Ohio Registered Election Official Certification
We can protect fair and accurate elections.
Every six months, election officials can take continuing education courses while attending Ohio Association of Election Officials (OAEO) conferences. OAEO certifies officials who complete a series of eight courses.
Program Highlights:
Designed for Ohio election officials and attendees of the Ohio Association of Election Officials summer and winter conferences.
Stay current on Ohio election law and election administration
Learn from experts and practitioners who focus on real-world impact
Study alongside others committed to fair and accurate elections
Get Certified.
Eight courses are required for certification, including four core courses
Contact Aaron Ockerman for questions about registration, information about how many courses you have or need, and certification.
Course Descriptions
- 100: The Election Aftermath: Audits, Recounts and Ensuring the Accuracy of Your Election
By statute, Ohio county election officials are charged with undertaking a host of critical responsibilities after the polls close on Election Day. These include conducting the unofficial canvass, the official canvass, a post- election audit, and recounts, when necessary. In addition, county election officials must adhere to critical security procedures, and be prepared to have their conduct scrutinized in a post-election judicial contest of an election outcome. This course will explore and discuss how county election officials can undertake their responsibilities with a critical eye to building and maintaining public trust in the election process. - 101: Voting Equipment: Standards, Operation, Maintenance
Managing the implementation of voting equipment is one of the most challenging aspects of any election official’s job. This course will familiarize Ohio election officials with the basics of voting equipment standards, operation, and maintenance. The first half of the course will cover developments in voting technology, laws regulating the systems used for voting, and the testing and certification process for voting systems. The latter half of the course will focus on the operation and maintenance of voting systems, which includes managing the flow of information from election officials to the voter, ensuring the security of every vote cast, and reporting the results. The course will address the pros and cons of different types of voting equipment used in Ohio and survey trends and possible future developments in voting equipment. - 102: Ethics: Data, Partisan Politics, and the Public
Boards of Elections house substantial data, including personal identifying information. This course will explore the ethical and legal aspects of handling that data and the ethical situations that arise while operating in a pseudo-political environment. Participants also will explore how boards of elections interact with the public and strategies for interacting with the public, candidates and the press in a way that balances political interests and promotes voter confidence. - 103: Voter Registration
The Law and practice intersect to create an ever-changing landscape for how people register to vote and how voter registration records are managed. This class includes a top-to-bottom review of voter registration law and administration, including its history, federal and state legal requirements, current issues and litigation, registration methods, database management, best practices, and likely future developments.
- 104: Money and Politics: Campaign Finance Regulation
This course focuses on the role money plays in our political system. Students will have an interactive discussion on how the campaign finance system affects political discourse and policymaking in our state and country. The second part of the class will be a hands-on, practical lesson on how to administer campaign finance at the local board of elections level. This section will identify how boards of elections can successfully implement their legal requirements as it relates to campaign finance laws. - 105: Poll Workers: Recruiting, Maintaining, Training and Managing
The full range of what must happen to assure that enough poll workers are found and what can be done to improve their abilities, to assure they return for future elections, managing the polling place, and training and motivating poll workers. The course covers subjects such as how adults learn, special training needs for older adults, and enhancing voter experience with improved poll workers. - 106: Duplicate Processing, Local Options and Chargebacks
This is a hands-on, practical course that will focus on the day-to-day tasks involving list maintenance and local option questions. The course will focus on resolving potential duplicate voter queries, the board of elections role in local liquor options, and when and how chargebacks can be used with local governments. - 107: IT for Non-IT Administrators
If you are an election administrator, you are an IT expert. The two go hand-in-hand. This course is designed for election officials who have never had formal IT training and will focus on the basic knowledge that is needed to function in a professional environment increasingly defined by computer systems. Additional information will focus on cybersecurity and the ability to practically implement state laws and directives. - 108: Election Administration Plans and Contingency Planning
Elections are the cornerstone of our democracy and elections operations are a critical component of our Nation’s Essential Critical Infrastructure. It is crucial that election officials have plans in place that will allow the election operations to continue in the event of unforeseen circumstances. This course provides election leaders with a general understanding for election contingency planning and specific expertise related to the Ohio Election Administration Plan (EAP) and an Election Continuity of Operations Preparedness Plan. - 109: Leadership During Disruptive Times
How can leaders deal with the volume of change and uncertainty in our global world? How can they encourage others to do the same while concurrently meeting the needs of the overall team and organization? This course explores the trends facing leaders over the next 30 years and translates the changes to leadership competency requirements required to successfully navigate the volume and complexity of change. Participants learn the seven core leadership behaviors and explore how to build them in individuals and teams. - 110: Powerful PR
This course is a must for those who want to learn how to enhance their image, reach target audiences, and get their message out. Through this seminar, attendees will learn tips for surviving a news interview, how to establish themselves as an “expert”, unique techniques to maximize media coverage, how to get free media coverage, and an opportunity to practice these new skills. This interactive program is designed to teach participants to become a more organized, confident, engaging, and dynamic communicator. This course places special emphasis for this program on trainee involvement, using group discussions, role-playing, exercises, real-life examples, and planning time to put these principles into action. - 111: Understanding Ohio’s Sunshine and Ethics Laws
Public servants in Ohio have both privileges and responsibilities. This course is designed to provide participants with a better understanding of Ohio’s complex public records & open meetings laws (“Sunshine laws”) and the Ohio Ethics Law. From what constitutes a public record to how to understand details of Ohio Ethics responsibilities, the instructors will present these in an entertaining and easy to understand way. This course will cover some of the legal and practical concerns and strategies for public servants to consider in 2022 and beyond. After this session, participants will have a practical understanding of how they can remain in compliance with these laws. - 112: Introduction to Elections Administration
It is no secret that election administration has become increasingly complex, with election officials expected to “wear many hats” to effectively perform their jobs. Institutional knowledge is critical to success of elections administration and mastering the skills and understanding the nuances of this role is a constant, ongoing process. This course will provide an overview of the fundamentals of Ohio elections, functions of the Board of Elections (BOEs), functions of the Secretary of State (SOS) in elections, the role of the Ohio Association of Election Officials (OAEO), and emerging practices in election administration. The course will strike a balance between educating pupils new and old to election administration. - 113: Powerful PR: Part 2
Much of what you see in newspapers, on radio/television, and in social media today is the result of someone's strategic, polished public relations skills. You can learn these same insider techniques! Building upon the first “Powerful PR: Course 110” course, this follow-up course is designed for individuals who engage with the media, handle media relations inquiries, and is responsible for public relations activities. Through this seminar, attendees will learn advanced strategies for engaging the news media, doing public interviews, communicating your expertise to the general public, applying techniques to maximize your media coverage, and representing your organization well. This interactive program is designed to continue your practices to becoming more organized, confident, engaging, and dynamic communicator. - 114: Battling Emotional Exhaustion
The last few years have heightened experiences of burnout as well as the sense of urgency for a plan to mitigate our own key drivers of burnout. As we emerge from the pandemic, self-preservation will be very important for elections officials. This course is designed to highlight the depth of the issue of burnout, its consequences, and tangible strategies that can be used to mitigate emotional exhaustion and burnout and promote vitality – a state of professional fulfillment, motivation, and commitment to ongoing growth.
- Graduate Course 200: Public Budgeting
Budgets inform everything that a board of elections does. While boards are funded primarily at the county level, how budgets are formulated and appropriated by county commissioners can vary. This class will explore the basics of public budgeting in Ohio with an emphasis on best practices for constructing and advocating for sufficient budgetary needs. - Graduate Course 201: A History of Election Administration and Litigation in Ohio and the U.S.
The United States prides itself on its democratic processes, but those processes have been constantly evolving throughout the country’s history as a reflection of broader social changes as well as in response to administrative problems and legal challenges. This three-hour course combines a historical discussion of how the processes of conducting elections have changed over time with an overview of how key court cases in disputed elections have altered or influenced American elections. - Graduate Course 202: Leadership in Election Administration
The unprecedented challenges of administering an election during a global pandemic and high political tension made the election of 2020 an exhausting one. Today’s election administration leaders are being asked to lead with fewer resources, motivate an exhausted staff, while continually finding new ways to tackle rising challenges in the field. Leadership in election administration is critical to good public governance and upholding the elections systems that we need to make our democracy thrive. This course will explore the role of leadership in election administration, paying particular attention to understanding the core competencies and approaches of leadership in the public sector, key challenges of leading an elections team, and practical skills to inspire competence, motivation, and productivity in elections staff. - Graduate Course 203: Redistricting in Ohio
Voter maps influence the outcome of elections. This course will explore the history and legal authority of redistricting in Ohio, the current processes and tools that are used to draw Ohio’s voter maps, and the implications of how those maps are drawn for elections officials, Ohio politics, and American democracy.
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