CTCL Online Series: Post-Election Audits
In a time of increased scrutiny of election processes and attempts to diminish trust in national election outcomes, voters need assurance their ballots are counted the way they cast them. And more than ever election officials need practical tools and training to administer elections that are trustworthy and secure.
To address this challenge, the Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL) is partnering with Jennifer Morrell along with Joseph Lorenzo Hall and Maurice Turner from the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) to deliver curriculum that will empower election officials to conduct more rigorous post-election audits.
Post-election audits give your election office and your community confidence in the outcome of an election by detecting and correcting errors, improving processes, and deterring fraud. Whether you conduct traditional audits, risk-limiting audits which are recommended by the Presidential Commission on Election Administration (PCEA), or none at all, this series will set you on a path to boost public trust in your elections.
How it works
Each 90-min online course will include expert teaching, Q&A, and interactive exercises. All you'll need is a stable internet connection and a computer with a video camera, OR, a reliable phone line if you choose to call in.
We’ll provide you with a video recording and comprehensive participant guide after every course for continued practice on your own or with your team.
Spur new ways of thinking through our interactive breakout exercises. We’ll present a concept and then give you some framework to begin putting that concept into practice. That way, you’ll know how to get started right after class.
Meet new friends and come together on common tech challenges and solutions. Each course will include breakouts and a group discussion.
Open courses
Over the 3 courses, this series will help you benchmark your current post-election audit practices, chart a plan for improvement, and explore the emerging standard of post-election audits recommended by the PCEA and a growing list of national experts.
Orientation
Course objectives and expectations
Background on the organizations and your instructors
How to navigate our online training platform successfully
Tuesday, August 20
1:00–1:30 PM Central
Free
101: Understanding Post-Election Audits
Thursday, August 22
1:00–2:30 PM Central
$50 per attendee
Know how post-election audits support trustworthy elections
Learn important audit terminology
Compare benefits and challenges of various types of post-election audits
201: Advancing Post-Election Audits
Tuesday, August 27
1:00–2:30 PM Central
$50 per attendee
Recognize why risk-limiting audits are the emerging standard
Identify steps your office can take to advance your post-election audit procedures
Inform your community about post-election audits
301: Conducting Risk-Limiting Audits
Thursday, August 29
1:00–2:30 PM Central
$50 per attendee
Understand risk-limiting audit terms and methods
Apply concepts of a risk-limiting audit in your office
Navigate legislative, logistical, and technical requirements of risk-limiting audits
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CTCL Online Series? +
We launched our first in-person training course in 2013 when we helped Mercer County, WV build their very first election website. Since then, we've traveled from town-to-town and state-to-state to help hundreds of election officials around the country learn new tech skills in order to strengthen their relationship with voters, office holders, and candidates. We've worked with directors, county clerks, and election administrators—from their 20s to their 70s. All of whom want to refine and deepen the impact they can bring to the community they're working with, because they know that their skills pave the way for what others can accomplish.
We want to provide true national reach, and make it possible for all election officials to learn, regardless of time, geography, or ability. We want to even the playing field and give election officials easy access to high-quality professional development, which is why we took matters into our own hands and launched CTCL Online Series.
Who should attend? +
Local and state election officials, along with their support teams, are invited to register.
To maintain privacy and foster open discussion of participants, members of the news media, including print, online, and broadcast journalists, may not attend. Email hello@techandciviclife.org for more information.
Is my attendance required? +
Attendance is not required. We'll provide you with a video recording and a participant guide after every course.
How much does it cost? +
Each course costs $50 USD per participant.
What are the payment methods? +
We accept credit card using the secure check-out process on this page.
You can also pay by check. Please email us at hello@techandciviclife.org. We can register you for courses and send your office an invoice for payment.
I added courses to my cart. Where do I pay? +
For desktop users, select your courses and scroll to the top of the screen to click on a shopping cart in the upper right corner. For mobile users, your shopping cart will automatically display at the bottom of your screen after you select your courses.
I've registered for a course. When will I receive additional information and materials for the course? +
24 hours prior to each course you will receive login information and course materials via the email you provided when you registered.
It's less than 24 hours before my course. Where are my course materials? +
Your course materials may be in your spam folder in your inbox. Please double check! If you are unable to find the email, please contact us at hello@techandciviclife.org.
Meet the instructors
Meet the teams
Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL)
Center for Technology and Civic Life is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in Chicago, Illinois. We leverage the expertise of election offices to share stories, best practices, and drive the development of our #ElectionTools. In turn, we lead a powerful network, ELECTricity, that connects election offices from across the country. We are dedicated to providing election administrators easy access to free and low-cost tech tools and high-quality professional development courses.
Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT)
Center for Democracy & Technology is a champion of global online civil liberties and human rights, driving policy outcomes that keep the internet open, innovative, and free. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, CDT support laws, corporate policies, and technology tools that protect the privacy of internet users. Headquartered in Washington, with an international presence in London and Brussels, CDT works inclusively across sectors and the political spectrum to find tangible solutions to today's most pressing internet policy challenges.
Jennifer Morrell
Jennifer Morrell is a nationally recognized expert in election audits. She works as a consultant with Democracy Fund leading the Election Validation Project, aimed at increasing trust in elections through rigorous audits, standards, and testing. As the Deputy of Elections in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Jennifer was instrumental in Colorado's successful implementation of the first statewide risk-limiting audit (RLA). She has successfully overseen RLA pilot programs in New Jersey and Washington. Jennifer was an election official for nine years (2009-2018) in Utah and Colorado. She is an Election Center CERA graduate, holds a Master of Arts in Management from Webster University, and is a veteran of the United States Air Force.