The phrase is meant to be humorous and tongue-in-cheek, highlighting the many difficult and complex tasks that election administrators must undertake in order to ensure that elections are fair, transparent, and accurate.
Simply put, the Election Administrator’s Prayer is: “Please, please, please let the winners win big” or “Lord, let this election not be close.”
Doug Lewis, Executive Director of the National Association of Election Officials, was quoted by USA Today using another variation in November 2000: “God, please let the winner win in a landslide.”
Election law professor Rick Hasen used the phrase in an op-ed for Australia’s Canberra Times in 2008 noting how the American electoral system remained haunted by the ghost of the democratic meltdown of 2000, which culminated in a US Supreme Court decision that handed the presidency to George W. Bush.
Hasen noted:
The main bulwark against this kind of problem is not the American political establishment, which has proven itself incapable of enacting a fair and nonpartisan electoral system befitting a mature democracy. Instead, we put our faith in the law of numbers. We should all utter the US election administrator’s prayer: “Lord, let this election not be close.
The challenges faced by election administrators can be significant. For example, election administrators must often work long hours leading up to and on election day, and they must be prepared to deal with unexpected challenges such as inclement weather or equipment malfunctions.
New voting systems, like ranked-choice voting, add additional complexities to the job.
In addition, election administrators must also be prepared to deal with the scrutiny and criticism that can come with their jobs.
In today’s political climate, elections are often highly contentious and can be subject to disputes and legal challenges. As a result, election administrators must be ready to handle difficult questions and criticism from the public, the media, and politicians.
Examples of “Election Administrator’s Prayer” in a sentence
NPR (January 29, 2020): “There's something called the election administrator's prayer: 'Lord, let this election not be close,' because when it gets close, you start looking at all of the problems that can occur”
Election Law Blog (November 2024): “Those of us in the field have long joked about the Election Administrator's prayer: Lord, let this election not be close.”