Discourse Labs

ARTT-LEO Curriculum for Local Election Officials

Last Updated: September 1, 2024

A pilot curriculum developed by the Analysis and Response Toolkit for Trust (ARTT) project offers practical support to public communicators about engaging openly and empathetically when providing reliable information around contentious, complicated topics, such as elections.


Voters are entitled to accurate and comprehensive election information, which can be difficult to communicate in what may feel at times in recent years as an increasingly polarized, mistrustful elections environment.

Local election officials (LEOs) must also engage with the public in these contentious conditions, even as they face the complex task of transparently conveying ever-shifting election procedures.

As front-line public communicators, local election officials require not only technical knowledge and skills, but also the ability to perform their role in the fast-paced, intense environment of an election. In the charged atmosphere of elections, LEOs can also face antagonistic situations that outpace existing professional development opportunities.

Addressing polarization and mistrust with open communication

The pilot’s training curriculum provides LEOs with strategies for engaging in constructive interactions with the public in order to foster trust and reduce polarization.

Most importantly, the ARTT-LEO pilot is ultimately intended to help voters become better informed about electoral information and procedures.

Introducing the ARTT-LEO Curriculum for Local Election Officials

The ARTT-LEO Curriculum includes examples and exercises that can be readily adapted to meet the needs of local communities. Structured in six short 10–20 minute modules, the Curriculum is intended to make it easy for LEOs to fit professional development into their busy schedules.

The Curriculum includes practical training for trust-building when communicating, and includes tips on:

How to understand, connect with, and inform your audience, including:

  • De-escalating collaboratively
  • Addressing emotions
  • Taking on others’ perspectives

Encouraging healthy skepticism:

  • Helping your audience feel comfortable seeking out trustworthy information

How to consider the conditions for communication:

  • Thinking through the context of communication
  • Balancing personal needs in communication
  • Resources for personal and psychological safety

How to do it all in practice:

  • How to do all this at different stages of conversations
  • For different kinds of messages, offline and online

About the ARTT-LEO Curriculum

The ARTT-LEO pilot is being developed by the Analysis and Response Toolkit for Trust (ARTT) and in partnership with the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCBSE).

A version of the Curriculum is being developed for use by public health communicators.

For more information about the Curriculum, contact us by email at artt [at] hackshackers [dot] com.