Ed Golembiewski has served as Washtenaw County’s director of elections and chief deputy clerk for over a decade. Now, he plans to join the U.S. Election Assistance Commission as a senior election expert, supporting election practices nationally.
The main focus of Golembiewski's new role will be providing clear information the procedures, laws, and costs surrounding running elections.
He says he’s excited to support election administrators throughout the country in the new role.
“Not only here in Washtenaw County, but across the state, election officials asked to implement very new policies and are doing it very well, in my opinion. But they’re also much more in the spotlight and being put into the position. That can sometimes be very stressful.”
Golembiewski says that, over the decade of elections he’s seen the area through, the role of election officials has changed.
“Election administrators are now called upon to be educators in a lot of different ways. They’re out and addressing their constituents, reassuring folks about election security and all the steps that go into administering elections.”
Golembiewski says that, especially over the last six years, communicating election procedures and combating misinformation have become increasingly important.
The county plans to split Golembiewski’s duties into two positions. Trish Reilly has been promoted to Chief Deputy Clerk. Reilly has worked as the county elections program manager for eight years.
On May 15th, The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners will vote to formally separate Golembiewki’s responsibilities into two positions, creating a new exclusive director of elections position for the county. The new director of elections has yet to be decided.
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