In public institutions, descriptive representation can provide benefits that enhance citizens' sense of belonging, acceptance, and support for their interests, whether those interests relate to race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, primary language, or gender. 

While the significance of descriptive representation has been examined across various public institutions, such as elected offices, law enforcement, schools, and higher education, it has received comparatively less scrutiny within the context of election administration. 

Through semi-structured interviews with Black election officials at the local level across the United States, Black Election Officials: A Study of Black Americans Administering Elections provides an in-depth discussion and analysis of the professional barriers and pathways to election administration, the relationship between administrative structures and active representation, motivation for service, and the cultural importance of African American professionals serving as administrators of a democratic process that African Americans have only had full access to since the middle of the 20th Century.

​Bridgett A. King is an assistant professor and Director of the Master of Public Administration Program at Auburn University, USA.