability to track the duration of a call (10 percent), the type of call (10 percent), or the 

end result of each call (10 percent).

Does your automated hotline system have the following features to track calls?

Wait time of a call 45%

Call volume 33%

Disposition or end result of each call 10%

The type or category of a call 10%

Duration of a call 10%

Asked only of jurisdictions with automated hotline systems.

Do you currently track the type of call or information being sought after by the 

caller (for example, polling-place lookup or absentee ballot status)?

Yes, track manually 34%

No, do not currently track 59%

Yes, track through automated 

system 7%

Asked all.

Similarly, the majority (59 percent) of jurisdictions, whether they have automated 

or operator-answered hotlines, do not currently track the type of calls or information being sought after by callers. One-third (34 percent) of jurisdictions have a 

manual system for tracking the type of calls, and an additional 7 percent track the 

type of calls, through their automated system.

(See Section Eight, Sampling of Best Practices, for Clark County, Nevada’s “Line of 

Business” program, which tracks calls by type. )

INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO CALLERS
24VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO CALLERS

Hotlines quick to answer citizens’ calls

A majority of jurisdictions report that callers to their hotlines wait on average less 

than 1 minute. An additional 2 in 10 said that callers wait 1 to 2 (15 percent) or 

2 to 3 (7 percent) minutes. Very few jurisdictions report wait times longer than 3 

minutes or longer and almost 2 in 10 jurisdictions report that they did not have 

enough information to give estimates on wait times. 

What is the average wait time for calls made to your hotline?

3 to less than 4 minutes 3%

2 to less than 3 minutes 7%

Less than 1 minute 57%

5 or more minutes 1%

1 to less than 2 minutes 15%

Not enough information to 

answer 17%

4 to less than 5 minutes 0%

Most calls last only a minute or two

What is the average duration of calls made to your hotline once a caller is connected 

(not including hold time)?

5 or more minutes 1%

4 to less than 5 minutes 26%

3 to less than 4 minutes 7%

2 to less than 3 minutes 26%

1 to less than 2 minutes 38%

Less than 1 minute 8%

Not enough information to answer 15%

Jurisdictions with dedicated hotlines report that the bulk of calls received to their 

hotlines last only 1 to 2 (38 percent) or 2 to 3 (26 percent) minutes. Many fewer 

report that the average call is less than 1 minute (8 percent) or more than 3 minutes 

(12 percent).

Fifteen percent of jurisdictions report that they do not have enough information 

to estimate the average duration of calls.
25VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Hotlines typically fall into two categories—high volume and low volume 

When it comes to call volume, hotlines tend to fit into two groups: those that 

receive only one or two calls at a time (25 percent) and those that handle a high 

volume of calls and are capable of receiving seven or more calls at one time 

(40 percent). 

Closer inspection of the data shows that this bimodal distribution of call 

capability is driven mainly by those jurisdictions with hotlines answered by 

live operators. In the main, there appear to be two types of operator-answered 

hotlines—low-volume hotlines that answer only one to two calls at a time 

(30 percent) and hotlines capable of handling high call volumes and able to 

receive seven or more calls at a time (36 percent). However, the largest bulk (48 

percent) of automated-answered hotlines fall into this latter category and are 

capable of receiving seven or more calls at a time.

Similarly, although almost one-half (46 percent) of the jurisdictions said that 

they did not have enough information about call volumes to estimate the largest 

number of calls received in one day, data from the jurisdictions that were able 

to make estimates show a similar grouping into low- and high-volume hotlines. 

Roughly as many jurisdictions received fewer than 100 calls on their highest 

volume day as received 5,000 or more calls. 

Not surprisingly, automated hotlines and State-run hotlines tend to have higher 

call volumes than hotlines run by local-level jurisdictions and those answered by 

live operators. On the highest volume day, the median number of calls received 

by automated-answered hotlines was 6,000 calls and was 1,799 for State-run 

hotlines. By comparison, live operator-answered hotlines received a median of 

200 calls on their highest volume day and the median number of calls reported 

from local-level jurisdictions is 350 calls on their highest volume day.

INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO CALLERS
26VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

What is the number of incoming calls that can be received at one time?

Automated Answered 1 to 2 calls

3 to 4 calls

5 to 6 calls

7 or more calls

Not enough information to answer

13%

0%

8%

48%

30%

Operator Answered 1 to 2 calls

3 to 4 calls

5 to 6 calls

7 or more calls

Not enough information to answer

30%

18%

14%

36%

2%

Historically, what is the largest number of calls 

received in one day?

Fewer than 100 calls 11%

100 to 499 15%

500 to 999 3%

1,000 to 1,999 12%

2,000 to 2,999 3%

3,000 to 3,999 2%

4,000 to 4,999 3%

5,000 or more 12%

Not enough information to answer 46%

INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO CALLERS
27VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

S ecti o n S ix : 

D eve l o pme n t o f H o t l i n es

Nearly all jurisdictions say developing a hotline was easy

More than 8 in 10 jurisdictions with dedicated hotlines report that the process 

of developing the hotline was easy, with jurisdictions roughly equally split in 

whether they would describe the process as very (38 percent) or somewhat 

(45 percent) easy. Only a small minority of jurisdictions describe the process as 

somewhat (15 percent) or very (1 percent) hard.

Jurisdictions with operator-answered hotlines find the process of developing 

the hotline a little bit easier than their counterparts who developed automated 

machine-answered hotlines. Roughly one-half (48 percent) of those operatoranswered hotlines describe the development of their hotline as very easy 

compared with 17 percent of jurisdictions with automated machine-answered 

hotlines. Instead, the majority of these jurisdictions describe the process as somewhat easy (52 percent).

Overall, how would you describe your office’s experience developing the hotline? 

Overall, how would you describe your office’s experience developing the hotline? 

Very easy 38%

Somewhat easy 45%

Somewhat hard 15%

Very hard 1%

Development of Hotlines
28VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

DEVELOPMENT OF HOTLINES

Majority of hotlines are developed in house

A two-thirds majority (68 percent) of jurisdictions report that they developed 

their dedicated hotline in house. About 2 in 10 jurisdictions chose to outsource 

some (9 percent) or most (13 percent) or the work, while 1 in 10 outsourced all of 

the development work for their hotline (9 percent).

Not surprising, given the level of technical skill required to develop an 

automated-answered hotline, hotlines answered by live operators were much 

more likely than their counterparts with automated-answered hotlines to have 

developed the hotline completely in house (82 percent vs. 40 percent) whereas 

jurisdictions that developed automated hotlines were more likely to outsource 

most or all of the work (10 percent vs. 48 percent). Jurisdictions with live operator 

and automated-answered hotlines were roughly equally likely to outsource some 

of the development work (8 percent vs. 12 percent).

Developing the hotline in house or outsourcing some or all of the development 

work does not have an impact on the ease of hotline development. Those who 

developed the hotline in house are as likely to describe the development of the 

hotline process as easy as those who outsourced the work in part or in whole. 

Some jurisdictions stressed the importance of hiring a vendor with specific election experience, while others advised on the importance of hiring a firm with 

significant experience developing hotlines. 

Did you develop the hotline in house or did you outsource most or all of the work to 

another company or organization? 

Developed the hotline in house 68%

Outsourced some of the development work 9%

Outsourced most of the development work 13%

Outsourced all of the development work 9%

r company or organization?
29VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

All those who outsourced work indicated satisfaction with service provider

All responding jurisdictions that outsourced at least some of the work report 

satisfaction with their service provider. In fact, 9 in 10 report high satisfaction 

with their service provider (91 percent) and the remaining jurisdictions say they 

were somewhat satisfied with their service provider (10 percent).

Most hotlines developed relatively quickly

A plurality (40 percent) of hotlines were developed from start to finish within 1 

to 2 weeks, although 1 in 10 (10 percent) jurisdictions reports that it took them 

more than 2 months to develop their hotline.

There is only a very slight difference in the length of development between 

automated-answered and operator-answered hotlines. Thirty-one percent of 

automated-answered hotlines were developed in 1 to 2 weeks compared to 46 

percent of live operator-answered hotlines. At the same time, jurisdictions with 

automated-answered hotlines were about as likely as jurisdictions with operatoranswered hotlines to report taking more than 2 months in development 

(19 percent vs. 14 percent).

Approximately how many weeks did it take you to develop the hotline—from the time 

that you started planning the hotline features to when the hotline was fully operational? 

1 to 2 weeks 40%

3 to 4 weeks 15%

5 to 6 weeks 23%

7 to 8 weeks 13%

9 to 10 weeks 4%

More than 10 weeks 6%

DEVELOPMENT OF HOTLINES
30VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

How would you rate your satisfaction with this service provider?

Very satisfied 91%

Somewhat satisfied 10%

Somewhat dissatisfied 0%

Very dissatisfied 0%

ould you rate your satisfaction with this service provider?

Hotline development does not have to be costly

Nearly one-half (47 percent) of jurisdictions with dedicated hotlines opted not to 

answer questions about the cost of their hotline. However, based on the answers 

of the 41 jurisdictions that did provide costing information, we see that hotline 

development does not necessarily have to be an expensive affair. one-third 

(42 percent) report that they did not spend any money on developing their 

hotline and one-fourth (24 percent) spent less than $1,000 dollars. At the same 

time, a handful of jurisdictions spend $5,000 or more on developing and 

implementing their jurisdiction’s hotline. 

Followon interviews with jurisdictions that indicated that the development of 

their hotline had cost very little revealed that most of them had benefited from 

having the hotline developed in house, which meant both by staff from the election department or from the city, county, or State technology information technology services or telecommunications departments. For example, the New York 

City Board of Elections had its Management Information Systems Department 

initiate a state-of-the-art Interactive Voice Response system in 2000. Another 

jurisdiction said, “We simply called the State Division of Information Services to 

have the number installed.” 

Perceptions of customer service needs, more than costs, drive the decision 

about the type of hotline

More than three-fourths of jurisdictions with hotlines answered by an automated 

system say they chose this over a hotline answered by a live operator because of 

availability of staff (77 percent) or anticipated call volume (77 percent). Nearly 

as many say that calculations of wait times or time on hold (73 percent) and 

customer services needs (71 percent) drove their decision. 

A majority say that the special needs of voters in their jurisdiction was part of 

their reasoning for choosing an automated hotline, but jurisdictions were split on 

whether special needs was a major (28 percent) or minor (33 percent) reason. 

DEVELOPMENT OF HOTLINES
31VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Similarly, jurisdictions are split in their evaluations of how important costs were 

to their decisionmaking process. A majority say that cost was a reason for their 

choosing to have an automated hotline, but jurisdictions are split on whether 

costs were a major (33 percent) or minor (24 percent) consideration and a large 

number of jurisdictions (43 percent) say that costs were not a reason at all.

Why did your office choose to have an automated hotline rather than one answered by a 

live operator?

Major Reason Minor Reason Not a Reason

% % %

Customer service 71 14 14

Costs 33 24 43

Availability of staff 77 14 9

Anticipated call volume 77 9 14

Wait times/time on hold 73 14 14

Special needs of voters in 

jurisdiction

28 33 39

Jurisdictions that opted for a live operator-answered hotline also cite customer 

service as major reason. In fact, for those with live operator-answered hotlines, 

customer service considerations far outstrip other considerations in informing 

their choice. One jurisdiction advised, “Always answer calls with a live operator. 

I apply this rule year round to all calls made to the Board of Elections but especially on Election Day when citizens are trying to determine whether or not 

and where to vote; I feel a live operator offers the most positive encouragement 

toward that end.” 

Eight percent of jurisdictions say customer service was a major factor in their 

decision. Anticipated call volume (39 percent), wait times (35 percent), availability of staff (29 percent), and the special needs of voters (20 percent) were 

major reasons for choosing to have a live operator-answered hotline for many 

fewer jurisdictions. 

DEVELOPMENT OF HOTLINES
32VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Why did your office choose to have a live operator-answered hotline rather than an 

automated one?

Major Reason Minor Reason Not a Reason

% % %

Customer service 80% 8% 12%

Costs 20% 18% 61%

Availability of staff 29% 29% 43%

Anticipated call volume 39% 16% 45%

Wait times/time on hold 35% 20% 44%

Special needs of voters in 

jurisdiction

20% 41% 39%

Interestingly, a majority (61 percent) say that costs were not a reason for choosing 

to have a live operator-answered hotline over an automated one, although 

20 percent of jurisdictions say costs were a major reason and 18 percent say costs 

were a minor reason.

Some jurisdictions indicated in followup interviews that voters do not like to 

deal with an automated line or phone tree, and they felt that a live operator was 

a better level of customer service. Other jurisdictions pointed out that since the 

majority of calls are to confirm registration and to ask the voting location, which 

can be easily provided via the automated functions, the automated capacity 

allowed them to reserve their live operators for questions that required customized interaction. In addition, automated lines allow voters to be provided service 

during nonoffice hours. 

Still other jurisdictions have a blended approach—voters are advised that there 

will be a wait for a live operator, while the caller waits, he or she listens to prompts 

to access automated information or is referred to the jurisdiction’s Web site. 

DEVELOPMENT OF HOTLINES
33VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

S ecti o n S eve n : M ai n te n a n ce a n d

O perati o n o f H o t l i n es

Customer service-oriented and well-trained staff can be the key to a successful 

voter hotline. This means that a jurisdiction must recruit and track performance 

of staff, provide periodic training to staff, and provide staff with materials needed 

to respond accurately to voters. 

Maintenance of information handled in house

Nearly all jurisdictions that operated dedicated hotlines during the 2006 

election season handled all of the maintenance of the information for the 

hotline completely in house. Only 1 in 10 (10 percent) jurisdictions say they 

outsourced some of the maintenance work and no jurisdictions reported that 

they outsourced most or all of the day-to-day maintenance of information or 

databases used by their hotline. The few jurisdictions that did outsource this 

work report being satisfied with their service provider.

Does your office handle in house the day-to-day maintenance of information and/

or databases used by your hotline or do you outsource some, most, or all of the 

work to another company or organization?

Handled maintenance of information 

completely in house 91%

Outsourced some of the 

work 10%

Outsourced all of the work 0%

Outsourced most of the work 0%

Maintenance and Operation of Hotlines
34VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

During election season, how often are updates made

During election season, how often are updates made?

In real time/as changes are made 68%

Daily 13%

Weekly 6%

Monthly 1%

Only at the end of the canvass/audit period 3%

None of the above 10%

During election season, three-fourths of jurisdictions make changes to the information accessed by hotline automated systems or operators on a daily basis. An 

additional more than 1 in 10 (13 percent) make daily updates, while a handful of 

jurisdictions make weekly (6 percent) or monthly (1 percent) updates. 

When it comes to costs of database maintenance, only about 30 jurisdictions 

participating in the survey reported how much they spend. Of these, 29 percent 

say they incur no extra costs for updating the information for their phone 

hotline, although the median amount spent in 2006 was $500, and a few jurisdictions report having spent $1,000 or more on administration and personnel 

costs maintaining and/or updating the information for their dedicated phone 

hotline. Only one jurisdiction reported paying a per record fee for database 

maintenance. 

Staffing of hotlines also handled in-house

Similar to the situation with the development of hotlines, few jurisdictions 

outsource a portion of the operations and staffing of their hotlines and no jurisdictions report outsourcing all of the day-to-day operation and staffing. Instead, 

nearly all (92 percent) jurisdictions handle the day-to-day operation and staffing 

completely in house. 

The few jurisdictions that do outsource the operation and staffing of their hotline 

report being very satisfied with their service provider. 

MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION OF HOTLINES
35VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Does your office handle in house the day-to-day operation and staffing of the 

operators who take hotline calls or do you outsource some, most, or all of the 

staffing of the hotline staff to another company or organization?

Outsourced all of the day-to-day 

operation and staffing 0%

Outsourced some of the day-to-day 

operation and staffing 4%

Outsourced most of the day-today operation and staffing 4%

Handled day-to-day operation and 

staffing completely in house 92%

During nonpeak times or seasons what is the average number of full-time and 

part-time hotline operators?

1st Quartile Median 3rd Quartile

Full-time staff 1 2 6

Part-time staff 0 0 1

Asked only of jurisdictions with hotlines in which callers can talk to an operator. 

During peak times or seasons what is the average number of full-time and part-time 

hotline operators?

1st Quartile Median 3rd Quartile

Full-time staff 2 4 7

Part-time staff 1 2 7

Asked only of jurisdictions with hotlines in which callers can talk to an operator. 

When operator-answered hotlines or automated-answered hotlines with the 

option of speaking to a live operator are in their busy season, they are typically staffed by about four full-time staff and two part-time staff, although this 

number typically ranges from two to seven full time staff and one to seven 

full-time staff. 

During off-peak times or seasons, hotline staffing drops down to a median 

staffing arrangement of two full-time staff and no part-time staff with typical 

ranges falling between two to six full-time staff and no or only one 

part-time staff.

MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION OF HOTLINES
36VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Shadowing is most popular method of training operators

Shadowing of an experienced operator is the most popular method by which 

hotline operators are trained. Just over three-fourths of jurisdictions report that 

they use this method to train their hotline operators. Classroom lectures (43 

percent) or role playing (41 percent) is employed by a sizable minority of jurisdictions while few (20 percent) jurisdictions use computer-based tutorials to train 

their hotline operators.

For each of the following, please indicate whether or not this method is used to train 

hotline operators.

Used Not Used Not Sure/Not Enough 

Information To Answer

% % %

Classroom lectures 43 50 4

Role playing/simulated calls 41 50 7

Computer-based tutorial 20 67 7

Shadowing experienced 

operator or person

78 22 4

Asked only of jurisdictions with hotlines in which callers can talk to an operator.

Most train all operators for each major election cycle

Most (82 percent) reporting jurisdictions state that they train all operators before 

each major election cycle regardless of the operator’s level of experience. By 

contrast, nearly one in five jurisdictions do not train or retrain all operators.

Are all operators, regardless of their level of experience, trained before each major 

election cycle?

No 18% Yes 82%

MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION OF HOTLINES
37VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Oregon Secretary of State’s Office

The Oregon Secretary of State’s (SOS’s) office has developed a training manual 

called “Election Questions and Answers,” which is used to train call center representatives. The manual is an interactive tool that is “question-driven”. There are 

links throughout the manual that anticipate followup questions that callers may 

have and/or provide additional details for call representatives to share with the 

caller. 

Each call representative has the electronic manual on his or her computer desktop, 

and it is updated regularly. The manual allows the call reps to fulfill approximately 

80 percent of the calls to the toll-free line. In addition, each call representative 

has speed-dial capability to every county election office as well as to the SOS 

office, so he or she can transfer callers as necessary when unable to fulfill the call.

One other application we developed for the call center is a GIS application that 

allows the call reps to provide callers with the physical location and hours of operation of every official ballot drop site in the State. Because Oregon is an all “vote 

by mail” State, the call center receives thousands of calls in the last 3 days from 

voters wanting to know where the nearest ballot drop site is located.

Performance of operators evaluated mainly by tracking complaints

Jurisdictions with hotlines staffed by operators (61 percent) mainly track 

complaints to monitor the hotline for accuracy and security (61 percent) while 35 

percent of jurisdictions periodically listen in on calls. One-fourth of jurisdictions 

(25 percent) report employing both methods.

What, if any, systematic effort does your office undertake to monitor the hotline for 

accuracy, security, or other critical performance variables?

Used Not Used Not Sure/Not 

Enough Information 

To Answer

% % %

Periodic listening in on calls 35 46 20

Tracking of complaints 61 26 11

Asked only of jurisdictions with hotlines in which callers can talk to an operator. 

MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION OF HOTLINES
38VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Majority of jurisdictions verify identity of caller’s identity

A 6 in 10 majority (58 percent) of jurisdictions report verifying a hotline caller’s 

identity, such as verifying the caller’s Social Security number or date of birth. An 

additional 16 percent verify identity some of the time or in some instances (such 

as before giving the caller personal information). By contrast, one-fourth 

(26 percent) of jurisdictions say they do not check the caller’s identity.

When a voter calls the hotline seeking information such as voting location, 

absentee ballot request, change of address, do you have a standardized procedure 

for verifying the caller’s identity, such as verifying Social Security number or date 

of birth?

Yes, always 58%

Yes, sometimes 16%

No 26%

Many jurisdictions require operators to use a password to access data

Although fewer than one-half of jurisdictions say that the data utilized by the 

hotline is secured behind a firewall, most jurisdictions that have hotlines that 

utilize operators require operators to use a password in order to secure data.

Which, if any, of the following security measures do you employ?

Yes No Not Sure/Not Enough 

Information To Answer

% % %

The data utilized by the 

hotline(s) is secured behind 

a firewall

43 50 4

Operators need a secure 

password to access data*

80 3 17

Asked only of jurisdictions with hotlines in which callers can talk to an operator.

MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION OF HOTLINES
39VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Jurisdictions use multi pronged approach to publicize hotlines

The most widely used method of publicizing phone hotlines by jurisdiction is 

placing the hotline number on the jurisdictions Web site. This is something that 

nearly 9 in 10 (87 percent) jurisdictions report doing. Roughly two-thirds or more 

of jurisdictions also have posters or flyers available at polling places (74 percent), 

advertise the hotline number in election mailings, (71 percent) or place ads in 

local papers (65 percent). Many fewer employ outreach partners to get out the 

word on their hotline (43 percent) or list the number with the phone company 

operator (28 percent).

What methods, if any, do you use to inform voters about your voter hotline?

Publicize number on office’s or jurisdiction’s Web site 87%

Handouts or posters at polling place 74%

Advertise number in election mailing/sample ballot 71%

Ads in local or community paper 65%

Advertise through outreach partners 43%

Phone company operator 28%

MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION OF HOTLINES
40VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

S ecti o n E i g h t : S amp l i n g o f T ips

a n d S uccess f u l P ractices

Implementation and management tips 

Survey respondents provided the following advice for jurisdictions seeking to 

develop and/or enhance their phone systems: 

• Make sure that the person who answers the hotline has access to the latest 

updated information. 

• Have all the details and requirements mapped out before starting any 

programming. Remember to seek input from the line staff that answer and 

handle the calls. 

• If you are going to supplement your phone team during peak seasons, bring 

the temporaries in early to assure a good-quality training program.

• Stress-test the lines prior to Election Day and install a backup generator to 

maintain the telephone computer bank in the event of loss of power.

• For the poll worker phone bank, anticipate every possible problem by talking 

with poll workers and thinking through the best ways to assist the caller. 

Successful practices: hotlines 

• Clark County, Nevada. Clark County, Nevada’s “Line of Business” (LOB) 

program is an innovative way to track the types of calls coming in to an operator. 

When a call comes in, operators simply push an “LOB” button on their phone 

and then key in a three-digit code (see Appendix A), which allows the system to 

track type of call, length of call, etc. 

• New York City Board of Elections/“Vote NYC.” The Board of Elections 

operates an attended phone bank supporting up to 80 simultaneous users during 

office hours (Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.) with a multilingual staff of operators 

speaking English, Chinese Mandarin/Cantonese, Korean, and Spanish. (Toll free: 

1-866-Vote-NYC.)

Callers using the phone bank can obtain information on poll sites (location, 

accessibility status, candidate list, interpretation), registration deadlines, voter 

status, names and addresses of elected officials, election data, candidates and 

ballots, voting machine write-ins and requests for Campaign Finance Board Voter 

Guides. 

In 2000 the Board, through its Management Information Systems Department, 

initiated a state-of-the-art Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. The use of 

Sampling of Tips and Successful Practices
41VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

SAMPLING OF TIPS AND SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES

the 24-hour, 7-days-a-week IVR system freed up staff to assist other callers. It 

also enabled callers after office hours to still receive the services or information 

that was needed. The IVR system features multlanguage recordings in English, 

Spanish, Chinese/Cantonese, and Korean; allows callers to request forms or 

flyers to be delivered direct via fax; and provides a voice recorder for callers to 

request voter registration forms and absentee ballot applications and other special 

requests. Calls received after business hours are returned by an operator on the 

following business day. 

New York City also has a program in which voters can call 311 (similar to 411) 

and get election information.

• Maricopa County, Arizona. The Maricopa County Election Office historically tracked election hotline phone calls by completing call slips, which were at 

some point distributed to the appropriate department for action. In 2006, the 

office created an online database, which is available to anyone in the office to 

input data from hotline calls relating to the election. The central database serves 

as an information distribution center, allowing for rapid input from multiple 

locations, instant notification for timely resolution, summary analysis with 

numerous sorting and reporting abilities—plus all of this information is available 

to the entire office staff at any time. By developing this central database, the staff 

can quickly identify the quantity of calls that are received and what type of calls 

are being processed. For example, if large quantities of calls are received on new 

equipment or polling place procedures, the staff would note that adjustments 

need to be made to training of poll workers prior to the next election. This tool 

also provides quantifiable documentation to support proposals in election legislation, respond to media reports, and reinforce administrative decisions.

• Indiana. The offices of the Attorney General and Secretary of State in 

Indiana want to make it easy for voters to report fraud or other criminal activity 

on Election Day. Any voter can call a toll-free number to report any suspicious 

activity, such as ballot tampering and voters voting in the wrong precinct.

“This should send a clear message—we’re serious about vote 

fraud and making sure each legitimate vote counts,” 

Secretary of State Todd Rokita said.

Lake County, Indiana, however, is the only county in Indiana to implement its 

own toll-free hotline. The Indiana State vote fraud hotline is paid for with Federal 

funds and is monitored by the State’s Joint Vote Fraud Task Force.
42VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

C. Successful practices: phone banks supplements/alternatives

Offering information via Web site as an alternative to phone banks. 

• New York State. In the fall of 2007, New York State joined other election 

offices nationwide to offer citizens the ability to access the voter registration database on line to verify their registration. 

“Many people ask county boards and us if they’re registered. They 

forget.....this will just make it easier,” said Lee Daghlian, 

New York State Board of Elections

• Colorado. Local election officials continue to look to the Web as an opportunity to put voter information at the fingertips of voters in their jurisdiction. 

In Jefferson County, Colorado, a new feature was launched in 2007 that allows 

voters to track the status of their ballot. By entering their name and date of birth, 

voters can look up their voter information and also view the date that their ballot 

was mailed, the date it was returned, and the date it was processed. 

“It is our hope that this new feature allowing voters to check the status of 

their ballots will increase voter participation and confidence in the election 

process,” said County Clerk & Recorder Pam Anderson.

• Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP). States and territories are 

making it easier to determine voter registration status. Twenty-two states, Puerto 

Rico, and the District of Columbia have Web sites where voters can check their 

registration status. The FVAP has compiled a list of jurisdictions that provide 

important voter services, such as voter registration status checks, status of provisional ballots, and online sample ballots (www.fvap.gov/vao/stregissites.html).The 

large number of jurisdictions who are moving their business to the Web clearly 

shows the nationwide trend of the Web being used as a portal for voters on key 

election information. 

• Johnson County, Kansas. The Johnson County, Kansas, election office 

launched its Web site in January 1996 and immediately offered voters the ability 

to find their polling place. Since then, additional online services have been 

provided, including the ability to verify voter registration status and view/print 

a sample ballot. Other online services provided in the last few years include an 

online poll worker training module. 

SAMPLING OF TIPS AND SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES
43VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

SAMPLING OF TIPS AND SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES
44VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

SAMPLING OF TIPS AND SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES

Text messaging and pod casting are the next generation of communication tools 

to be offered to voters. Beginning in 2005, under the leadership of Election 

Commissioner Brian Newby, the Johnson County, Kansas election office provides 

voters the opportunity to sign up and receive important election updates and 

alerts on their cell phone, wireless PDA pager and/or e-mail. Examples of information provided through this service include: announcements of upcoming 

elections, early voting dates and locations, reminders prior to Election Day, and 

other urgent information such as last-minute polling place changes. Visit www.

jocoelection.org for examples of how this new communication is managed.
45VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

DAILY CODES

001 Registration Misc. Questions

002 Voter verifying his Reg. Info

003 Verifying another’s Reg. Info

004 What is my prec./polling place?

005 Who are my Representatives?

006 Voter needs an Application

007 Voter needs a Reg. Card

008 Complaints about Spanish

009 Administration Calls

MAIL BALLOT CODES

010 Mail Ballot Misc. Questions

011 Request for a Mail Ballot

012 Voter did not receive Ballot

013 Needs Mail Ballot Instructions

014 When do I return my Ballot?

015 Can I vote at the Polls instead?

016 Did you receive my Mail Ballot?

017 I spoiled my Mail Ballot

CANDIDATE FILING CODES

020 Candidate Filing Misc. 

Questions

021 Voter requests info. on 

candidates

022 Candidate Report questions

023 When is candidate filing period?

SAMPLE BALLOT CODES

030 Misc. Sample Ballot questions

031 Received wrong sample ballot

032 Did not get sample ballot

033 Lost sample ballot

034 Person does not live there

EARLY VOTING CODES

040 Early Voting Misc. Questions

041 Requesting Early Voting Info.

042 Complaints about EV process

043 EV Personnel complaints

044 EV facility complaints

045 Wants EV turnout Figures

046 Likes Early Voting

SPECIFIC LOB CODES 

VOTELINE CODES

050 Voteline Misc. Questions

051 Where is my Polling Place?

052 What are the Poll hours?

053 Husband/wife in Diff. Precincts

054 Need a ride to the polls

055 I want to change my party

056 Am I registered to vote?

057 Polling Place complaints

appe n d ix a

LOB codes

A ppe n d ix A : 

C L ARK C O U N TY’S “ L I N E OF B USI N ESS” ( LOB ) C OD E S 

( C OD ES FO R TRACKI NG I N C O M I NG CA LL S B Y TYPE)
46VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

TEAMLEADER CODES

060 Team leader Misc. Questions

061 Voter’s name not on roster

062 Voter’s party incorrect

063 Voter’s name mis-spelled

064 No signature in Roster

065 Roster says already voted

066 Voter is inactive

067 Voter is cancelled

068 Roster says ID required

069 Citizenship questioned

070 Voter Challenged

LOB CODES
47VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

Voter Hotline Study 

Background: 

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission has commissioned The Pollworker Institute (PI) and the 

International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) to conduct a survey on phone-based information lines. 

The data will serve as the basis for a report to the EAC that highlights the experiences and opinions of people 

like you who set-up, operate, and maintain the country’s voter and pollworker phone hotlines. 

This survey is for research purposes only. We are not selling anything nor are we are associated with any 

political party or candidate. Your participation is voluntary and all of your answers will be kept strictly 

confidential and will not be connected to your name or the name of your office. 

This survey should be completed by the person in your office most knowledgeable about your office’s phone 

hotlines and/or voter information programs. If there is someone in your office who is more knowledgeable, 

please give your log-on and password to the person and request that he or she complete the survey. 

No matter how small or big your offices’ phone-based information services are it is still important that you 

complete the survey help us collect the most scientifically valid results possible. 

Q1. Please indicate your level of government: 

1. Federal [GO TO Q4a] 

2. State [GO TO Q3b] 

3. County [GO TO Q2a] 

4. City [GO TO Q2b] 

9. (No answer) [GO TO Q3a] 

IF COUNTY OFFICE, ASK: 

Q2a. What county or counties does your office serve? 

 [Open text response] [GO TO Q3a] 

 9 (No answer) 

IF CITY OFFICE, ASK:

Q2b. What town/city does your office serve? 

 [Open text response] [GO TO Q3a] 

 9 (No answer) 

IF COUNTY OR CITY OFFICE, ASK: 

Q3a. And what state is this jurisdiction in? 

 [Dropdown menu with list of states] [GO TO Q4a] 

 9 (No answer) 

IF STATE OFFICE, ASK:

Q3b. What state does your office serve? 

 [Dropdown menu with list of states] [GO TO Q4a] 

 9 (No answer) 

1

A ppe n d ix B : 

U.S. E L ECTI ON ASSISTA N CE C O MMISSI ON V OTER HOT L I N E SURVEY

appe n d ix b

Survey
48VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Q4a During the 2006 Election season, did your office operate a phone-based information line, phone bank 

or “hotline” to provide services or information to voters or pollworkers in your area? 

 1. Yes [GO TO 4b] 

 2. No [GO TO Q52] 

 9. (No answer) [GO TO 4b] 

Q4b. And was this information line or “hotline” the same as your office’s main number or did you have a 

phone number dedicated specifically to providing information to voters and/or pollworkers? 

 1. Same as office main number [GO TO 4c] 

 2. Dedicated phone number [GO TO Q5] 

 9. (No answer) [GO TO Q4c] 

Q4c How does your office handle provisional ballots? 

 [Open text response] [GO TO Q52] 

 9 (No answer) [GO TO Q52] 

IF HOTLINE, ASK: 

Q5. How many dedicated phone information lines or “hotlines” did your office operate? 

 __ __ Record 2-digit response] 

 9999 (No answer) 

IF ONLY ONE HOTLINE, ASK: 

Q6a. Was this information hotline toll-free (1-800) or a normal toll-call hotline? 

1. Voter hotline toll-free (1-800) [GO TO Q7] 

 2. Normal toll-call hotline [GO TO Q7] 

 9. (No answer) [GO TO Q7] 

IF MORE THAN ONE HOTLINE, ASK: 

Q6b. Please indicate how many, if any, of these hotlines are toll-free (1-800) and how many are normal toll 

call phone numbers. 

 __ __ toll-free (1-800) 

 __ __ normal toll-call 

 9999 (No answer) 

Q7. For each of the following, please indicate when, if at all, your information line(s) or “hotline(s)” are in 

operation

A On Election Day 

 1. None, not in operation 

2. All day / 24 hours 

 3. During normal office hours 

 4. Other (specify) _______________ 

B During election season (excluding Election Day) 

 1. None, not in operation 

2. 24 hours / 7-days a week 

3. During normal office hours 

 4. Other (specify) _______________ 

C The remainder of the year, outside of the main election season 

 1. None, not in operation 

2. 24 hours / 7-days a week 

 3. During normal office hours 

 4. Other (specify) _______________ 

2 SURVEY
49VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Q8. For each of the following areas of election services, please indicate if the service is available to voters

through any of your office’s toll-free phone hotline(s), normal toll-call hotline(s), or not offered. (multiple 

responses accepted) 

Yes, 

available

through 

toll-free

hotline

Yes, 

available

through 

normal toll 

hotline

No, but caller 

is referred to 

appropriate 

person / 

office 

Not

available

and

caller not 

referred

(No

answer) 

Voter registration – am I registered? 1 2 3 4 9

Request or check status of absentee ballot 1 2 3 4 9

Information on legal deadlines to 

request/return absentee ballot 1 2 3 4 9

Information on voting location and hours 1 2 3 4 9

Information on voting system used in voter’s 

polling place 1 2 3 4 9

Information on accessibility provisions in 

polling locations for voters with disabilities 1 2 3 4 9

Provisional ballot status 1 2 3 4 9

Voter information specific to Overseas and 

Military Voters (UOCAVA ballot sent, 

received (status)) 

1 2 3 4 9

How to be a pollworker 1 2 3 4 9

Clarification of laws and/or procedures 1 2 3 4 9

Report fraud – file HAVA complaint 1 2 3 4 9

Other general voter complaints/concerns 1 2 3 4 9

Q9. Please indicate if this is available to pollworkers through your office’s toll-free phone hotline(s), normal 

toll-call hotline, or not offered. 

Yes, 

available

through 

toll-free

hotline

Yes, available 

through normal 

toll hotline 

Not

offered

(No

answer) 

Pollworker recruiting and pollworker information 

(assignment, training schedule, etc.) 1 2 3 9

Election Day Hotlines for Pollworkers 

(clarification on laws and procedures, 

troubleshooting with voting system problems, 

“no-show” pollworkers, missing supplies, etc.) 

1 2 3 9

Pre- Election Day Hotlines for Pollworkers 

(clarification on laws and procedures, 

troubleshooting with voting system problems, 

etc.)

1 2 3 9

Automated system for pollworkers to signal the 

open/closed station of that polling location 1 2 3 9

3

SURVEY
50VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Q10. Thinking only about the calls made to your hotline(s) on Election Day, approximately what percentage 

of calls are made to the following categories? (Just your best guess is fine) 

__ __ __ % Am I registered? 

 __ __ __ % Where do I vote? 

__ __ __ % Did you get my absentee ballot? 

__ __ __ % I suspect fraud 

__ __ __ % I have a complaint (non-fraud related) 

__ __ __ % Other (specify)__________________ 

9999 (No answer) 

Q11. Does your office’s hotline(s) operate solely in English or do you offer support in a language other than 

English?

 1. English only 

 2. Languages other than English 

 9. (No answer) 

IF LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH AVAILABLE, ASK: 

Q12. Which, if any, of the following languages are available (directly or via a referral program) through your 

office’s hotline(s)? 

Available Not available (No answer) 

Chinese 1 2 9

Japanese 1 2 9

Korean 1 2 9

Spanish 1 2 9

Tagalog 1 2 9

Vietnamese 1 2 9

Other language(s) 

(specify) 

1 2 9

Q13. Is your hotline number(s) equipped with TTY or TTD technology for the hearing impaired? 

 1. Yes, hotline directly TTY / TTD 

 2. Yes, have relay program with a state-level service 

 3 No, not offered and callers not relayed/transferred 

 9. (No answer) 

IF ONLY ONE HOTLINE, ASK: 

Q14a. Is your information line or hotline initially answered by a live operator (even if momentarily put on 

hold) or is it answered by an automated system? 

 1. Answered by a live operator 

 2. Answered by an automated system 

 9. (No answer) 

IF MORE THAN ONE HOTLINE, ASK: 

Q14b. Are your information lines or hotlines answered by a live operator or are they answered by an 

automated system or do you have both kinds of hotlines? 

 1. Answered by a live operator 

 2. Answered by an automated system 

3. Have both a hotline answered by live operator and one answered by automated system 

9. (No answer) 

4 SURVEY
51VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

IF HAVE HOTLINE ANSWERED BY A LIVE OPERATOR, ASK: 

Q15a. Why did your office choose to have a live-operator hotline rather than an automated one? For each of 

the following, please indicate whether this was a "minor reason", "major reason", or "not a reason". 

Minor

reason 

Major

reason 

Not a 

reason 

(No

answer) 

A. Customer service 

B. Costs 1 2 3 9

C. Availability of staff 1 2 3 9

D. Anticipated call volume 1 2 3 9

E. Wait times / time on hold 1 2 3 9

F. Special needs of voters in jurisdiction 1 2 3 9

G. Other (specify_____________) 1 2 3 9

IF HAVE AUTOMATED HOTLINE, ASK: 

Q15b. Why did your office choose to have an automated hotline rather than one answered by a live 

operator? For each of the following, please indicate whether this was a "minor reason", "major 

reason", or "not a reason." 

Minor

reason 

Major

reason 

Not a 

reason 

(No

answer) 

A. Customer service 1 2 3 9

B. Costs 

C. Availability of staff 1 2 3 9

D. Anticipated call volume 1 2 3 9

E. Wait times / time on hold 1 2 3 9

F. Special needs of voters in jurisdiction 1 2 3 9

G. Other (specify_____________) 1 2 3 9

For the next few questions, please think back to when you first developed your office’s information line or 

hotline to provide service or information to voters and/or pollworkers. (If your office operates more than one 

hotline, please think about the most recent hotline developed by your office). 

Q16. Overall, how would you describe your office’s experience developing the hotline? Would you say the 

overall process for developing the hotline was very easy, somewhat easy, somewhat hard or very 

hard? 

 1. Very easy 

 2. Somewhat easy 

 3. Somewhat hard 

 4. Very hard 

 9. (No answer) 

Q17. And did you develop the hotline in-house or did you outsource most or all of the work to another 

company or organization? 

 1. Developed the hotline in-house 

 2. Outsourced some of the development work 

 3. Outsourced most of the development work 

 4. Outsourced all of the development work 

 9. (No answer) 

5

SURVEY
52VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

IF OUTSOURCE SOME, MOST, OR ALL, ASK: 

Q18. How would you rate your satisfaction with this service provider? 

1. Very satisfied 

 2. Somewhat satisfied 

 3. Somewhat unsatisfied 

 4. Very unsatisfied 

 9. (No answer) 

Q19. Approximately how many weeks did it take you to develop the hotline—from the time that you started 

planning the hotlines features to when the hotline was fully operational? 

 ___ ___ weeks 

 9999 (No answer) 

Q20. Approximately, how much did it cost for your office to develop and implement the hotline? 

 ___ ___ USD 

 9999 (No answer) 

Q21. What advice would you offer to another jurisdiction like yours that is planning to develop its own 

hotline to provide services and/or information to voters or pollworkers? 

[open-ended text box] 

9 (No answer) 

IF HAVE AUTOMATED HOTLINE: For the next several questions, we’d like you to think about the gathering 

and maintenance of the information used by your phone information hotline (If your office operates more than 

one hotline, please think about the most recent hotline developed by your office). 

IF HAVE OPERATOR-ANSWERED HOTLINE: For the next several questions, we’d like you to think about 

the day-to-day operation of your phone information hotline (If your office operates more than one hotline, 

please think about the most recent hotline developed by your office). 

Q22. Does your office handle in-house the day-to-day maintenance of information and/or databases used 

by your hotline or do you outsource some, most or all of the work to another company or 

organization? 

 1. Handle maintenance of information completely in-house 

 2. Outsourced some of the work 

 3. Outsourced most of the work 

 4. Outsourced all of the work 

 9. (No answer) 

IF OUTSOURCE SOME, MOST, OR ALL, ASK: 

Q23. How would you rate your satisfaction with this service provider? 

1. Very satisfied 

 2. Somewhat satisfied 

 3. Somewhat unsatisfied 

 4. Very unsatisfied 

 9. (No answer) 

IF HAVE OPERATOR-ANSWERED HOTLINE, ASK: 

Q24. Do your call-takers have a protocol card, form, checklist script or software system to guide their 

interaction with callers OR does your office use a non-structured and non-automated approach to 

respond to callers questions? 

1. Use protocol cards / form / checklist script 

2. Use automated script / protocol software system 

3. Use BOTH protocol cards/ form / checklist script and an automated software system 

4. Use a non-structured and non-automated approach 

9. (No answer) 

6 SURVEY
53VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

IF HAVE OPERATOR-ANSWERED HOTLINE, ASK: 

Q25a. What databases, if any, do your hotline operators have access to? 

1. Voter registration database 

2. Pollworker management database 

3. Absentee ballot database 

4. Provisional ballot database 

5. Polling-place lookup database 

9. (No answer) 

IF ONE AUTOMATED HOTLINE, ASK: 

Q25b. What databases, if any, are integrated with your hotline(s) system? 

1. Voter registration database 

2. Pollworker management database 

3. Absentee ballot database 

4. Provisional ballot database 

5. Polling-place lookup database 

9. (No answer) 

IF MORE THAN AUTOMATED ONE HOLTILNE, ASK:

Q25c. Thinking about all the hotlines your office operates to provide information or services to voters or 

pollworkers, what databases, if any, are integrated with your hotline(s) system? 

1. Voter registration database 

2. Pollworker management database 

3. Absentee ballot database 

4. Provisional ballot database 

5. Polling-place lookup database 

 9. (No answer) 

IF STATE OFFICE, ASK: 

Q26. Does your hotline have access to statewide voter registration lists? 

1. Yes 

2. No 

9. (No answer) 

IF STATE OFFICE, ASK: 

Q27. Is your office’s hotline able to give callers the general contact information for their specific 

county/township election office? 

1. Yes, operators have a hard copy list of phone numbers of county/city offices. 

2. Yes, operators have access to a database of phone numbers for counties/cities on the computer at 

their workstation. 

3. Operators are provided access to local jurisdiction’s databases so they can provide immediate 

assistance. 

9. (No answer) 

IF STATE OFFICE, ASK: 

Q28. Does your office have a list of voter information hotlines operated by subordinate jurisdictions in your 

state?

1. Yes 

2. No 

9. (No answer) 

7 SURVEY
54VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

IF HAVE AUTOMATED SYSTEM, ASK: 

Q29a. During election season, how often are updates made to the system? 

 1. In real time / as changes are made 

2. Daily

3. Weekly 

 4. Monthly 

5. Only at the end of the canvass/audit period 

 6. None of the above 

 9. (No answer) 

IF HAVE OPERATOR-ANSWERED HOTLINE, ASK: 

Q29b. During election season, how often are updates made to the information operators have access to? 

 1. In real time / as changes are made 

2. Daily

3. Weekly 

 3. Monthly 

4. Only at the end of the canvass/audit period 

 5. None of the above 

 9. (No answer) 

Q30. Over the last year, what where the total costs including administration and personnel costs 

associated with maintaining and/or updating the information for your phone hotline? 

 ___ ___ USD 

 9999 (No answer) 

ONLY IF HAVE AUTOMATED HOTLINE, ASK: 

Q31. Is there a database maintenance charge per record? 

1. Yes 

2. No 

9. (No answer) 

IF CHARGE, ASK: 

Q32. What is the monetary charge per call? 

___ ___ USD 

9999 (No answer) 

IF AUTOMATED HOTLINE, ASK: 

Q33a. What advice about information gathering and maintenance would you offer to a jurisdiction such as 

yours that is setting up a voter hotline? 

[open-ended text box] 

9 (No answer) 

IF OPERATOR-ANSWERED HOTLINE, ASK:

Q33b. What advice about the day-to-day operation of a hotline would you offer to a jurisdiction such as 

yours that is setting up a voter hotline? 

[open-ended text box] 

9 (No answer) 

IF AUTOMATED HOTLINE, ASK: 

Q34. Does your automated hotline system have the following features to track the.... 

Yes No (No answer) 

wait time of calls 1 2 9

duration of calls 1 2 9

the type or category of call 

disposition or end result of each call 1 2 9

call volume 

8

SURVEY
55VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Q35. Do you currently track the type of call or information being sought after by the caller (for example, 

polling place lookup or absentee ballot status, etc.)? 

 1. Yes, track manually 

 2. Yes, track through automated system 

 3. No, don’t currently track 

 9 (No answer) 

Q36. What is the average wait time for calls made to your hotline? (just your best guess is fine) 

___ ___ 

98 not enough information to answer 

99 (no answer) 

Q37. What is the average duration of calls made to your hotline once a caller is connected (not including 

hold time)? (just your best guess is fine) 

___ ___ 

98 not enough information to answer 

99 (no answer) 

Q38. What is the number of incoming calls that can be received at one time? 

___ ___ ___ ___ 

98 not enough information to answer 

99 (no answer) 

Q39. Historically, what is the largest number of calls received in one day? 

___ ___ ___ ___ 

98 not enough information to answer 

99 (no answer) 

IF AUTOMATED HOTLINE, ASK: 

Q40. Are callers able to exit the automated portion of the phone information hotline and speak to an 

operator or is your hotline 100% automated? 

1. able to speak to an operator 

2. 100% automated 

9. (No answer) 

ONLY IF ABLE TO SPEAK TO OPERATOR: 

For the next few questions, we’d like you to think about the people who operate or staff the hotline and take 

calls. 

IF ABLE TO SPEAK TO OPERATOR, ASK: 

Q41. Does your office handle in-house the day-to-day operation and staffing of the operators who take 

hotline calls or do you outsource some, most or all of the staffing of the hotline staff to another company 

or organization? 

1. Handle day-to-day operation and staffing completely in-house 

2. Outsourced some of the day-to-day operation and staffing 

3. Outsourced most of the day-to-day operation and staffing 

4. Outsourced all of the day-to-day operation and staffing 

9. (No answer) 

IF OUTSOURCE SOME, MOST or ALL, ASK: 

Q42. How would you rate your satisfaction with this service provider? 

1. Very satisfied 

2. Somewhat satisfied 

3. Somewhat unsatisfied 

4. Very unsatisfied 

9. (No answer) 

9 SURVEY
56VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

 IF ABLE TO SPEAK TO OPERATOR, ASK: 

Q43. During peak times or seasons what is the average number of full-time and part time hotline operators? 

_ __ __ full-time 

__ __ __ part-time 

9998 Not sure 

9999 (No answer) 

IF ABLE TO SPEAK TO OPERATOR, ASK: 

Q44. During non-peak peak times or seasons what is the average number of full-time and part time hotline 

operators?

__ __ __ full-time 

__ __ __ part-time 

9998 Not sure 

9999 (No answer) 

IF ABLE TO SPEAK TO OPERATOR, ASK: 

Q45. For each of the following, please indicate whether or not this method is used to train hotline operators: 

Used Not used Not sure / 

Not enough 

information to 

answer 

(No

answer) 

Classroom lectures 1 2 8 9

Role playing / simulated calls 1 2 8 9

Computer-based tutorial 1 2 8 9

Shadowing experienced operator or person 1 2 8 9

IF ABLE TO SPEAK TO OPERATOR, ASK: 

Q46. Are all operators, regardless of their level of experience, trained before each major election cycle? 

1. Yes 

2. No 

9. (No answer) 

IF ABLE TO SPEAK TO OPERATOR, ASK: 

Q47. Switching topics, what, if any, systematic effort does your office undertake to monitor the hotline for 

accuracy, security, or other critical performance variables? 

Yes No Not sure / Not 

enough 

information

to answer 

(No answer) 

Periodic listening in on calls 1 2 8 9

Tracking of complaints 1 2 8 9

Other (please describe) 1 2 8 9

Q48. When a voter calls the hotline seeking information such as voting location, absentee ballot request, 

change of address, do you have a standardized procedure for verifying the caller’s identity such as 

verifying social security number, date of birth, etc? 

 1. Yes, always 

 2. Yes, sometimes 

 3. No 

9. (No answer) 

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57VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Q49. Which, if any of the following security measures do you employ? 

Yes No Not enough 

informati

on to 

answer 

(No

an

sw

er)

The data utilized by the hotline(s) is secured behind a 

firewall.

1 2 3 9

Operators need a secure password to access data. 1 2 3 9

Q50. Thinking now about possible outreach efforts, what methods, if any, do you use to inform voters about 

your voter hotline? 

Use Don’t use (No answer) 

Advertise number in election mailing/sample ballot 1 2 9

Publicize number on office’s or jurisdiction’s 

website 

1 2 9

Ads in local or community paper 1 2 9

Phone company operator 1 2 9

Handouts or posters at polling place 1 2 9

Advertise through outreach partners 

 

Q51. Last year, approximately how much did you spend specifically on publicizing your office’s hotline(s)? 

___ ___ USD 

9999 (No answer) 

We have just a few more questions to help us better understand the types of election offices taking part in our 

survey. 

Q52. How many full-time and part-time staff work in your election office? 

 __ __ __ full-time 

__ __ __ part-time 

9999 (No answer) 

Q53. Approximately how many voters are in your jurisdiction? 

 __ __ __ __ __ __ __ [7-digit numeric response] 

9 (No answer) 

Q54. How would you describe the area of your jurisdiction? 

1. Mainly rural 

2. Mainly urban 

3. Mainly suburban 

4. Mixed 

9. (No answer) 

Q55. About what percentage of the voters in your area would you say are well-off, about average, and 

poorer than average? (just your best guess is fine) 

__ __ __ % well-off 

 __ __ __ % about average 

__ __ __ % poorer than average 

9999 (No answer) 

Q56. About what percentage of the voters in your jurisdiction have a limited English proficiency? (just your 

best guess is fine) 

__ __ __ % 

9999 (No answer) 

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58VOTER HOTLINE STUDY

Q57. If your office required by federal law to publish election materials in a language other than English? 

1. Yes 

2. No 

9. (No answer) 

Q58. The EAC would like to collect the phone numbers of election-related phone information hotlines to 

publish on the EAC’s website. If you consent to have your hotline number(s) given to the EAC, please 

provide the numbers below. By doing so, the EAC will know your office has responded to the survey, 

but they will NOT have the ability to connect your answers to you or your office. Your answers to all 

other questions will be combined with the responses of others who have taken the survey and will be 

reported in the aggregate to get an overall picture. 

Voter hotlines: 

_ _ _ - _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ 

 _ _ _ - _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ 

 _ _ _ - _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ 

 Pollworker hotlines 

_ _ _ - _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ 

 _ _ _ - _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ 

 _ _ _ - _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ 

Q59. Would you be willing to speak with one of our project researchers about your office’s experience with 

phone information hotlines? 

1. Yes 

2. No 

9. (No answer) 

IF WILLING TO BE CONTACTED, ASK: 

Q60. Please fill in your contact information below: 

First name: 

Last name: 

Phone number: 

Email:

*This information collection is required for the EAC to meet its statutory requirements under the Help America Vote Act 

(HAVA) of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15301). Respondent’s obligation to reply to this information collection is voluntary; 

respondents include election offices in the 50 States and the District of Columbia. This information will be made 

publicly available on the EAC website at www.eac.gov. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency 

may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a 

valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is OMB Control No. pending 

(expires: to be determined). The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 30 minutes 

per response. Comments regarding this burden estimate should be sent to the Program Manager – 2007 Study of the 

Voter Hotlines, U.S. Election Assistance Commission, 1225 New York Ave, NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20005. 

12

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