History

Since 1894, there have been 10 Supervisors of Elections in Volusia County

1. 1894 - 1902 (8 years) - CO Colvington
2. 1902 - 1916 (14 years) - John R Wetherell
3. 1916 - 1920 (4 years) - JC Hughes
4. 1920 - 1928 (8 years) - Anna Wetherell
5. 1928 - 1948 (20 years) - OG Sage (passed away while in office)
6. 1948 - 1956 (8 years) - Rodney Thursby (served as Sheriff from 1956 - 1968)
7. 1956 - 1992 (36 years) - Katherine Odham
8. 1992 - 2004 (12 years) - Deanie Lowe
9. 2004 - 2016 (12 years) - Ann McFall
10. 2016 - present - Lisa Lewis

From left to right; Deanie Lowe, Ann McFall and Lisa Lewis

Duties and Responsibilities of the Supervisor of Elections

The Supervisor of Elections is an elected constitutional officer, elected every four years in a partisan county wide contest. The Supervisor of Elections is charged, per Florida Statutes 97-106, WITH administering all elections pertaining to federal, state, and county elections held in Volusia County. In addition, contracts are entered into with municipalities to administer municipal elections.

Statutes are very often only the starting point for appropriate and legal election management, and the supervisor must go far beyond Florida Statutes and U.S. Code to Rules as promulgated by the Department of State in the Florida Administrative Code, legal opinions from the Division of Elections, Department of State, the State Attorney General, and the U.S. Department of Justice case law as set forth by Circuit Court, District Court of Appeals, Florida Supreme Court, Federal District Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

To comply with all the above, we are financially dependent on the Volusia County Council and accountable to the citizens and voters of Volusia County. By virtue of her duties, the Supervisor of Elections is an agent of the state in the county.

Apart from general administration and office functions, the duties and/or responsibilities of the Elections Office include, but are not limited to:

State, Multi-County, County, and Special District Election Administration

• Testing voting equipment and programs prior to each election
• Conducting post-election reconciliation and audits of voting equipment and ballots
• Designing, printing and proofing ballots
• Programming the election database in the election management system
• Programming the election in the voter registration system
• Processing requests for and mailing ballots to absentee voters, including military and overseas voters
• Receiving and tallying mail ballots
• Verifying signatures on mail ballots
• Conduct early voting periods at designated locations
• Provide secure ballot intake stations for directly returning mail ballots
• Conducting supervised absentee voting for assisted living facilities or nursing homes upon request
• Publishing required notices and documents, including sample ballots
• Posting required notices in all polling places
• Providing registration books, supplies, and signage to each polling location
• Approving designated poll watchers
• Notifying voters of issues with their ballots
• Tabulation, accumulation, and reporting of election results
• Canvassing, and certifying election returns
• Publishing election results and other records
• Updating voter records with voting history and changes
• Conducting machine and manual recounts, when required
• Conduct non-regularly scheduled Special Elections as needed

Petition Verification and Certification Process

• City, county, district, state, and federal candidate petitions
• Constitutional amendments and county issues
• Municipal referenda and recall

Candidate Qualifying and Assistance

• General information to prospective candidates
• Research and preparation of qualifying packets
• Briefings and assistance with forms
• Pre-filing, qualifying, and certifying county, district, and special district candidates
• Collecting candidate qualifying fees and remitting to appropriate agencies
• Filing of political party officials

Campaign Report Management and Auditing

• Receiving of completed campaign finance reports
• Monitoring campaign reports and assessing fines when necessary
• Pre-filed and Qualified Candidates
• Political Parties
• PAC’s and Committees of Continuous Existence
• Incumbents’ Office Accounts

Financial Disclosure Reporting and Management

• Distributing, receiving, and reporting annual Financial Disclosures from certain officers, elected officials, and employees of local government and reporting to the state
• Coordination with Ethics Commission and governing bodies in county 

Voter Registration

• Implementation of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA)
• Coordination with the Florida Voter Registration System (FVRS)
• Coordination with outside agencies and third parties
• Processing and validating all registration applications from all sources
• Digital conversion and retention of voter records
• Creation, printing, and processing of documents mailed to voters
• Eligibility and list maintenance activities
• Maintenance of voter lists and statistics

Election Worker Management

• Continuous record maintenance for election workers
• Recruiting, appointing, and training poll workers in election law and procedures prior to each election
• Developing training manuals and materials for poll workers, including the online training platform
• Newsletters and correspondence
• Employment and payroll records 

Precinct and District Management

• Coordination with county GIS Department on mapping and addressing
• Adding new streets/address points to the system and assigning them to the correct precinct and districts
• Updating district boundaries due to annexations and other changes
• Creation and maintenance of street/address point index
• Adjusting voting precincts to accommodate redistricting, population growth, and voting trend changes
• Redistricting from reapportionment of federal, state, and local districts
• Notifying voters of district, precinct, and polling place changes
• Developing and providing access to precinct and district maps

Polling Place Management and Logistics

• Inspection for ADA compliance
• Election scheduling for delivery, use and pickup
• Contract maintenance and record keeping
• Continuous review of growth patterns, location changes
• Delivering, setting up, and retrieving voting equipment for each polling location

Technology

• Cyber Security
• Cooperative arrangement with the county information technology department
• Maintaining and safeguarding of hardware, software, and network systems, including voting equipment
• Hardware and software purchase and installation
• Ongoing documentation review, continuing education, best practices, and training
• Long-term technology planning and updating
• Continual training and vigilance to ensure compliance in practice
• Ongoing maintenance and updates to security procedures

Voter Education and Outreach

• Voter education programs and publications
• Public notices and press relations
• Civic speaking engagements and public presentations
• Website and social media
• School elections and outreach programs
• Other civic organization elections and outreach programs

Record Management

• Receiving and responding to public records requests
• Archive maintenance, retention, and destruction of physical and digital records
• Extensive research and reporting to individuals and agencies

Warehouse Management

• Election equipment storage and maintenance
• Inventory storage and control

Administration

• Cooperative arrangements with County Finance and HR Departments for contracted services
• Effective and conservative financial stewardship
• Apply for and administer federal and state grants
• Updating changes in procedures and forms