Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections staff members Louise McGirr and Shirley Young were recently designated as Certified Elections/Registration Administrators (CERA).
This award is the highest designation available to elections and voter registration officials.
There are only 800 election officials nationwide who have earned CERA status. The Okaloosa County elections office now holds three of the certifications, the third being Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux.
The CERA designation is achieved through a multi-year course conducted by The Election Center’s Professional Education Program and completion of 12 core courses taught by the Masters in Public Administration faculty at Auburn University.
The courses include ethics, voter registration and elections law, planning, communications and voter participation.
The intent of the program is to professionalize the management of voter registration and elections administration in promoting and preserving public trust in the democratic process.
“McGirr and Young both celebrate their 10th anniversary with the elections office this year,” Lux said. “The CERA program teaches us that we act as the referees to make sure the rules are followed by all.”
