Iowa State Election Administrators Training -- Level 2

The Iowa State Election Administrators Training Certification Program - SEAT
An initiative of the Iowa State Association of
County Auditors/Commissioners of Elections
The Office of Iowa Secretary of State Michael Mauro
The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board
In collaboration with Iowa State University Extension

The contested national election of 2000 was an impetus for election officials in Iowa to re-examine the Iowa election process. In 2001 the Executive Committee of the Iowa State Association of County Auditors/Commissioners of Elections met with former Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver and his staff, and the Office of State and Local Government Programs, Iowa State University Extension to discuss the development of an election administrator training program. From this meeting the SEAT program was born. Designed for county election administrators and staff, this self-initiated program will increase their knowledge and skills in the areas of election administration and voter registration. The intent is to enhance public confidence in the election process throughout the State of Iowa. Iowa is a leader in this effort, as only a handful of other states have a formal educational program of this scope.

Seeing the value of this training, a SEAT committee was formed to develop and administer a program with core curriculum that consists of election procedures and professional development components. The SEAT committee is made up of representatives of the Iowa State Association of County Auditors/Commissioners of Elections, Iowa State Association of Counties, the Office of Iowa Secretary of State Michael Mauro, and the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, as well as staff from Iowa State University.

The public benefit of SEAT is to demonstrate full compliance with both the spirit and letter of all federal and state election laws, and assure the highest level of professionalism in election administration. By completing the training Iowa election administrators will ensure that Iowans can have full confidence in our election process. Successful completion of 50 hours of classes will lead to election administrators being certified as an Iowa Certified Election Administrator. Initial certification is achieved by attending classes offered in three sessions over a one year time period. To maintain certification, a continuing education component has been established.

The initial statewide three-day SEAT training session was held in August, 2002, and subsequent training sessions have been held each year since.

As of January 28, 2008 --

280 people have completed the SEAT certification training
89 county auditors/election commissioners are SEAT certified
89 counties have at least one person who is SEAT certified
99 counties have had someone attend SEAT continuing education training