Voter addresses, polling locations, district boundaries — elections are all over the map! Join the Center for Tech and Civic Life and the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) Geo-Enabled Elections project for five free 60-minute trainings exploring the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to increase the accuracy and reliability of election data.

Election officials manage more and more voting information these days, and errors in data like voter registration assignments can lead to a scenario every election administrator wants to avoid: voters getting the wrong ballots in the mail or at the polls.

Integrating GIS with voter registration and other election processes can improve data accuracy, limit risk, save resources and time, and boost voter confidence. These “geo-enabled elections” systems also provide opportunities for innovative, interactive tools that help election offices do everything from inform voters about wait times on Election Day to update precinct maps during the recent redistricting process.

Each course in this series highlights one of NSGIC’s five best practices for geo-enabling elections, written by a team of election officials and their GIS partners. You can register for the courses in this free, self-paced series today.

This series will help you:

• Explore key concepts, terms, examples, and potential partners with case studies from local and state officials
• Implement best practices for developing, maintaining, and sharing geospatial information
• Audit precinct assignment accuracy so the right ballot gets to the right voter

Who is this series designed for?

• State and local election administrators with the staffing capacity to facilitate technically complex, cross-governmental partnerships
• GIS professionals seeking to understand the specific opportunities and challenges of working with elections offices and their data
• Others looking for an overview of the scope and impact of geo-enabled elections approaches

Sound like you? Register today!

Courses

Explore all five courses or pick and choose which to sign up for. Keep in mind that content in each session builds on topics covered in preceding courses.

Geo-Enabling Elections 101: Convening a team of specialists

This course will help you:

• Identify local & state partners to support your future GIS work and goals
• Prioritize initial conversation topics with partners to set your team up for success
• Communicate the benefits of partnering with peer offices on GIS projects

Geo-Enabling Elections 102: Collecting & sustaining a voting unit GIS layer

This course will help you:

• Identify the steps to build a voting unit GIS layer
• Implement a plan for updating precinct boundaries using GIS software
• Develop documentation to maintain your voting unit GIS layer

Geo-Enabling Elections 103: Implementing a geocoding strategy

This course will help you:

• Define and discuss geocoding and a geocoding strategy
• Describe the geocoding process in an election administration context

Geo-Enabling Elections 104: Assembling best available contextual layers

This course will help you:

• Identify the contextual data needs in your office
• Use complementary spatial data like aerial imagery to improve election data accuracy
• Utilize GIS data to support resource allocation decisions

Geo-Enabling Elections 105: Defining & implementing data validation processes

This course will help you:

• Describe how validation practices are a necessary part of geo-enabled elections
• Practice developing audit plans to ensure accurate voter placement