Media relationships
Communications is about educating voters and building public trust in elections. While the ways to reach voters have grown, communication remains central to helping voters navigate the election process. From special media requests to everyday interactions that answer voters’ questions, all election offices play an important role in this work. This is one of six standards that define excellence in communications. This draft standard will be updated based on feedback from the election community.
Standard
Your election office proactively builds and maintains relationships with members of the media to communicate accurate election information. To achieve this standard:
- You designate a person who is responsible for media relations and shares consistent messaging with all staff.
- You train all representatives of your election office to know how to respond to media inquiries based on their role.
- You have an up-to-date plan for how to set expectations and communicate with the media.
- You maintain media contacts, and relationships continue through staffing changes.
Why this standard matters
It is important that we are explicit about the underlying why for each standard. While not attached to measurements, the intended impact of an election department achieving this standard is that:
- Election departments will have strong relationships with the media to promote transparent election information.
- The public will have access to trusted election information through different media sources.
- Election departments will be prepared to navigate challenges that require communicating through the media.
