Former O.C. election official recalls working in epicenter of unrest in new book
Jackie Wu had a deep background in politics in 2020, having worked for a California legislator, served as manager for the Orange County Asian Pacific Islander Community Alliance and three years into a job with the county Registrar of Voters.
But all her training and experience could not prepare her for the chaotic events of that year — a bellwether moment not only for Orange County but for the nation and, arguably, the democratic process itself.
A graduate of UC Irvine’s political science program who’d worked for former state Assemblywoman Carol Liu (D-La Cañada Flintridge), Wu was working under then-Orange County Registrar Neal Kelley as a community outreach manager responsible for developing and executing a voter outreach plan for the nation’s fifth largest voting jurisdiction while also overseeing the agency’s communications and materials translations.
“If Orange County was its own state, it would be the 35th largest state — so bigger than 15 other states, essentially,” Wu, 34, said in an interview Wednesday. “So, we’re operating [the equivalent of] many states’ elections here, in one county.”
Despite the enormity of the jurisdiction, which comprises more than 1.8 million voters, Kelley and his team conducted primary and general elections with remarkable efficiency, often certifying results well ahead of a 30-day deadline.
But 2020 was not a typical year, nor was it a typical election cycle, as election officials contended with statewide changes to the voting process, a global COVID-19 pandemic, evacuations from the Silverado wildfire and unprecedented organized acts of hostility and intimidation culminating in a bomb scare and other threats of violence.
Wu’s recounting of that troubled time — and the role election officials and workers played in administering elections in Orange County as it became a locus of political unrest — is chronicled in her new book, “On the Front Lines of Democracy: One Election Official’s Story of Protecting the Vote in 2020.”
Released Aug. 12, the book follows Wu’s experiences administering the county’s presidential election and its tumultuous aftermath, as conspiracy theorists across the nation decried the election results and the integrity of the officials who oversaw the process.
Among the many notable figures who endorsed “On the Front Lines of Democracy” is Kelley himself, who retired from the agency in March 2022 and now serves as the chair emeritus for the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections, a cross-partisan voter and election worker advocacy group.
Kelley recalled in an email the unique challenges posed during the 2020 primary and general elections, acknowledging most people still are not aware of the real people who work behind the scenes of an election.
“So much goes on to ensure elections are conducted transparently, securely, accessibly, and with integrity,” Kelley wrote. “However, many Americans don’t know what happens behind the scenes of running an election.”
Written as a chronology, “On the Front Lines of Democracy” leads up to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, which Wu recalls now as a pivotal moment, not only in her career but in her personal life.
Coming back from a winter holiday break, Kelley’s team was about to go into a debriefing of the November election and begin preparing for the 2021 recall election against Gov. Gavin Newsom when news of the assault on the Capitol broke.
“For me the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection felt like an epiphany,” Wu said, remembering the scenes of panic, violence and confusion that unfolded. “What we had certified in Orange County is what they were trying to stop at the Capitol, even though it was on the completely opposite side of the country.
“If it could happen at the Capitol, who’s to say it couldn’t happen here?”
In the weeks and months that followed, Wu began to feel herself being called to an even greater purpose. She wanted not only to share the stories of election officials, working in all corners of the U.S. to protect the rights of citizens but to apply her knowledge on a broader scale.
“I felt, now that I know what I know, I wanted to take that to work with nonprofits, coalitions, community groups and just individuals so they could empower themselves,” the Tustin resident recalled.
Wu also began to feel a growing need for a greater work-life balance. For too long, she had worked long days that stretched into nights, forsaking commitments to her partner, friends and family members.
So, in June of 2021, she left her position at the Registrar of Voters without having another job lined up. She later took a two-week trip to Hawaii, a dramatic pause that gave her time to reflect on the traumatic events she’d lived through, process what she’d learned and begin planning for the next chapter.
Today, Wu is founder and president of the Newport Beach-based firm J Wu Consulting, which specializes in civic engagement, voter outreach and education, communications and nonprofit advocacy.
One of her assignments is assisting Cal State Fullerton in the California University and College Ballot Bowl, a friendly voter registration competition hosted by the California Secretary of State’s office to see which colleges and universities can register the most student voters.
Through her consulting work and her book, Wu hopes to tell the story of election workers as part of a wider call to action.
“I want to see where this book can go. I’m hopeful it can get into the hands of students and everyday people who are curious about what it takes to run an election and what goes into it,” she said Wednesday.
“As citizens, as residents, as members of this society, we all have a role to play — no matter how big or small — there’s something for everyone that we can do to play our role in protecting democracy.”
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