Candidate: Kaiti Lenhart

Kaiti Lenhart is a Florida native, born and raised in Ormond Beach, Florida. She has been administering elections since 2009 with the Flagler County Elections Office. She was appointed Supervisor of Elections by the Governor of Florida on January 9, 2015, and elected by majority vote during a Universal Primary Contest in August 2016. 

As Supervisor of Elections, Kaiti Lenhart performs her duties with a working knowledge of the Florida Election Code (Chapters 97-106, Florida Statutes) in all areas of Elections Administration. She is a Florida Certified Elections Professional and has conducted or assisted with conducting a total of thirty (30) Federal, state, local and municipal elections in Flagler County.

Prior to her service in local government, Kaiti began her career as a graphic designer and web developer nearly 20 years ago. She owned her own business as a freelance designer for over seven years, providing web development and graphic design services to non-profits and small businesses.

She is a very active member of the Florida Supervisors of Elections (FSE) organization to improve the voting experience for all citizens across the State of Florida.

Kaiti Lenhart lives in Palm Coast with her husband of 14 years and two beautiful children. As a family, they tend 1,200 sq. ft. of organic vegetable gardens and enjoy freshwater and in-shore saltwater fishing, camping and the outdoors.

Associations:

• Board of Directors, Florida Supervisor of Elections (FSE)
• Board of Directors, Flagler County Rotary Club

Committees:

• Education Committee Co-Chair, FSE
• ERIC Implementation Committee Member, FSE
• Civic Engagement Committee Member, FSE
• FCEP Committee Member, FSE

Certifications:

• State Certified Supervisor of Elections
• Master Florida Certified Elections Professional through the Florida Institute of Government at FSU

Awards:

• 2019 Civil Libertarian Of The Year
  Bob Stevenson Award, ACLU

ELECTIONS OFFICE IMPROVEMENTS

• Implemented the current Mission and Core Values for the Office of the Supervisor of Elections.
• Completed the state-mandated installation of a new, secure paper-based voting system in 2017, which replaced 18 year-old equipment and electronic tabulators. The historic recount of 2018 was a success due to the implementation of this new voting system.  
• Worked with the Board of County Commissioners to adopt an ordinance to allow electronic filing for candidates and political committees in Flagler County, reducing paper waste and making financial reports more accessible online.
• Began digitizing and archiving historical permanent records within the office in 2016, moving towards a cost-friendly and more secure paperless office environment.
• Served on the Online Voter Registration Committee of the FSE to help bring online voter registration to life in the State of Florida. She continues to serve on several committees to improve the voting experience for voters across the state.
• Improved the relationship with the local media through the publication of Press Releases to help keep voters informed of elections-related legislation, current news and upcoming local elections.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

• Applied for and received over $306,000 in Federal grants to supplement local funding for the Elections Office since 2015. 
• Lead negotiations with the Department of State with two other Supervisors of Elections to secure Federal grant funding for the purchase of new voting system in 13 counties in the state of Florida. An additional grant of over $147,000 was secured for Flagler County for the purchase of new equipment, meeting our state mandated deadline with supplemental funding for our county. 
• Returned over $50,000 from the inherited 2014-2015 fiscal year budget to the Board of County Commissioners in October 2015. Created the Supervisor of Elections Budget Book in 2016 for County Commissioners, providing estimated amounts for the Administrative and Elections budget expenditures and clearly explained justifications for each item. County commissioners now have access to a detailed explanation of the operations of the Elections Office, expected turnout for upcoming election cycles, voting trends, and statistics to make informed decisions concerning county tax dollars being spent on the electoral process. SOE Lenhart continues to reduce costs and return unused funds to the general fund each year.
• Demonstrated a commitment to building relationships between local government agencies by consolidating services and saving taxpayer dollars for poll worker training facilities and the delivery of election equipment.
• Developed a volunteer program for trained poll workers to serve in the Voter Education Program alongside Elections Staff as a tax-savings.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

• Implemented a Voter-Focused Education Program to raise awareness of the voting process and encouraging citizen participation by taking the Elections Office into the community through voter registration drives at local events and regularly speaking to community and civic organizations.
• After the installation of our new voting system, the first Open House & Mock Election was held in Flagler County, as an introduction of the new equipment and the public was invited to take a guided tour through the Elections Office to see our operations behind-the-scenes on July 18, 2017.
• Introduced the Adopt-A-Precinct program in Flagler County, a partnership between non-profit organizations and the Elections Office. The program allows a voting precinct to be adopted by a non-profit organization who recruits poll workers to work at the polls on Election Day. These volunteers donate their wages to the organization. The first non-profit to adopt a precinct in Flagler County was the Flagler Humane Society. Read more: Flagler County Adopt A Precinct Program.
• Created social media outlets to engage voters through Facebook and Twitter. Like your Elections Office on Facebook! www.facebook.com/FlaglerElections

REACHING OUR FUTURE VOTERS

• Developed a comprehensive student election program in partnership with the Flagler School district which supports civic education in Flagler County. Students of every grade level (K-12) are voting throughout their school year in several different types of elections. Students in elementary and middle school cast a ballot for their favorite book in the Sunshine State Young Readers Award. High school students vote for their Prom King and Queen, Senior Superlatives and Student Government offices. All students in Flagler County (in both public and private schools) are offered the opportunity to vote in the Flagler Student Mock Election program, which features Federal and State offices during countywide election years.
• Conducted the Flagler Student Presidential Mock Election in 2016, allowing over 6,000 Flagler County students the opportunity to vote for US President.
• Conducted the Flagler Student Midterm Mock Election in 2018, which became district-wide with every public school participating in the mock election. Private and charter schools were also included for a total of 5,300 students participating in the 2018 midterm election for Governor, US Senator and US Representative.