Florida - Strengthening Local Knowledge about Elections

Project Objective:

Aimed at supporting Local Election Officials (LEOs) the project created an array of training and voter education materials throughout Florida in order to foster a better understanding of election administration. With a series of events at Miami Dade College, Florida Memorial University, and Florida International University the project shared voter guides, organized panel discussions with LEOs, and sponsored a screening ahead of the midterms for the election documentary No Time to Fail.

Wendy Sartory Link (left), Palm Beach County supervisor of elections and Joe Scott, Broward County supervisor of elections

Media Coverage

Sun-Sentinel: With election misinformation everywhere, trust local supervisors of election | Opinion

We research elections from the public administration view, focusing on the people and processes that enable us to exercise our right to vote. By Amanda Clark and Monica Bustinza.

Voting table

Common Dreams: Why Voting and Celebration Should Go Hand-in-Hand on College Campuses | Opinion

I've dedicated much of the past decade to growing and empowering civic engagement at Miami Dade College—the largest community college in Florida and home to one of the most racially, ethnically, culturally, and socioeconomically diverse student populations in the country. By Monica Bustinza.

Project Leaders

Florida International University

Clark is an Assistant Teaching Professor in Public Policy and Administration at Florida International University. Her research focuses on democracy, election administration, and social movements. She has practical experience in elections as she was the Early Voting coordinator for Palm Beach County in 2020.

University of Montana
Barsky (peterman) photo UM Website Size 2020 (1).jpg

Barsky is an Assistant Professor in Public Administration and Policy at the University of Montana. Her research focuses on election administration, state and local government, and nonprofit administration. She also serves on the Missoula County Election Advisory Committee.

Florida International University

Bustinza is a PhD candidate at Florida International University whose dissertation examines how the decisions of local election administrators impact democracy. She is an active member of the League of Women Voters in Miami-Dade County and was an intern at the Supervisor of Elections office in Miami-Dade County.