UNIVERSITY PARK — With election day quickly approaching, Cristy Schmidt, Penn State Extension applied research educator, recently collaborated with the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania to develop a series of educational and messaging materials as part of her work as the association’s extension fellow.
Schmidt noted that “the association indicated a need for public information and cohesive messaging about the election process in Pennsylvania.” In response, she contributed to the creation of “Pennsylvania Election Process: A Quick Guide for Citizens,” a package of materials aimed at helping counties inform and engage the public about the election process.
County officials can utilize and share the quick guide and related social media and print materials to help spread the word. County governments are responsible for a wide range of tasks, including elections.
“This toolkit will be a vital resource for the public as Pennsylvania counties prepare to administer the election in November,” said Lisa Schaefer, CCAP executive director. “With this consistent information being widely distributed across the commonwealth, counties will continue their role as the go-to resource for accurate election information.”
Schmidt is an applied research educator with Penn State’s Center for Economic and Community Development. The center is housed in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education in the College of Agricultural Sciences. As a fellow from January 2021 to December 2023, she worked in Harrisburg with the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania — a statewide nonprofit, nonpartisan association representing all 67 counties.
She collaborated with the association’s Elections Reform Committee and Government Relations and Policy team to identify five key areas on which educational materials were needed for citizens. These included election administration, election security, primary elections, voting for the first time in Pennsylvania, and poll workers. The Pennsylvania Department of State provided feedback on the materials and is partnering with the association to disseminate the information.
For instance, the “Four Tips for First Time Voters” infographic includes tips such as, “As long as you are in line to vote by 8 p.m., you will still be permitted to cast a ballot – even if the polling place closes.”
“Four Facts About Election Security” informs readers that Pennsylvania’s voting systems are strictly secured, with voting machines never connected to the internet and all voting equipment inspected and sealed before elections.
The materials are available on the association’s website.
Users can download the complete print infographics toolkit or access resources individually. The social media package includes downloadable GIFs, infographics and story slides for social media and public engagement.
The association rolled out the information to county governments and the public at the association’s annual conference in early August. Schmidt also presented about the resources at the 2024 Election Personnel Conference held in mid-August.
As an applied research educator, Schmidt collaborates with faculty, staff and undergraduate research assistants to conduct applied research that addresses emerging social and economic issues in communities and regions across the state. She also translates research to help decision makers and community stakeholders understand, anticipate and respond to the challenges they face. She specializes in secondary data analysis, public policy analysis, data visualization and communication, public administration, and community and economic development.
