ABOUT DAVID

David Stafford has served as Escambia County Supervisor of Elections since his election in November 2004. A graduate of the University of Florida, Stafford is a past president of the Florida Supervisors of Elections, served as legislative co-chair of the National Association of Election Officials and was named to the Election Center's "Hall of Fame" in 2022.

Since the 2017 designation of elections as critical infrastructure by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Stafford has served on the sector’s Government Coordinating Council as one of nine local election officials nationally, and was a member of its executive committee for four years. He received the 2021 "National Risk Management Center Partnership Award" from DHS's Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) for his work on election security and resilience.

Stafford serves as co-chair of the Council of State Governments Overseas Voting Initiative, a multi-year partnership with the Department of Defense to improve the voting experience for military and overseas voters. He was a member of the 2017 Florida Military and Overseas Voting Task Force and and has testified before Congress on the subject. Stafford was a member of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Task Force on Elections and was a presenter to the National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on the Future of Voting in 2017, and served as a reviewer of its report, “Securing the Vote: Protecting American Democracy.”

Stafford's office was the recipient of a 2020 "National Clearinghouse Award" for best practices in election administration from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. He serves on the editorial team of the Journal of Election Administration Research & Practice, an e-journal developed in partnership between Auburn University and the National Association of Election Officials. He is also a member of the Certificate in Election Administration Program Advisory Board at the University of Minnesota's Hubert Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

As an active member of the community, Stafford serves as chairman of the board for Global Connections to Employment and vice-chair of LifeView Group (formerly known as Lakeview Center), and is a member of Baptist Hospital's Mission and Community Impact Committee. He is a Paul Harris Fellow and past president of the Pensacola Rotary Club and Pensacola Sports Association, and has chaired the American Cancer Society's Pensacola Relay For Life and the Friends of Scouting campaign. He is a recipient of the ARC Gateway “Lucy Petree Outstanding Service” Award, was named the Gulf Coast Diplomacy Council's “Outstanding Citizen Diplomat of the Year,” and was recognized with the 2011 “God in Government Award" at the 35th annual Governmental Prayer Breakfast. 

Stafford's past experience includes service as a regional aide to former U.S. Senator Connie Mack and as chief of staff to former Congressman Joe Scarborough. He also worked in governmental affairs for a national trade association and as a producer for a cable news network. Stafford is a native of Pensacola, is married with two sons, and is an active member of Christ Church Pensacola.