Emergency Communications Centers and Election Offices: A Five Step Guide

Election security is about more than just what happens inside of an election office or a polling place. When an emergency occurs, Emergency Communications Centers (ECCs) and 9-1-1 telecommunicators can be among the first links in the response.

The Committee for Safe and Secure Elections’ new Emergency Communications Centers and Election Offices: A Five Step Guide for Working Together helps election officials and ECC leaders build those relationships before an incident occurs.

Elections can present unusual, high-stakes situations and disruptions. Because these incidents may be relatively infrequent but require rapid, coordinated responses, advance planning is critical.

The guide applies CSSE’s Five Steps to Safer Elections: Meet, Share, Agree, Plan, Practice to the relationship between election offices and emergency communications centers.

The process includes sharing key election dates and voting locations, flagging election facilities in computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems, establishing protocols for election-related calls, briefing telecommunicators on the election threat environment, and incorporating ECC leaders into written emergency response plans.

The final step is critical: practice. ECC leaders and telecommunicators should be incorporated into tabletop exercises so agencies can identify gaps before responding to a real emergency.

Download the guide below and start building stronger coordination between your election office, emergency communications center, and local first responders.