Q

CONTINGENC

AND DISASTE

PLANNING

www.eac.gov

October 2007

MANAGEMENT GUIDE
2

Th e Quick Start Management Guide for 

Contingency and Disaster Planning is part of 

a series of brochures designed to highlight and 

summarize the information contained in the 

chapters of the U.S. Election Assistance 

Commission’s (EAC) Election Management 

Guidelines (EMG). Th e goal of the EMG is to 

provide a collection of election management 

guidelines, consolidated into one document, to 

assist State and local election offi cials eff ective

manage and administer elections. Th ese 

guidelines are solely designed to serve as a sou

of information for election offi cials and not as 

requirements by which they must abide. Th e 

EAC expects the EMG to be completed in 200

However, due to the urgent need for election 

management resources, EMG chapters and 

Quick Starts are released as they are complete

Th e content of the EMG and the Quick Start 

Management Guides has been developed in 

collaboration with State and local election 

offi cials and other election professionals who 

have fi rst-hand experience managing election

Th e EAC is grateful for their participation 

and ensuring the guidelines are practical and 

applicable for jurisdictions regardless of their s

and resources. Th e EMG and the Quick Start

are available online 

at www.eac.gov.

CONTINGENCY AND DISASTER PLANNING
www.ea

INTRODUCTION

Contingency planning in elections involves 

planning responses for situations as simple as 

maintaining a listing of poll workers to respond 

to a call for replacements on Election Day, or as 

complicated as relocating polling places on the 

morning of Election Day due to fl ooding or other 

natural disasters. Th is guide provides a quick 

overview of things to consider when developing 

policies/procedures for administering an election...

from running out of ballots...to experiencing a 

major natural or manmade disaster.

DEVELOPING A CONTINUITY OF

OPERATIONS PLAN FOR ELECTIONS

Contact your State and local Department of 

Emergency Preparedness to request copies of 

existing action plans and information on other 

available resources. Schedule a joint meeting to 

discuss how the election offi ce can partner with 

these agencies to develop a comprehensive 

Continuity of Operations Plan for Elections. 

Review existing State law to determine if the 

Governor has the power to cancel an election or 

designate alternative methods for distribution of 

ballots in the event that an emergency/disaster 

occurs which impacts the conduct of an election.
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Develop a written line of succession for staffi ng 

within your offi ce. Document this staffi ng autho

ity and distribute it internally within your local a

State jurisdictions. 

 RECOMMENDATION: ONCE YOU HAVE DEVELOPED A

WRITTEN CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS PLAN, PLACE

IT ON FILE WITH YOUR STATE’S CHIEF ELECTION OFFICE

(I.E. GOVERNOR, SECRETARY OF STATE, ETC.) AND

LOCAL BOARD OF COUNTY OFFICIALS.

Coordinate the development of your plan by 

establishing a task force that includes all 

subdivisions of government within county 

government, including area law enforcement 

and fi re district agencies, area school district 

representatives, and area power and light 

administrative staff . Utilize these connections to 

tap into their resources to provide assistance to 

your offi ce in the event of an emergency. 

RECOMMENDATION: DISTRIBUTE A COMPLETE LISTING

OF ALL POLLING PLACE LOCATIONS, AND EXPECTED VOT

TURNOUT FOR EACH LOCATION TO AREA POLICE AND F

DEPARTMENTS PRIOR TO EVERY ELECTION. 
www.ea

Publish and distribute the fi nal approved 

Continuity of Operations Plan to all agencies 

responsible for providing assistance in the event of 

a disaster/emergency. Th e Plan should be reviewed 

and updated periodically. 

RECOMMENDATION: CONSIDER REVIEWING THE PLAN WIT

ALL INVOLVED AGENCIES AND INDIVIDUALS AT LEAST SIX

MONTHS PRIOR TO EVERY FEDERAL ELECTION.

Involve the media in your planning process. 

Distribute the fi nal approved document to all area 

television, radio, and newspaper media. 

CONTINGENCY PLANNING FOR

COUNTYWIDE EVENTS

Conduct a brainstorming session with staff to 

develop a listing of various “Election Day” worst 

case scenarios. Examples include the various 

types of natural disasters (snow/ice storm, fl ooding, 

hurricane, tornado, etc.); and other electionrelated “disasters” (poll worker shortage, last minute 

relocation of polling places, shortage of ballots and 

other mission critical supplies, etc.). NOTE: It is 

important to list any possible issue that can occur 

that would impact the management of an election 

– even if it has never, ever happened before.
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 Develop an action plan for each scenario. Includ

in the action plan: who is responsible for each ta

what resources are required, what agency(s) will 

called upon to assist, and where the designated a

for media will be located and the name of the 

designated media coordinator, if required. 

Examples of worst case scenarios and possible 

action plans, include:

SHORTAGE OF POLL WORKERS. Assign a certain 

percentage of “stand by” poll workers to repor

to the Election Offi ce on Election morning. Th 

group of “stand-by” poll workers could also b

recruited from the county or city employee ba

Th ese poll workers should be fully trained and 

arrive at the designated offi ce location ready t

be deployed where needed. 

PHONE SYSTEM CRASHES. Consider investing in 

backup generator to support the phone system 

and other mission-critical computer systems. 

Provide instructions to poll workers on how t

reach your offi ce if the main phone line is not 

functioning. NOTE: Partner with other count

departments to identify front line staff who cou

answer overfl ow phone calls on Election Day. 

Provide answers to FAQ’s and enable the staff t

look up polling place information. Give them t

direct line to contact a permanent election staff 

person, if necessary.
www.ea

RELOCATION OR CONSOLIDATION OF POLLING PLACES

Use early voting locations as emergency 

polling places on Election Day. Usually 

computer network lines are already in place to 

provide the ability to process any voter in the 

county. Remember to post signs at the old 

location directing voters to the new location. 

Notify the media of the location changes and 

post this information on your offi ce Web site. 

Use your automated phone message system 

to communicate last minute polling place 

location updates.

INCLEMENT WEATHER OCCURS AFTER THE POLLS ARE

OPEN. Coordinate an action plan involving 

county/city employees with four-wheel drive 

vehicles. Dispatch these employees to polling 

places to collect voting equipment and supplies 

aft er the polls close.
SHORTAGE OF SUPPLIES AND/OR BALLOTS. In the ev

of a countywide shortage of mission-critical 

supplies, this plan should be developed to util

enough manpower to reach all polling places 

within an approved time frame. Divide the 

jurisdiction into regions, prepare driving map

and deploy county/city runners to distribute t

necessary supplies. Poll workers should alway

be trained to know when to contact the electi

offi ce when they anticipate running short of 

ballots or others supplies. Regional trouble 

shooters should be assigned and dedicated to 

support a certain number of polling places on 

Election Day. Each trouble shooter should ha

a kit of extra supplies to support individual 

requests within their region on Election Day. 

Example: Develop a listing of 10-15 missioncritical polling place supply items. Th ese items 

should be checked and double checked using th

“two-person” rule prior to Election Day.

BOMB THREAT – Place a “Bomb Th reat Protocol

laminated card in all polling place supply kits

Instruct the poll workers to follow the guideli

on the card and to call 911 immediately.

POWER FAILURE AT POLLING PLACES. Provide 

instructions in all polling place supply kits on 

how to manage a power failure and continue 

the voting process. Poll workers should be 

trained to notify the Election Offi ce as soon a

possible. NOTE: Be prepared to transport foo

water, space heaters and fans to polling places, 

if needed. 

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www.ea

CONTINGENCY PLANNING

FOR INTERNAL OPERATIONS

 Include within your Continuity of Operations Plan

procedures to follow when internal operations are 

aff ected due to unforeseen circumstances. Involve 

members of your county’s information technology 

staff to assist with developing procedures for

creating a computer and server action plan. 

 Determine alternative offi ce space in the event that 

your facility is unusable for any reason. Th is could 

also include the need to relocate certain staff due 

to computer access and/or phone failure. 

NOTE: Don’t forget to incorporate security measure

into any of your alternative facility action plans.

 Send a written request to the area power and light 

company notifying them of Election Day activities 

and request that they limit any work in the area tha

could cause power outages at your offi ce. Install 

tracking devices (i.e. UPS) on all mission-critical 

systems within your offi ce. Th ese devices usually 

provide up to 3 hours of back-up power. Consider 

coordinating the use of a back-up generator for use 

during an extended power outage.

 Develop an alternative communication plan to 

include use of individually owned cell phones, 

along with a reserve bank of spare cell phones 

to be available for use by poll workers. 

Example: Consider the use of pagers for text 

messaging poll workers in areas where there is 

no cell phone access. 
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 Ensure that your vote tabulation computer syste

is backed up and stored onsite in a fi re proof safe 

and in an off -site location. All other computer 

systems should be periodically backed up and 

stored in the same fashion. Procedures should 

be in place to coordinate the relocation of the 

computer system to an alternative location, if 

required, on Election Day. 

 In the event that it becomes necessary to 

evacuate your offi ce, establish written procedure

for all staff to follow. Th ese procedures should 

include a designated meeting place outside of th

building. Designated staff team leaders should 

be responsible for accounting for all members of 

their team. Staff members should be requested t

take their personal cell phone with them to the 

off -site location.

 Develop scripted messages for use by the 

designated offi ce telephone staff . Separate 

messages should be developed for fi re/bomb thr

which require evacuation of the building; and fo

various weather-related emergencies. Telephone 

staff should be trained to broadcast these messag

to notify staff to take action.

Maintain a listing of all on-call personnel and 

telephone contact information for use while in 

election mode. Th is list would include emergenc

management and information technology 

support staff . Also include area police departme

telephone support staff , and power and light pho

numbers.
www.ea

Be proactive in determining how to prevent 

damage to voting equipment in the event that the 

fi re alarm is activated. Example: Routinely place 

tarps or plastic covers over voting equipment to 

prevent dust and water damage. Understand the 

diff erence between a fi re-activated sprinkler system 

and a Halon system (which does not destroy the 

computer system). 

EVALUATING “LESSONS LEARNED”

Conduct regular debriefi ng sessions following ever

election. Use this time to review your Continuity o

Operations Plan for Elections and update/revise, if 

necessary. Coordinate the debriefi ng sessions with 

regular staff , regional trouble shooters, poll worker 

judges and others support staff involved in the 

countywide election operations. 

Share your Operations Plan with surrounding 

jurisdictions and your State Election Director. You 

are encouraged to also place a copy of your plan on 

fi le with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission 

offi ce in Washington, D.C. 
www.eac.gov

FOR INFORMATION REGARDING THIS PUBLICATION OR

TO REQUEST ADDITIONAL COPIES, PLEASE CONTACT: 

U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

1225 NEW YORK AVENUE, NW, SUITE 1100 

WASHINGTON, DC 20005

ATTN: ELECTION MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES

TELEPHONE (202) 566-3100 (866) 747-1471 (TOLL FREE)

FAX (202) 566-3127

E-MAIL ADDRESS HAVAINFO@EAC.GOV

WEB SITE WWW.EAC.GOV

THE EAC IS AN INDEPENDENT BIPARTISAN COMMISSION CREATED B

THE HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002 (HAVA). IT IS CHARGE

WITH ADMINISTERING PAYMENTS TO STATES AND DEVELOPING

GUIDANCE TO MEET HAVA REQUIREMENTS, IMPLEMENTING ELECTIO

ADMINISTRATION IMPROVEMENTS, ADOPTING VOLUNTARY VOTING

SYSTEM GUIDELINES, ACCREDITING VOTING SYSTEM TEST LABORATOR

AND CERTIFYING VOTING EQUIPMENT AND SERVING AS A NATIONA

CLEARINGHOUSE AND RESOURCE OF INFORMATION REGARDING

ELECTION ADMINISTRATION.