State of Maryland

An Election Program Information Technology Specialist I is the intermediate level of specialized work providing technology support to staff members of a local election office. Employees in this classification coordinate maintenance and troubleshooting of election technology systems and works in conjunction with State Board of Elections staff, local government staff, vendors and contractors to resolve program issues. Employees in this classification do not supervise.

Employees receive moderate supervision from an Election Director, Election Deputy Director, program manager or program supervisor of a local election office. Employees may be required to work evenings, weekends and holidays and to travel to polling sites during an Election cycle.  

The Election Program Information Technology Specialist I is differentiated from the Election Program Technology Specialist II in that the Election Program Information Technology Specialist I performs their duties under moderate supervision.  The Election Program Information Technology Specialist II performs their duties under general supervision.

Coordinates, maintains and troubleshoots election information systems, such as election equipment, polling place technology, and election judge technology in accordance with established policies and procedures;

Interacts with local government and State Board of Elections staff to discuss and coordinate program technology activities;

May evaluate office program technology procedures and make recommendations to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the program;

May design, organize and deliver formal and informal training on election program technology operations;

May conduct quality control for local election office technology programs and report results to the program supervisor, program managers, Election Directors and Deputy Directors;

May monitor appropriate level of access and privileges for programs and assisting users with passwords and other security procedures;

May coordinate voting equipment maintenance, inventory and preparation;

May conduct Level One Help Desk support for issues encountered at polling sites during Election Cycle and documents problems and resolutions in reports;

May attend meetings and training outside of the local election office;

May work with local and State government staff to maintain accurate program information on the website;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of the functions and capabilities of microcomputers;

Knowledge of microcomputer operating systems and program software packages;

Knowledge of local and wide area network components;

Skill in word processing, personal computer and other office equipment and related software applications;

Skill in maintaining accurate and detailed records;

Skill in conducting Level One Help Desk troubleshooting;

Skill in maintenance of computer and software updates, as well as staying up-to-date with election-related cybersecurity tasks;

Ability to perform daily, weekly, and monthly data back-ups;

Ability to remain organized while performing multiple functions or tasks;

Ability to maintain workflow despite frequent interruptions and changing priorities;

Ability to communicate effectively and tactfully and maintain confidentiality when communicating with the general public, State officials, candidates, election judges, and co-workers;

Ability to use independent judgment in applying and explaining election laws, rules and procedures;

Ability to meet time sensitive deadlines and demands;

Ability to develop and deliver formal and informal training to end users in the operations of election programs; 

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with program users, local government staff and State Board of Elections staff, vendors and contractors; and

Ability to prepare routine and ad hoc reports.

Education: Graduation from an accredited high school or possession a high school equivalency certificate.

Experience: 1 year of experience in computer programming; implementing, troubleshooting or supporting local or wide area networks; installing and troubleshooting personal computers or evaluating, implementing, or maintaining microcomputer hardware and software.

Note:

 1. Fifteen (15) credit hours in computer information technology, programming or networking from an accredited college or university may be substituted for up to one year of required experience.

2. Experience operating multi-purpose, multi-tasking computer systems; or scheduling, controlling input and output or maintaining a tape library to process data on multipurpose, multi-tasking computer systems; or evaluating, implementing and maintaining microcomputer hardware and software; or converting data from project specifications by developing program code using third generation or other generally accepted computer programming languages may be substituted on a year-for-year basis for the required education.

3. Completion of a certification program in computer programming for personal computers, local or wide area networks or troubleshooting such as Microsoft Certified Professional or an equivalent program may be substituted for one year of the required experience.

4. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a non-commissioned officer in the Computer Systems Operations classifications or Computer Systems Operations specialty codes in the Information Technology field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required experience.

5. General clerical, data processing, technical or administrative experience may substitute for the required experience applying election laws, rules and procedures in a local election office at the rate of two years for each six months of the required election office experience. General clerical, data processing, technical or administrative experience is defined as work performing a variety of duties which are clear-cut and typically found in office settings, such as filing, copying, inputting data, general computer skills, and directing telephone calls.  

Employees in this classification may be assigned duties which require the operation of a motor vehicle. Employees assigned such duties will be required to possess a motor vehicle operator’s license valid in the State of Maryland.

1. Employees in this classification are required to be registered voters in the State of Maryland in accordance with the Election Law Article, Section 2-207(d).

2. Employees in this classification may not hold or be a candidate for any elective public or political party office or any other office created under the Constitution or laws of this State in accordance with the Election Law Article, Section 2-301(b).