Election officials learn to carry out their duties by participating in training at the national, state, and local levels. State-level training is a particularly valuable source for best practices and information on the state laws, policies, and procedures that election officials must follow – especially because election administration is largely run, funded, and managed at the state level. This report examines state-level training across the country and offers five recommendations and six considerations for states and officials looking to build or improve their training.
Election officials have access to state-level training in 43 states: 42 of those states offer training to both chief local election officials and their staff, while 22 offer specific training to new election officials.
State-level training is offered in different modalities, on different schedules, and under different legal and logistical frameworks. There is no singular best practice; trainers should make strategic decisions about the location, modality, and design of training offerings to best meet the needs of election officials in their states.
This is the first report endorsed by the Election Workforce Advisory Council, a joint project of the Bipartisan Policy Center and The Elections Group.