photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

The Douglas County Elections Office on West 23rd Street is pictured on July 13, 2022.

The Douglas County Clerk’s Office was recognized for an excellence in election administration with a national award.

The U.S Election Assistance Commission, EAC, awarded the County Clerk’s Office with the Clearinghouse Award, to highlight the department’s best practices during the 2025 election cycle, according to a press release from Douglas County.

Specifically, the department was honored in the small-jurisdictions “Innovations and New Practices in Election Administration” category for innovation in workflow using Microsoft 365, multi-year work led by Deputy County Clerk Ed Healy. This was one of 46 programs recognized with a Clearinghouse Award.

“We congratulate this year’s Clearinghouse Award winners for their exceptional programs,” EAC Chairman Thomas Hicks, Vice Chair Christy McCormick and Commissioner Ben Hovland said in a joint statement. “We received nearly 200 entries from across the country, and these were the most innovative and creative ways state and local election officials supported voters in 2025.”

These awards play a role in fulfilling the EAC’s mission to serve as a clearinghouse for election administration information under the Help America Vote Act. The EAC is an independent, bipartisan federal agency focused on election administration.

“This work has significantly improved our efficiency, accuracy and chain-of-custody tracking, and it reflects the dedication of our entire elections team,” County Clerk Jamie Shew said in the release.

This is the second time the Douglas County Clerk’s Office has received a Clearinghouse Award. The department also received an award in 2023 in the same category for its use of radio frequency identification tags to build an asset tracking system, which improves security, chain-of-custody logs and accountability for election supplies and equipment.

“This award reflects the forward-thinking leadership of County Clerk Jamie Shew and his staff,” County Commissioner Shannon Reid said. “Their innovative approach to election administration not only improves local processes but also serves as a model that other counties across the country can learn from.”