“The Colorado Voter Service and Polling Center (VSPC) Siting Tool is a fantastic source of important historical and demographic information so that counties can select the best possible VSPC locations, and the public can better understand these selections. Mindy Romero’s team worked tirelessly to update the tool to fit Colorado’s specific needs. We have already identified ways to make the VSPC Siting Tool even better in the next iteration.”

- Judd Choate, State Election Director, Colorado Secretary of State’s Office

“The vote centers deployed in counties implementing the California Voter’s Choice Act (VCA) provide voters more options for when, where, and how to vote, as well as access to early voting and same day voter registration. For vote centers to be fully utilized by voters they need to be thoughtfully placed throughout the community. The Vote Center Siting Tool developed by Professor Mindy Romero and the Center for Inclusive Democracy supports the work of election officials and community organizations to identify areas in most need of vote centers. The Siting Tool helps election officials ensure all voters, especially underrepresented communities, have equitable access to vote centers.”

- James Schwab, Chief Deputy Secretary of State, Office of Secretary of State Alex Padilla

"No matter where you live, every voter in Hawaii deserves equal access to the ballot box and the Voting Location Siting Tool makes that idea a reality. The Vote Center Siting Tool developed by Professor Mindy Romero and her incredible team at the Center for Inclusive Democracy allows elections officials and advocates alike to use data to best determine where to locate voter service centers for in-person voting needs and drop boxes so that voters throughout Hawaii may equitably, safely, and securely vote-by-mail. The Vote Center Siting Tool helps to create a democracy that works for all for us and not for just some of us, secured by equal access to the ballot box, an achievable reality."

- Sandy Ma, Common Cause Hawaii Executive Director.

“I have been very impressed with the work that USC has done with their Vote Center siting tool for use by election officials. The application lends valuable insight to the siting decision-making process while assisting county election officials in quickly identifying optimal generalized geographic areas that would be most suited for vote center and ballot drop box placement. Although we have developed our own tool for our use in Orange County, the added demographic layers included in the USC tool have inspired us to enhance our capabilities.”

- Neal Kelley, Registrar of Voters, Orange County

”The CCEP’s Siting Tool is very helpful to our organization’s voting rights work, and it would be very helpful to have an expanded version of the tool as we work to make the November 2020 election accessible and safe for diverse communities. In our work engaging community leaders on VCA implementation in Napa County and in San Mateo County, we used the vote center siting tool to help community members understand what locations would serve their communities best and to build out our advocacy to county elections offices. The tool is navigable and accessible, and gives us data-informed suggestions that we combine with community knowledge to find ideal locations for vote centers.”

- Julia Marks, Staff Attorney, Voting Rights and Census, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus

“Sacramento County found the information provided by the CCEP to be consistent and reliable. The tool was actively used in Sacramento County, by election officials and community stakeholders, to identify areas, and actual facilities, that were utilized in both the 2018 and 2020 elections. As counties struggle to accommodate the administration of elections under COVID-19 and experience a limited number of available locations, this tool will become a valuable asset to any election official to ensure actual, historical data is being used for election planning and location siting. I am grateful for the efforts and resources provided by Dr. Romero and the CCEP.”

- Courtney Bailey-Kanelos, Registrar of Voters, Sacramento County 

“Many thanks to the California Civic Engagement Project for the development of the Vote Center Siting Tool. It has been incredibly helpful both in our own direct advocacy work statewide and in training our network to engage and partner locally with election officials. Having the ability to visualize various data points and interact with maps to give direction to ideal placement for vote centers, particularly under current conditions, where all California counties may be moving to a similar model, will continue to be impactful for the community-based organizations with which we work. I was privileged to give input and feedback early in the development of the tool and I am pleased by the upgrades Dr. Romero and her team have made since then. This tool is needed as California continues to make strides towards a more inclusive democracy.” 

- James Woodson, Senior Policy Manager, CALIFORNIA CALLS

“The Vote Center Siting Tool was very helpful in that it validated our pre-Vote Center Act locations as being correctly sited.  That validation was very helpful in reassuring our community partners that the needs of underserved voting populations were being met.”

- John Tuteur, Registrar of Voters, Napa County

“The CCEP vote center siting tool has helped me engage local community members in local election administration and Voter’s Choice Act implementation -- no easy task. Equipped with the siting tool, community members in various California counties have felt equipped to go to their county elections offices and advocate for vote center sites that provided access for their communities.”

- Jonathan Mehta Stein, Executive Director, California Common Cause

“The Vote Center Siting Tool for the California Voter’s Choice Act, developed by Mindy Romero and her team, was a useful and practical resource for our local partner organizations. The Voter’s Choice Act has 14 criteria for the siting of vote centers. Collecting this data is cumbersome and many smaller community organizations do not have the in-house capacity to develop this information. The tool made it easier for community organizations to understand how the criteria overlapped and helped them identify the best locations for vote centers in their communities. I hope this resource continues to be available for our community partners, especially as we prepare to identify new voting locations that meet public health standards in our new COVID-19 world.”

- Astrid Ochoa, Executive Director, Future of California Elections

The CCEP Vote Center Siting Tool makes one of the most complex and important aspects of planning an election both data-driven and accessible to all. Ensuring that voting locations are convenient for underrepresented Californians - including communities that do not historically vote by mail, people with disabilities, and those who need language assistance, is critical to expanding participation. From seasoned registrars to nonprofit organizers to voters providing feedback on election plans, a broad range of stakeholders depend on the tool to make informed decisions about the sites that will best suit their needs and state requirements. We hope that the tool will be expanded to empower every county in California to do the same.”

- Stephanie Doute, Executive Director, League of Women Voters of California