How can election officials use data to inform stakeholders? How can they make the most of election information they already have, and how can they make collecting new data a regular part of their work? How might data visualizations help to promote transparency and persuade decision makers?

The Center for Technology and Civic Life’s Tiana Epps-Johnson, Whitney May, and Kurt Sampsel have joined Monica Crane Childers from Democracy Works to create 2 video workshops with the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) that tackle these questions.

In the first video we talk about the importance of creating a data culture in election offices. That means incorporating data work into the everyday processes of election staff. The roundtable discussion includes topics like fostering a deeper understanding of election data sources and the long-term value of performing a data inventory.

The second video covers data visualizations and how they can distill complicated content into a compelling story about election administration for a diverse audience. We give special attention to the power of Excel and Tableau Public — 2 common programs that election officials can use to visualize data — as well as making visualizations accessible for everyone.

A third video — to be produced by the National Conference of State Legislatures — will focus on using data to ground policy and budget discussions. It will be released later this summer.

Check out all the helpful videos produced by the Election Assistance Commission on the EAC YouTube channel.

Stay tuned for additional videos in the “Tech Time” series to be released throughout the year. For the latest on EAC resources, follow along on Twitter using #BeReady16.