Nearly half of 2020 election officials have left their jobs: Report

Local election officials are leaving their jobs at the highest rate in decades, according to new research that cites lasting fallout from the 2020 election. Nearly two in five officials who helped run the 2020 presidential election are no longer in their roles.

According to the Bipartisan Policy Center’s latest study, 41% of officials who helped oversee the 2020 presidential election were no longer in their positions by 2024 — the highest rate in at least 25 years. The study builds on earlier findings that showed a steady rise in departures over the past two decades.

Long-term trend sped up after 2020

Election officials have been leaving their jobs at higher rates for years. However, the center’s updated analysis indicates that the pace has accelerated since 2020.

“Rising turnover is almost like a canary in the coal mine, indicating that something deeper and more structural in the way that we conduct elections needs to be fixed,” said Rachel Orey, who leads the center’s Elections Project.

While earlier increases were mostly driven by smaller jurisdictions, the new report finds that larger counties and cities have also recently experienced steeper turnover.

Less experience in the field

The study also raised concerns regarding the experience loss within the election workforce. In 2006, about 60% of chief local election officials had been in their role for six years or longer. By 2024, that number had dropped to 47%. Similarly, fewer officials have experience overseeing a presidential election: in 2004, 72% had the experience, compared to just 60% in 2024.

The report noted that many incoming officials still bring prior experience working in elections, suggesting some resilience in the system.

Pressure and politics

Researchers at the center point to multiple reasons for the recent spike in turnover. These include an aging workforce nearing retirement, more complex election duties and heightened hostility toward administrators since the highly contested 2020 election.

A survey by the Brennan Center for Justice found that one in five local officials had budget requests denied, while four in five voiced concern about shrinking federal support for election security programs.

The U.S. election system is still under close scrutiny. On Monday, President Donald Trump repeated concerns about election integrity and said his administration is preparing an executive order that would ban mail-in voting and electronic voting machines nationwide.