Barcelona & Tampa, March 25, 2014 – Scytl, the worldwide leader in secure online voting and election modernization, today announced the acceleration in adoption of Scytl Election Training to train poll workers in cities and counties across the US and Canada.
According to the US Presidential Commission on Election Administration (PCEA), “Finding adequate resources and time to properly train poll workers continues to be a challenge for election administrators. The high rates of turnover in poll workers make it difficult to preserve institutional knowledge.” The average poll worker only receives 2.5 hours of training and in addition, few jurisdictions monitor training progress and even fewer test poll workers to ensure they can perform the responsibilities required on Election Day. Yet, poll workers are instrumental in determining the voters’ experience at the polling place.
To address these challenges the US PCEA report recommends that States institute standards for poll worker training and cites that online training not only presents an opportunity for intensive training but also provides mechanisms for evaluation and feedback. The report also acknowledges that online poll worker training can make interactive tools and training materials available to poll workers anytime, anywhere.
Over a million users of Scytl Election Training are using this powerful tool which enables them to effectively address all of the recommendations in the Presidential report. Electoral bodies are able to customize training to ensure that poll workers are provided consistent instruction across all their responsibilities: from helping voters sign into the polling place, providing ballots and assisting with voting machines. This online platform allows poll workers to access training anytime, anywhere from any type of computer device including tablets and mobile phones.
“Poll workers across Illinois, Georgia, New York and Nevada along with the cities of Calgary and Edmonton and the Alberta Municipal Services Corporation in Canada have recently joined over a million others in over 800 US cities, counties and jurisdictions currently using Scytl Election Training,” says Allison McKay, VP of Client Services for SOE, a Scytl company. “And we expect this trend to continue in light of the poll worker training recommendations outlined in the report from the Presidential Commission on Election Administration.”
The report cites Dallas County, Texas, a user of Scytl Election Training, as an example of a successful implementation of online poll worker training. The report says, “There are examples, such as in the State of Michigan or Dallas County, Texas, where significant time and attention has been paid to the development of online training programs that, the Commission was advised, have proven effective.”
Marci Andino, Executive Director of the South Carolina Election Commission, a user of Scytl Election Training since 2008 says, “We have trained over 20,000 poll workers in 46 counties. SOE, a Scytl company, worked with us to develop a training curriculum unique to our processes and procedures. Now we are able to provide a consistent user experience and training for all workers. The solution is scalable and we can make updates to the material on our own without help from IT. The overall delivery and performance has been very successful.”
About Scytl
Scytl is the global leader in secure election management and electronic voting solutions. Specializing in election modernization technologies, Scytl offers the first end-to-end election management and voting platform, providing the highest security and transparency standards currently available. Scytl has capitalized on its more than 18 years of research to develop election-specific cryptographic security technology protected by more than 40 international patents and patent applications, positioning Scytl as the company with the largest patent portfolio of the industry.
Scytl’s solutions have been successfully used in more than 35 countries throughout the world over the last 10 years, including Canada, the United States, Mexico, Ecuador, France, Norway, Switzerland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the UAE, India, Iceland and Australia. Scytl is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain with strategic offices in Canada, the United States, Peru and Greece as well as field offices in the UK, Ukraine, Malaysia, India and Brazil. www.scytl.com
Media Contacts
Leticia Barcia
Senior Director Marketing Communications, Scytl
+34 934 230 324